Chiefs rework contract with star linebacker
The Kansas City Chiefs and outside linebacker Tamba Hali have agreed to restructure his deal, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan.
Kansas City Star reporter Terez A. Paylor confirmed on Twitter that Hali is taking a pay cut this season:
Hali, 31, has 79.5 career sacks in nine seasons, all with the Chiefs. The team got 28 sacks combined between Hali and Justin Houston, the NFL’s sack leader this past year. Now they will be able to keep the formidable duo together, terrifying opposing quarterbacks at a more reasonable pay scale.
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Last year Hali had six sacks, which is actually the second-lowest total of his career. He has hit the double-digit mark in sacks on three occasions, including in 2013, and has been the cornerstone of the Chiefs’ defense through multiple regimes, as well as multiple defensive formations.
The exact details of the restructured contract are unknown at the moment. Hali, a two-time AP All-Pro selection, was scheduled to have a $12 million hit against the cap this season, and now that number will be reduced.
Despite the lower number of sacks (Houston was hogging most of them himself), Pro Football Focus rated Hali 13th among 3-4 outside linebackers, including second among outside linebackers in pass coverage.
The Chiefs needed this restructure to get under the salary cap–Entering Sunday, they were approximately $1.1 million over the cap according to Paylor, and that’s before considering the signing of wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.
However, even with this restructuring, Andy Reid’s team will still need to do some salary cap maneuvering to get in a good situation for next season. Candidates for restructuring include quarterback Alex Smith, who signed a huge deal last offseason, while the team has been rumored to be releasing wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and his $14 million cap hit.
The team has to be happy to be able to keep Hali, who is one of the better defensive players in the league and part of the reason Houston was able to threaten the single-season sack record this year: a great pass rusher can only be that successful with another great player on the opposite side to keep the defense busy.
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