Victor Cruz Signs Extension: PFT With Contract Details

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Victor Cruz and the New York Giants finally came to terms today on a 5 year contract extension worth about $43 million. The $8.6 million APY puts Cruz’ contract firmly in line with the slot receiver market something he had likely been hoping to break away from in light of the position busting contract paid to Percy Harvin in Seattle. Cruz may have been able to negotiate a better deal had he not made it so widely known that he had every intention of staying with the Giants throughout the RFA process.

Pro Football Talk had the particulars of the contract detailing the cash flows. Using PFTs numbers I was able to build a cap chart for Cruz. I also included $400,000 in workout bonuses to make the numbers match the various reports. We should have the accurate numbers on Tuesday or Wednesday but these should be pretty close.

It is a very solid deal for New York. Cruz’ cap number this year will actually fall by about $349,000 and only be $7.3 million in 2014.  While it is not known if 2015 contains rolling guarantees of some sort, as it stands now Cruz could be cut after only 2 years for a cost of just $5.7 million in cap. His cash earnings over the two year period are $15.53 million which would represent about a $2.3 million or so raise for Cruz compared to playing the RFA/Franchise player game that may have occurred over the 2013 and 2014 seasons.  In turn the Giants will create about an additional $3.5 million in cap room over the next two years by doing the extension.Cruz’ cap hits should not balloon until 2016 at which point he can be released for just $3.8 million in dead money, putting Cruz in a position where he has to maintain his performance level to earn the contract. 

View Victor Cruz’ Salary Cap Charges