Denver Broncos: Financial impact of Ja’Wuan James opting out
The Denver Broncos are without Ja’Wuan James for 2020. What is the financial impact?
The Denver Broncos are going to be without right tackle Ja’Wuan James for the 2020 season. They were also without James for the majority of the 2019 season after he signed a four-year, $51 million contract in free agency, which made him the highest-paid right tackle in the NFL at the time.
When healthy and on the field, there’s no doubt that James is a good and effective player at his position. That’s why the Broncos paid him the way they did.
Unfortunately, James suffered a knee injury against the Raiders in 2019 when linebacker Vontaze Burfict came flying in on a play that buckled James’ knee and completely derailed his first year with Denver.
Although the Broncos cleared James physically at multiple points in the season, he struggled with confidence in the knee and has stated that he’s been painted in a false light with the information about the injury being reported.
So, with James missing almost all of the 2019 season with a knee injury and now missing the 2020 season as a voluntary opt-out due to COVID-19, what is the financial impact for the Broncos in these uncertain financial times?
This report from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network will help us understand more clearly.
For example: #Broncos tackle Ja’Wuan James opted out yesterday. Not only does his $10 million salary come off the books for 2020, so does the $3M prorated portion of his signing bonus for a total of $13M in cap relief. The entire contract tolls, not just the cash.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 4, 2020
Initially, it appeared as though only a player’s base salaries would toll to future years, but the Broncos and every other team are getting immediate relief from player contracts of the full amount, not just the base salaries.
So, as Pelissero reported, James’ contract will basically be put on pause for the 2020 season, saving the Broncos $13 million immediately in cap space as though his deal were completely cleared from the 2020 books.
James’ 2020 cap hit of $13 million moves onto the 2021 books, and his previous 2021 cap hit moves to 2022 and so forth.
Spotrac has already updated the Broncos’ cap space to reflect this, leaving Denver with just under $28.5 million in 2020 cap space. That cap space can roll over to 2021 and with the NFL’s salary cap projected to go down next year to $175 million potentially, the Broncos have to be wise in their spending.
Next. Options for the Broncos to replace Ja'Wuan James. dark
With that being said, the team is going to need to bring in reinforcements at the tackle position with James opting out, and that will cost them something. There are other free agents the Broncos could pursue to upgrade the roster as well, but for the time being, the focus will be on bringing in a tackle to either backup or compete with Elijah Wilkinson.