Arizona Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald tweets that he signed a restructured contract
Feb 4, 2014, 10:11 PM | Updated: 11:36 pm
It looks like the Arizona Cardinals got some much-needed salary cap relief.
Faced with the fact that receiver Larry Fitzgerald was due to count $18 million against the team’s salary cap in 2014, the team had hoped to come to an agreement with the veteran that would satisfy both sides.
And it appears they have done just that.
Back in AZ from #SB48 & the 1st order of business this AM was signing a restructured contract to help the @AZCardinals get better for 2014!
— Larry Fitzgerald (@LarryFitzgerald) February 4, 2014
Fitzgerald was due to earn $12.75 million in base salary this season, with the rest of the cap hit being part of a prorated signing bonus.
Last week, before the Super Bowl, Fitzgerald told the Dan Bickley Show with Vince Marotta that when the discussions about a restructured contract came, he will “do what I need to do.”
What exactly that entailed we do not know, but reports are the move saved the Cardinals about $8 million.
My understanding of #Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald’s contract situation is that it was a simple restructure. Saves about $8M in cap space
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 4, 2014
“I understand that at 30 years old, there’s things that need to change,” Fitzgerald said at the time. “That’s part of football, that’s part of being an older veteran and part of this league.
“I want to see this team do well. I love the nucleus of guys. I know Patrick’s deal is coming up — he needs to be compensated as the best corner in the game, which I feel that he is. We’ve got to take care of Karlos Dansby, Frostee Rucker. There’s a lot of guys that deserve to be compensated for their play, and I understand that.”
Fitzgerald, who has played his entire career in Arizona with the Cardinals, is coming off a bounce-back season that saw him catch 82 passes for 954 yards and 10 touchdowns. He made his eighth Pro Bowl.
