An Update On Justin Houston’s Contract Negotiations

Nov 16, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston (50) celebrates after the Chiefs stopped the Seattle Seahawks on fourth down in the second half at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City won the game 24-20. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

With Allen Bailey’s contract extension on Saturday, it is all but assured a Houston deal is probably not going to get done before the end of the season.

Joel Corry, a former NFL agent, argues that based on the amount of cap space the Chiefs have available for 2015 (as of now), the Chiefs probably cannot work out a deal over the next two months that would lock up Houston.

Let me emphasize that the $2.892 million figure should not freak you out.

Once the Super Bowl is completed, the Chiefs will be able to work out contract restructures and cut some players, which will lead to more open cap space. Also note that contract structure means significantly more than the actual figures of the contract. It is easy to manipulate the numbers within a contract in order to keep the Chiefs in a good cap space situation.

Further, the Chiefs have an estimated $80 million in cap space in 2016. This means the Chiefs could sign Houston to a deal that gives Houston a small cap number for 2015 and a significant increase in 2016 in order to keep the Chiefs in a good cap situation.

Cap space isn’t the issue here, it’s coming to fair terms with Houston.

The only reason why cap space means anything in the present moment is because whatever deal Houston signs, it is highly unlikely it will involve him having  a lower 2015 cap number than $2.8 million. As a result, the earliest a Houston deal gets done is probably March.

Next: A Hybrid Tag For Houston?