Entering the 2022 NFL season, Josh Jacobs is set to play on the final year of his rookie contract. With his future uncertain beyond this year, could Jacobs be a trade candidate this year? Let’s examine Jacobs’ current contract and his salary cap impact on the Las Vegas Raiders or any team that trades for him.
Josh Jacobs’ contract details and bonuses
After being selected 24th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, Josh Jacobs signed a four-year contract worth $11.933 million. The deal contained a $6.699 million signing bonus and a fully guaranteed $5.235 base salary split across the four years.
As part of the contract, the Raiders also had the opportunity to exercise a fifth-year option. Having made the Pro Bowl in 2020, Jacobs’ fifth-year option would have been worth a fully guaranteed $8.034 million. However, the Raiders declined the option, meaning Jacobs is set to become a free agent in 2023, following the 2022 NFL season.
What is Jacobs’ salary cap number in 2022?
Jacobs’ cap number in 2022 is $3.797 million. That number is made up of two elements — his prorated signing bonus and his 2022 base salary. The $6.699 million signing bonus is prorated across the four years of the deal at $1.675 million per year. Jacobs is then set to have a $2.122 million base salary this year.
His cap number in 2022 is the highest of the deal. In the previous three years, Jacobs’ cap numbers were $2.17 million, $2.712 million, and $3.255 million in 2019, 2020, and 2021 respectively.
What would a trade look like contractually for both sides?
If Jacobs is traded before the season, the split of his contract is reasonably simple. With all of his $3.797 million in salary cap number being contained in just prorated signing bonus and base salary, it should simply be split between the two teams. The Raiders would then retain the $1.675 million in prorated signing bonus as dead money.
Meanwhile, the team trading for Jacobs would be expected to take on his $2.122 million. That would be his cap number for the new team as well as the money owed to him. The only way that number may change is if the Raiders agreed to take on some of that salary. If so, they then could convert around $1 million in base salary to a signing bonus. That would then remain on the Raiders’ salary cap as dead money following the trade.