Bulaga becomes Packers' highest-paid lineman
Bryan Bulaga will make $10 million this year and $14 million in the first two seasons combined on his new contract that makes him the Packers' highest-paid offensive lineman.
Bulaga's five-year deal averages $6.75 million and is worth a total of $33.75 million, according to a source with access to NFL salary information.
The Packers' right tackle was paid an $8 million signing bonus and will make $2 million in base salary and other bonuses this season. He'll make $4 million in salary and bonuses in 2016. That means the first two years will average $7 million, or a little more than the overall average of $6.75 million.
One of the noteworthy provisions of his contract is acknowledgement of durability issues earlier in his career. Bulaga sustained season-ending injuries in 2012 (hip) and 2013 (knee), so his contract includes up to $3 million in game-day roster bonuses over the life of the deal, with the amounts each season ranging from up to $500,000 ($31,250 each game he's active) in 2015 to $700,000 ($43,750 per game) in '19, the final year of the deal.
Based on how the NFLPA calculates contracts, Bulaga's average of $6.75 million ties him with Josh Sitton as the team's highest-paid lineman. However, the NFLPA counts only new money when determining the value of contract extensions, so the averages of those deals, including Sitton's, are inflated.
Sitton, the Packers' left guard and best offensive lineman, signed a five-year extension just before the start of the 2011 season. The new money and five new years on his deal average $6.75 million, but the contract in reality is for six years (2011 through 2016) and averages $5.8 million.
Bulaga counts $3.6 million on the Packers' salary cap this year, so after signing Bulaga, Randall Cobb and Scott Tolzien, plus counting their tenders to restricted and exclusive rights free agents, the Packers are $21.8 million under the salary cap.
Here's a yearly breakdown of Bulaga's deal:
2015
- Cash value: $10 million
- Salary-cap charge: $3.6 million
- Signing bonus: $8 million
- Base salary: $1.25 million
- Roster bonus: Up to $500,000 ($31,250/game active)
- Workout bonus: $250,000
2016
- Cash value: $4 million
- Salary-cap charge: $5.6 million
- Base salary: $950,000
- Roster bonus: $2.25 million (on third day of league year)
- Roster bonus: Up to $550,000 ($35,735/game active)
- Workout bonus: $250,000
2017
- Cash value: $6.25 million
- Salary-cap charge: $7.91 million
- Base salary: $5.4 million
- Roster bonus: Up to $600,000 ($37,500/game active)
- Workout bonus: $250,000
2018
- Cash value: $6.75 million
- Salary-cap charge: $8.35 million
- Base salary: $5.85 million
- Roster bonus: Up to $650,000 ($40,625/game active)
- Workout bonus: $250,000
2019
- Cash value: $6.75 million
- Salary-cap charge: $8.35 million
- Base salary: $5.8 million
- Roster bonus: Up to $700,000 ($43,750/game active)
- Workout bonus: $250,000