Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
Last year, March 5 brought about the first New Orleans Saints’ contract restructure of the offseason. The Saints converted a large portion of center Erik McCoy’s base salary into a signing bonus that was prorated over several years in order to save money on the 2025 cap.
As the 2026 legal tampering period (March 9) draws closer, the Saints are back in the window in which these salary cap saving measures usually begin to be processed.
In the interest of exploring what might be on the way, here are the biggest money-saving, simple restructures the Saints could execute without having to add more void years.
Void years are “ghost years” used for salary cap accounting. The team can add these years to a deal in order to spread out signing bonuses. While bonuses can only be prorated for five seasons, adding additional years beyond that opens up future opportunities if the team plans to restructure multiple times. While these years allow the team to spread money out, the player is not actually under contract for those seasons. Most of the names below already have void years through 2029, others through 2030.
Simple Restructures with Largest Savings
Defensive end Chase Young: $10,892,000
Defensive end Carl Granderson: $8,651,250
Running back Alvin Kamara: $8,160,000
Center Erik McCoy: $6,900,000
Tight end Juwan Johnson: $6,892,000
Safety Justin Reid: $6,360,000
Guard Cesar Ruiz: $6,213,750
Linebacker Pete Werner: $4,028,000
Total Potential Savings: $58,097,000
The combined savings of these moves alone almost reaches $60 million. With New Orleans expected to be between $10 million and $15 million over the cap as the new league year nears, this would free up quite the sum for offseason spending.
However, the Saints could choose to be more strategic in their approach, opening money not all at once but as needed. They have a long list of levers they can pull.
Alvin Kamara’s Contract
Additionally, instead of restructuring Kamara’s contract, the team could take another approach.
The running back currently carries the league’s highest cap hit for the position in 2026 at $18.6 million. That total includes an $11.5 million base salary of which only $3 million is guaranteed.
New Orleans could approach Kamara with a similar strategy as defensive end Cameron Jordan and retired safety Tyrann Mathieu last year. Instead of converting the non-guaranteed amount into a signing bonus with a restructure, they could look to convert the amount, partially or in whole, into a list of achievable incentives based on playing time (like Mathieu) or production (like Jordan).
Kamara would, by no means, have to agree to this. But it’s a more sensible alternative to pursue than a pay cut.
Saints can Spend
The most important takeaway is that the Saints will be in position to make moves in free agency. They don’t need to reset markets or throw money to the wind. But the club should be well-positioned to address vital needs, like the offensive line, with high-profile signings rather than searching for remaining options in the third week.
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