USA TODAY Sports
The first job for the Detroit Lions after the season is over is to hire a general manager and head coach. The second job for the Lions – and the first job for the new GM and coach – will be to make a decision about quarterback Matthew Stafford.
On the fifth day of the league year 2021, which is expected to start March 21, Stafford will receive a roster bonus of $ 10 million. So if Lions want to trade or cut Stafford, $ 10 million depends on the decision made beforehand.
Stafford has a base salary of $ 9.5 million and a training bonus of $ 500,000, bringing his total compensation to $ 20 million for 2021. The fact that half the money is due so early forces Lions to make a quick decision and prevents them from keeping Stafford and his family in suspense. It’s a smart term that often doesn’t appear in the final few years of a veterans contract, but it definitely should. In Stafford’s case, it will give him clarity at the start of the annual music chairs offseason game.
Trading with Stafford would avoid the $ 20 million cash commitment and caps for 2021, but would trigger a cap of $ 24.85 million in 2021. A cut labeled after June 1 would spread the consequences over two years and raise $ 14.95 million in 2021 and the remaining $ 9.9 million in 2022.
If Stafford continues without restructuring or expansion, that means a cap of $ 34.95 million for Stafford in 2020.
Whatever the Lions do, there will be a cap problem and if they keep Stafford there will be a cash problem too. The fact that moving from Stafford will save $ 20 million after a season of reduced revenue due to the pandemic could make it very tempting to cut and honor the remaining balance on Stafford’s contract.
Another factor in the overall discussion will be Stafford’s wishes. If he doesn’t want to stay in Detroit with the next new regime (or if his wife just wants to get out of Michigan entirely), that is one factor in whether the Lions would pay that much to keep him around.
Some will say the Lions should keep Stafford because there are no good alternatives. However, it is too early to know which quarterbacks will be available through the free agency or retailers. There will also be a new crop of quarterbacks in the draft. And even if the Lions can’t get a quarterback to win a playoff game, they haven’t had one since January 1992, when Stafford was three.
