By Joshua Queipo,PewterReport.com
Copyright yardbarker
Cash and Cap Details By Year
NFL teams tend to use similar principles with their large contracts. This rings true with McCollum’s contract as it mimics Goedeke’s in the year one new money cash flow. Full details:
2025 – $2,000,000 in new cash. Total cash is $5,406,000 fully guaranteed. $1,100,000 in base salary and $4,306,000 roster bonus that prorates. Cap charge reduces from $3,486,433 to $2,256,993.
2026 – $1,215,000 base salary fully guaranteed. $12,869,000 roster bonus that is fully guaranteed. That roster bonus is likely fully convertible into a prorated bonus. $510,000 in per game roster bonuses. Total cash is $14,594,000. Cap charge is $15,670,500, but if there is a full roster bonus conversion it will reduce to $5,375,300.
2027 – $14,896,000 base salary, of which $7,400,000 fully guarantees on the 5th day of the 2026 league year. The remainder fully guarantees on the 5th day of the 2027 league year. $510,000 in per game roster bonuses. Currently, his cap charge is set to be $16,482,500, but if the Bucs convert the 2026 roster bonus that number will go up to $19,056,300.
2028 – $15,490,000 base salary. $510,000 in per game roster bonuses. Currently, his cap charge is set to be $17,076,500, but if the Bucs convert the 2026 roster bonus that number will go up to $19,650,300.
If the team opts to not prorate the 2026 roster bonus, there is a world where they could cut McCollum before the fifth day of the 2027 league year without a major cap catastrophe. In that scenario, they would still incur a dead cap charge of $9,553,000 but still be able to save $6,929,500 in salary cap. However, if they prorate the 2026 signing bonus they are essentially fully committing to 2027 with the young cornerback. Under those circumstances a cut, even if prior to the ever-important fifth day of the 2027 league year trigger date, would ballon the dead cap hit to $19,848,200 and turn the cap effect into a $3,875,700 penalty.
It’s not an impossible scenario if McCollum’s play or health fall off. NFL teams these days are more interested in saving actual money paid out when making decisions on players than they are with the salary cap implications. But it does make it less likely.
If the Bucs do a full conversion on the 2026 roster bonus, they will incur a $5,147,600 dead cap charge in 2029.
Zyon McCollum’s Deal Components Compared To Contemporaries
Zyon McCollum’s deal is unique in that the only three-year extension signed by a second contract corner in recent history is Derek Stingley Jr. who reset the positional market at $30 million per year. Due to the large difference in annual salary, the two players are not true comps. The other players who have signed for between $15 and $20 million per year recently have been either third contract players (Charvarious Ward, Carlton Davis, Byron Murphy, D.J. Reed) or ones who signed for more years (Tyson Campbell, Christian Benford, Deommodore Lenoir). The closest comp to McCollum’s deal is Paulson Adebo’s three-year contract with the New York Giants.
Comparing the two in terms of cash flow isn’t quite a one-for-one venture. Adebo’s deal was for a straight three years, whereas McCollum’s was an extension where he receives new money in four total years. Still, Adebo paces McCollum throughout their deals in this regard.
