Titans 2021 Offseason Contract Tracker

I am going to be breaking down all of the Tennessee Titans contracts over the next few days. If you need any help with understanding some of the terms used below, check out Free Agency 101. This will include:

If you want to see all free agent action, you can click here for our Free Agent Tracker.

So… about that $28m

On the morning of Tuesday, March 23rd, it was brought to my attention by our own Justin Melo that, according to the official web site of the NFLPA, the Titans had just over $28m in available salary cap space. It was said in a group chat, and I quickly responded that there was a mistake with this math, so don’t even trust it. I moved on with my day never thinking of it again.

Then the following day, as I awaited the arrival of my cohosts to record our Broadway Sports Radio show over at Fox Sports Shoals, I started to get tweets asking about the supposed $28m in cap space. My mind didn’t automatically connect it to the NFLPA site, which was obviously wrong, and I figure I must’ve missed a restructure. I head over to both Spotrac and overthecap.com to investigate, check a few twitter accounts, nothing…

So I ask someone, and what do you know, they send me the article with the NFLPA’s salary cap numbers. Was there more to this than I thought? I had to take a break to record our show, during which I saw a few more tweets about it. Once I was free, I did some more research, and after five minutes I discovered I was right initially, there was no truth to this $28m number.

So why was it reported? Well, it turns out the NFLPA site hasn’t been updated with any official NFL Transactions for any team since the league officially announced the $182.5m salary cap on March 10th. So the cap space totals you see there are over two weeks old, and frankly, it’s ridiculous that the NFLPA has yet to update it. It’s also quite ridiculous that people (Titans fans and analysts alike) just accepted a $14m sudden jump in cap space for the Titans as a fact without doing any research.

The actual salary cap space as of this writing is:

Current top-51 salary cap: $9,363,660

Here is the current top-51 salary cap as of March 30th, 7:45a. This does not account for the Jackrabbit or Olasunkanmi Adeniyi contracts because those details have not hit. We will update the tracker when they do.

Cap/Cap hitsNotes
Top 51 room before cuts$12,749,660
Dennis Kelly cut+ $3,416,660salary cap savings
Adoree Jackson cut+ $10,244,000salary cap savings
Mason Kinsey cap hit($660,000)due to Top 51
Tucker McCann cap hit($660,000)due to Top 51
Top 51 cap$25,090,326After major cuts
Geoff Swaim cap hit($2,406,250)2021 contract
Jared Pinkey cap hit+ $660,000due to Top 51
Top 51 cap$23,344,076After Swaim
Morgan Cox cap hit($987,500)2021 contract
Mason Kinsey cap hit+ $660,000due to Top 51
Top 51 cap$23,016,576After Cox
Bud Dupree cap hit($5,121,875)2021 contract
Tucker McCann cap hit+ $660,000due to Top 51
Top 51 cap$18,554,701After Bud
Jayon Brown cap hit($3,497,916)2021 contract
Jan Johnson cap hit+ $660,000due to Top 51
Top 51 cap$15,716,785After Jayon
Ty Sambrailo cap hit($1,750,000)2021 contract
Tommy Hudson cap hit+ $660,000due to Top 51
Top 51 cap$14,626,785after Ty
Josh Reynolds cap hit($1,750,000)2021 contract
Kevin Johnson cap hit($2,203,125)2021 contract
Anthony Firkser cap hit($3,000,000)2021 contract
Matthias Farley cap hit($950,000)2021 contract
David Bellamy cap hit+ $660,000due to top 51
Parker Hesse cap hit+ $660,000due to Top 51
Rashard Davis cap hit+ $660,000due to Top 51
Paul Adams cap hit+ $660,000due to Top 51
Current Top 51 cap space$9,363,660

No matter what team pays them, Adoree Jackson and Dennis Kelly will not count towards any of the compensatory pick calculations for the Titans. When you cut a player, they do not count in the comp pick formula.

Titans free agent signings

Denico Autry

Denico Autry signed a three-year, $21,500,000 contract with the Titans, including a $6,000,000 signing bonus and $9,000,000 guaranteed.

His cap hit is already included in the previous section, but here is what his contract looks like:

YearBase SalarySigning BonusRoster BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$1,100,000$2,000,000$437,500$3,537,500$9,000,000
2022$6,150,000$2,000,000$500,000$8,650,000$5,900,000
POTENTIAL OUT:2023, $2M Dead Cap
2023$6,750,000$2,000,000$500,000$9,250,000$2,000,000

Important Notes:

  • Signing Bonus ($8m) + 2021 Salary ($1.1m) + Partial 2022 Salary ($1.9m) is the guaranteed money
  • If they were to cut him after the 2021 season: $2,750,000 cap savings, $5,900,000 dead money
  • $437,500 of the roster bonus is a LTBE Incentive that he must be active for 14 games to earn. Every game he is active after 14 earns him an additional $31,250, but it is not guaranteed.
  • If he fails to reach 14 active games, his 2022 roster bonus does not count against the cap.
Kendall Lamm

Kendall Lamm signed a two-year, $6,800,000 contract with the Titans, including a $1,700,000 signing bonus and $3,000,000 guaranteed.

His cap hit is already included in the previous section. Like I said on the latest “Football & Other F Words,” this signing to me screamed there was a good chance Dennis Kelly could be gone. Sure enough, one day later he has left the building. Here is what Kelly’s potential replacement is set to make:

YearBase SalarySigning BonusRoster BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$1,300,000$850,000$468,750$2,618,750$3,000,000
POTENTIAL OUT:2022, $850k Dead Cap
2022$6,750,000$850,000$1,000,000$4,150,000$850,000

Important Notes:

  • Signing Bonus ($1.7m) + 2021 Salary ($1.3m) is the guaranteed money
  • $468,750 of the roster bonus is a LTBE Incentive that he must be active for 15 games to earn. If active the 16th game he will get an additional $31,250, but it is not guaranteed.
  • If he fails to reach 15 active games, $500k of his 2022 roster bonus does not count against the cap.
Bud Dupree

Bud Dupree signed a 5 year, $82,500,000 contract with the Tennessee Titans, including a $16,000,000 signing bonus, $35,000,000 guaranteed.

YearBase SalarySigning BonusRoster BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$1,750,000$3,200,000$171,875$5,121,875$35,000,000
2022$16,000,000$3,200,000$19,200,000$30,500,000
POTENTIAL OUT:2023, $10.85M Dead Cap
2023$17,000,000$3,200,000$20,200,000$10,850,000
2024$16,000,000$3,200,000$19,200,000$6,400,000
2025$15,500,000$3,200,000$18,700,000$3,200,000
The Titans would save $9,350,000 against the cap if they cut Bud after 2022
  • Signing Bonus ($16m) + 2021 Salary ($1.75m) + 2022 Salary ($16m) + partial 2023 Salary ($1.25m) is the guaranteed money
  • $171,875 roster bonus is a LTBE Incentive that he must be active for 11 games to earn. If active for 12 games or more he will get an additional $15,625, but it is not guaranteed.
  • If he fails to reach 11 active games, none of his 2022 roster bonus does not count against the cap.
Geoff Swaim

According to Aaron Wilson for he Houston Chronicle, Geoff Swaim signed a 1 year, $2,500,000 contract with the Titans, including a $1,250,000 signing bonus and $2,250,000 guaranteed.

YearBase SalarySigning BonusRoster BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$1,000,000$1,250,000$156,250$2,406,250$2,250,000
  • Signing Bonus ($1.25m) + 2021 Salary ($1m) is the guaranteed money
  • $156,250 of the roster bonus is a LTBE Incentive that he must be active for 10 games to earn. If active after 10th game he will get an additional $15,625, but it is not guaranteed.
  • If he fails to reach 10 active games, his roster bonus will get credited back to the 2022 Titans salary cap.
Janoris Jenkins

We only know currently that Jackrabbit has signed back with the Titans.

Morgan Cox

Morgan Cox signed a 1 year, $1,212,500 contract with the Tennessee Titans, including a $137,500 signing bonus, $887,500 guaranteed.

YearBase SalarySigning BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$1,075,000$137,500$987,500$887,500
Jayon Brown

Jayon Brown signed a 1 year, $5,300,000 contract with the Tennessee Titans, including a $2,000,000 signing bonus, $3,250,000 guaranteed.

YearBase SalarySigning BonusRoster BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$2,050,000$666,667$781,250$3,497,916$9,000,000
2022VOIDED YEAR$666,667$1,333,334$1,333,334
2023VOIDED YEAR$666,667$666,666
2022-2023 automatically voids 5 days after the 2021 Super Bowl
  • Signing Bonus ($2.00m) + partial 2021 Salary ($1.25m) is the guaranteed money
  • $781,250 of the roster bonus is a LTBE Incentive that he must be active for 10 games to earn. If active after 10th game he will get an additional $78,125, but it is not guaranteed.
  • If he fails to reach 10 active games, his roster bonus will get credited back to the 2022 Titans salary cap.
Anthony Firkser

Thanks to Paul Kuharsky we now noticed that OverTheCap.com has casually put up Anthony Firkser’s contract numbers. Anthony Firkser signed a 1 year $3,000,000 contract with the Tennessee Titans, including a $1,250,000 signing bonus, $1,750,000 guaranteed.

YearBase SalarySigning BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$1,750,000$1,250,000$3,000,000$3,000,000
Kevin Johnson

Kevin Johnson signed a 1 year, $2,250,000 contract with the Tennessee Titans, including a $1,000,000 signing bonus, $2,000,000 guaranteed.

YearBase SalarySigning BonusRoster BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$1,000,000$1,000,000$203,125$2,203,125$2,000,000
  • The roster bonus is a LTBE Incentive that he must be active for 13 games to earn. If active after 13th game he will get an additional $15,625, but it is not guaranteed.
  • If he fails to reach 13 active games, his roster bonus will get credited back to the 2022 Titans salary cap.
Ty Sambrailo

Ty Sambrailo signed a 1 year, $1,900,000 contract with the Tennessee Titans, including a $500,000 signing bonus, $750,000 guaranteed.

YearBase SalarySigning BonusRoster BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$1,000,000$500,000$250,000$1,750,000$750,000
  • Signing Bonus ($500k) + Partial 2021 Salary ($250k) is the guaranteed money
  • $250k of the roster bonus is a LTBE Incentive that he must be active for 10 games to earn. If active after 10th game he will get an additional $40,000, but it is not guaranteed.
  • If he fails to reach 10 active games, his roster bonus will get credited back to the 2022 Titans salary cap.
Josh Reynolds

Josh Reynolds signed a 1 year, $1,750,000 contract with the Tennessee Titans, including a $750,000 signing bonus, $1,750,000 guaranteed.

YearBase SalarySigning BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$1,000,000$750,000$1,750,000$1,750,000
Olasunkanmi Adeniyi

Adeniyi has been inside the building and signed. But we know nothing beyond that.

Matthias Farley

Matthias Farley signed a 1 year, $1,090,000 contract with the Tennessee Titans, including a $100,000 signing bonus, $175,000 guaranteed.

YearBase SalarySigning BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$990,000$100,000$950,000$175,000

Former Titans contract details

Corey Davis

Corey Davis signed a three-year, $37,500,000 contract with the New York Jets, including a $7,000,000* total signing bonus and $27,000,000 guaranteed.

I think Davis, while not as affordable as Jonnu Smith (below), was a super easy deal the Titans could’ve pulled off in different ways. Here is what it looks like:

YearBase SalarySigning BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$7,000,000$2,333,333$9,333,333$27,000,000
2022$13,000,000$2,333,33315,333,333$17,666,667
POTENTIAL OUT:2023, $2.33m Dead Cap
2023$10,500,000$2,333,334$12,833,334$2,333,334
Cutting Davis after the 2022 season earns the Jets $10.5m in cap savings

Important Notes:

  • *Signing Bonus: $2m signing bonus + $5m roster bonus for 2021 treated as a signing bonus
  • Signing Bonus totals ($7m) + 2021 Salary ($7m) + 2022 Salary ($13m) is the guaranteed money
  • $9,333,333 (Davis) – $660,000 (DJ Montgomery falls out of Top 51) = $8,673,333 cap hit for the Jets in 2021
Jonnu Smith

Jonnu Smith signed a four-year, $50,000,000 contract with the New England Patriots, including a $15,000,000 signing bonus and $31,250,000 guaranteed.

Jonnu Smith was one the main reasons for the offensive identity of this Titans football team. He had built an amazing chemistry with Ryan Tannehill during the offseason last year and rewarding the Titans with nine total touchdowns. His “worth” has been a hot debate amongst the fan base, and of course everyone is freaking out over the $12.5m-per-year deal he signed.

However, Smith’s 2021 cap hit is only $5,687,500, and with the cap almost certainly set to increase tremendously next year, I feel the Titans and Jonnu could’ve found common ground. Jon Robinson may just be too rigid and uncreative to find it.

Here are the contract details:

YearBase SalarySigning BonusRoster BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$1,000,000$3,750,000$937,500$5,687,500$31,250,000
2022$9,000,000$3,750,000$1,000,000$13,750,000$26,500,000
2023$10,000,000$3,750,000$1,000,000$14,750,000$13,750,000
POTENTIAL OUT:2023, $3.75M Dead Cap
2024$11,000,000$3,750,000$1,000,000$15,750,000$3,750,000
Cutting Jonnu after the 2023 season earns the Patriots $12m in cap savings
  • Signing Bonus ($15m) + 2021 Salary ($1m) + 2022 Salary ($9m) + Partial 2023 Salary ($6.25m) is the guaranteed money
  • $937,500 of the roster bonus is a LTBE Incentive that he must be active for 15 games to earn. Every game he is active after 15 earns him an additional $62,500, but it is not guaranteed.
  • If he fails to reach 15 active games, his 2022 roster bonus does not count against the cap.
  • $5,687,500 (Smith) – $780,000 (Terez Hall falls out of Top 51) = $4,907,500 cap hit for the Patriots in 2021

More to come as the Titans sign more players and more former Titans find new teams… check back soon.

Desmond King

Former Titans slot corner, Desmond King signed a 1 year, $3,000,000 contract with the Houston Texans, including a $500,000 signing bonus, $500,000 guaranteed.

YearBase SalarySigning BonusRoster BonusCap HitDead Cap
2021$2,000,000$500,000$468,570$2,968,750$500,000
  • $468,570 of the roster bonus is a LTBE Incentive that he must be active for 15 games to earn. Every game he is active after 15 earns him an additional $31,250, but it is not guaranteed.
  • If he fails to reach 15 active games, his 2022 roster bonus is added back to the 2022 cap.
  • $2,968,750 (King) – $850,000 (Chad Hansen falls out of Top 51) = $2,118,750 cap hit for the Texans in 2021
Adoree Jackson

Adoree’ Jackson signed a 3 year, $39,000,000 contract with the New York Giants, including a $13,500,000 signing bonus, $26,500,000 guaranteed. While there are more details out, neither spotrac or overthgcap.com have his details broken down.

Current Compensatory Picks Status: 0, but getting close

The Tennessee Titans have not earned any compensatory picks as of this writing. They are however close. What you should be rooting for is DaQuan Jones, MyCole Pruitt, and Adam Humphries to sign expensive enough contracts to count towards the formula. You can click here for more information.

2021 Draft Class Cap Hit

This is a topic that involves the top-51 and how a draft class has an effect on the salary cap. You will often see people freak out about the projected cap hits for draft classes on the internet/social media. It can be jarring to see that currently in free agency your team has $XXm in cap space, and then goto Spotrac or Overthecap.com and see the draft class is going to take up $Xm in salary cap.

Well, there may be no need to freak out in most cases, because of how the salary cap, and salary cap space is based on the top-51 contracts. So, just a reminder: only 51 contracts with the highest cap hits count towards the salary cap, and for every player you sign more than likely a contract will fall off.

Being that this is a Titans centric web site, let’s break it down:

RookieProjected
Cap Hit**
Current PlayerCap Hit
Round 1$2,342,999Anthony McKinney$664,166
Round 2$1,120,072Logan Woodside$780,000
Round 3$876,637Teair Tart$780,000
Round 3$857,182Daylon Mack$780,000
Round 4$827,287Cody Hollister$780,000
Total Added:($6,024,177)Total Fallen Off: + $3,784,166
Actual Cap Hit:($2,240,011)*
The cap hits of our picks in Rounds 5, 6, 7, won’t be high enough to be in the top-51
*Actual Cap Hit = Total Added – Total Fallen Off
**Using spotrac.com

We see that while spotrac.com has our rookie class totaling a $8,837,702 cap hit, but that’s not the whole story. When some of the current contracts drop off, and you take the difference, only about $2.7m count towards the cap.

With the current Titans cap space at $9,363,660, you can expect after the rookie draft class signs their contracts that our cap space is $7,123,649. Now this of course doesn’t include: Jackrabbit, Olasunkanmi Adeniyi as their contract details are not yet revealed.

However, I will keep this updated as those happen.

Author: Zach LyonsWith over 17 years experience of losing Fantasy Football games, Zach has been a Titans fan since moving to Nashville in 2002. A die-hard Alabama fan, but he doesn't let that cloud his judgement of the Elite Players they have put in the NFL. Players like Derrick Henry, Julio Jones, and AJ McCarron. You've heard him on Football & Other F Words giving his Unfiltered Opinions as facts and that won't change. He's always 100% right even if he has to revise earlier statements. Lawyered.

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