Following an incident over the weekend in which Spikes vehicle was found abandoned the Patriots quickly released the linebacker just a few weeks after signing him to a $1.1 million contract. The Patriots had some reservations about bringing Spikes back which was shown in their contract offer that contained just $25,000 in guaranteed money. Despite the size of the contract, which could have reached over $2 million, that minimal guarantee indicated that the team was no convinced that he would earn a roster spot in the summer.
The team will still owe Spikes the $25,000 but they will now remove his $800,000 salary and $225,000 roster bonus from the books. Spikes also had a $200,000 incentive that counted against the salary cap which will no longer count. Spikes had a $50,000 workout, but I would guess that he was not a member of the team long enough to earn that bonus. All told the team should create around $760,000 in cap space.