Brad Smith Takes Large Paycut with Bills

Posted on by Jason Fitzgerald

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We had mentioned the other day that WR/KR Brad Smith of the Buffalo Bills had restructured his contract to reduce his cash and cap charges to help keep a spot on the roster. Smith reduced his total contract by $3 million dollars, taking a $1.25 million dollar paycut in 2013 and a $1.75 million dollar paycut in 2014 in an attempt to keep his roster spot with the Bills.

Smith’s new base salary for the season is $1.5 million.  Smith had already received a $500,000 roster bonus in March and he will carry a $2.575 million dollar salary cap charge for the season. Smith’s 2014 salary will decline from $3 million to $1.4 million and his roster bonus was reduced from $500,000 to $250,000. Smith also has the potential to earn a $100,000 workout bonus in 2014 plus incentives. No upfront money was paid to Smith in the renegotiation.

Smith had signed a 4 year contract with Buffalo worth $14.75 million in 2011, based on his work as an all around threat for the New York Jets. The contract, which contained $3.25 million in guarantees, reflected the belief that Smith could be a “Wildcat” QB, Wide Receiver, and Kick Returner for the Bills. The Bills may have fallen into the trap of falling in love with a division rival’s player as Smith has failed to develop as a WR for the Jets and was one of just many return men to thrive under Mike Westhoff’s special teams units. With Smith’s dead money remaining at $500,000 in 2014 he will need to become a bigger contributor to the Bills offense in 2013 if he has any chance of playing out the 2014 season.

View Brad Smiths Salary Cap Page

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Questions about this article? Reach Jason Fitzgerald on Twitter at @Jason_OTC