Zach Wilson’s story came to an end on Monday as the NY Jets traded the former No. 2 overall pick to the Denver Broncos in a deal that also involved a swap of Day 3 picks.
By surrendering one of their two seventh-round picks to the Broncos, the Jets were able to acquire a sixth-round pick in the deal. To be honest, the Jets got more for the struggling quarterback than most anticipated.
But there’s a good explanation for that. To help with the transaction, the Jets also took up a share of Wilson’s remaining pay. The good news is that Wilson’s remaining money wasn’t swallowed by the team.
Unfortunately, the Jets will still take on a sizable cap hit as a result of the trade. How big is that dead cap hit, though? How much money do the Jets save in this trade? Let’s take a closer look at the financial ramifications of the Zach Wilson trade.
How much money did the NY Jets save in the Zach Wilson trade?
Wilson was set to count $11.18 million against the cap in 2024. The Jets would have been forced to eat that entire salary if they outright released him at any point. Trading him does save them a little money.
The trade comes with an already required $5.73 million in dead cap. In theory, the acquiring team should be forced to take on the remaining $5.5 million, but the Jets and Broncos agreed to split that dollar figure.
The Broncos and Jets will each take on $2.75 million of Wilson’s remaining guaranteed salary in 2024, bringing the Jets’ total dead cap charge to around $8.5 million. In short, they save a little under $3 million.
That’s not an insignificant sum of money. Those savings could be used to sign a player like Donovan Smith, Connor McGovern, or even David Bakhtiari. Another way to look at it is that this covers the cap hit of Tyrod Taylor is set to count $2.8 million against the cap in 2024 as the team’s primary backup QB.
Many believed the Jets would be forced to take on Wilson’s whole salary through a trade or an outright release, so this has to be seen as a win for Gang Green.
Including the funds allocated for signing draft picks, the Jets’ cap space heading into the 2024 NFL Draft will be approximately $3.7 million. In the days, weeks, and months ahead, that figure might very well increase as well.
The Jets offloaded a dead asset, acquired draft capital, and still saved money in the process. It’s hard to be mad about that.
Leave a Reply