Nick Perry's big deal has low 2017 cap number

GREEN BAY – Nick Perry’s newly signed five-year contract will make him the Green Bay Packers’ highest-paid player in 2017 at $20.8 million but counts just under $6 million against next season’s salary cap, according to a source with access to the contract.

Based on salary information on the NFLPA website, that leaves the Packers about $32 million in cap room after signing what likely will be their most expensive player this offseason.

Perry, the Packers’ sacks leader last season, signed a five-year, $60 million contract Thursday that included an $18.5 million bonus. The deal made him the league’s seventh-highest-paid outside linebacker at an average of $12 million a year.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be the Packers’ second-highest paid player in 2017 at $13.6 million total cash, though his $20.3 million cap hit is highest. Clay Matthews is third at $10.975 million total cash with a $15.075 cap number.

Perry will receive $7.2 million total in salary and bonuses in 2018, meaning almost half the deal ($28 million) will be paid in the first two seasons.

The deal was structured so Perry’s salary-cap number stays low this season. The huge bulk of the cap money is absorbed by rising salary caps in the final four years: $10.9 million in 2018; $14.7 million in 2019; $14.3 million in 2020; and $14.1 million in 2021.

The contract’s structure in essence makes it a two-year deal worth $28 million with a team option the final three seasons if Perry is healthy and playing well. It includes roster bonuses due on the third day of the league year in 2018 ($4.3 million) and ’19 ($4.8 million).

After making the $28 million total cash in his first two years, Perry will receive $11 million in salary and bonuses in 2019; $10.6 million in 2020; and $10.4 million in 2021.

In the final four seasons of his contract, Perry has a $250,000 bonus for making the Pro Bowl. He does not have a Pro Bowl bonus in 2017.

rwood@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ByRyanWood