CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NFL teams were forced to be creative in restructuring contracts and signing free agents due to the reduced salary cap in 2021, but few have been more creative than the Carolina Panthers.
Carolina backloaded the contracts of its top seven free-agent signings to count $13,890,500 against the 2021 cap and $35,345,500 against the 2022 cap. General manager Scott Fitterer also restructured the contracts of running back Christian McCaffrey, linebacker Shaq Thompson and center Matt Paradis to count $19,364,116 against the 2021 cap and $31,347,520 in 2022.
This leaves the Panthers with approximately $23.