The Falcons have said time and time again that they are trying to focus on the future while remaining competitive now. With that in mind, it was an open question how they would react to Matt Ryan’s contract given that he had nearly $48.7 million in cap in 2022, which was expected to be significantly less in 2023. , or restructure it?
According to Pro Football Focus’s Brad Spielberger, the Falcons chose the latter option, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirmed tonight. The team is expected to free up $12 million, giving them some breathing room this year.
The Atlanta Falcons are restructuring QB Matt Ryan’s contract to free up a cap spot in 2022.
On March 19, Ryan is due a $7.5 million lineup bonus, with a 2022 salary of $16.25 million.
His $48.662 million cap for 2022 was the biggest in the NFL ahead of the season, Atlanta gets some space
— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@PFF_Brad) March 11, 2022
That #Falcons restructured QB Matt Ryan’s contract, the source said, created $12 million worth of ceiling space ahead of the league’s new year. Ryan, who is due $23.75 million in cash in 2022, previously had a cap of $48.66 million.
— Jan Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2022
The move comes as a surprise only because there were indications that Atlanta was unwilling to proceed with the restructuring of this deal. Posts by Jeff Schulz of The Athletic and others last year indicated that Terry Fonteno did not want to restructure Ryan’s deal in 2021, but felt he had to do so to give the team a breather under the salary cap, with NFL Network’s Steve Veach citing touching his deal in 2022 as a last resort for the Falcons. It’s worth noting that some analysts saw Ryan’s huge cap hit as untenable and a logical starting point for the team’s efforts to hit the cap, though it ended up being Calvin Ridley’s cap due to his disqualification.
Whych characterizes Matt Ryan’s 2022 cap hit as “code red” meaning it will be the last thing the team touches to make room for the cap, but I just don’t believe it. I still maintain that this will be one of, if not the first, they will touch before free agency on March 16th.
— Matt Karoly (@mattkaroly) February 28, 2022
This may be a misreading of front office priorities, but the space savings in 2022 and this team’s reduced flexibility in 2023 seem to be the exact opposite of what the team has indicated they want to do. However, here we are, confirming reports that the team fully intended to work with Ryan in 2022 as reported.
This could mean that in 2022 the team intends to put in more effort as free agents than we may have thought, perhaps in response to the absence of Calvin Ridley and the lack of draft compensation for his trade. It could also just mean that they didn’t think they had other quality opportunities to create space this year and didn’t feel his number was justified and felt it was worth making Ryan’s move a little harder in 2023 because they will still have the option to renew or trade it in 2023, even if they have to eat a little more money with this last option.
I strongly doubt #Falcons are going to just let Matt eat $48.6 million of their 2022 limit. If restructured, it will save the team around $11.3M in 2022 with a potential release in 2023 costing the team $20.5M in a dead rate with a savings of $26.9M ⬇️
— Nick (@therealpattman) February 28, 2022
Either way, they have cleared enough space to re-sign some of their own free agents, although they still don’t have enough room to pursue important outside free agents without additional moves. You have to understand that they are not close to completion yet, especially if reports of their interest in free agent pass rusher Chandler Jones are correct.
For the Falcons, this reinforces the notion that they see Ryan as someone they can win against, at least in the short term. Last year, Atlanta’s new brain trust kept a close eye on Ryan in difficult circumstances, as he played without Calvin Ridley for most of the season and was often hit by a shaky offensive line. Getting better from Ryan and achieving more than seven wins overall will depend heavily on how much the Falcons can improve the lineup around him, but there’s little doubt that Ryan can still get the job done if circumstances are more favorable.
Aside from getting more money in 2023, that doesn’t stop the Falcons from doing whatever they want with Ryan and his deal next year. They could very well choose a successor in 2022, take on Ryan and then renew him without thinking about the future beyond, and so on. The only concrete conclusion we can draw from this move is that the Falcons felt this was one of their best ways to secure a cap spot for 2022, and that Ryan is locked out as a starter this year, which again, not surprising.
As a reminder, Ryan signed a 5-year, $150 million contract on May 4, 2018. This contract had previously been restructured by both Thomas Dimitroff and Terry Fontenot, bringing it forward to future years. Ryan’s contract is coming to an end, and there are fewer and fewer years left to reschedule this hit. As a result, a massive cap of $48.6 has been reached for 2022, an unacceptable 23% of the team’s total cap, and the Falcons have decided to address the issue.
Everything else is in the future, and we’ll see what the Falcons do with their newfound cap space. Give Ryan a formal welcome into his 15th season with Atlanta and may he and his team win many games this year.