REPORT: Saints Restructure Marshon Lattimore’s Salary, Free Up 2024 Cap Space.

An annual tradition unlike any other is already underway, adding to the holiday season celebrations.According to OverTheCap.com, the New Orleans Saints are projected to be $76 million over the 2024 salary cap.Given the team’s recent overages, this sum will seem insignificant to those in the know.

The Saints did not wait long to begin cutting the money in the 2024 books, even though the issue was now more controllable.Star cornerback Marshon Lattimore of New Orleans has had his base contract modified, according to Field Yates of ESPN.

The move chops his $15 million base to just over $1.2 million, the veteran minimum for his time in the league. This happens by converting. Large chunk ($13.79 million) into an option bonus, which spreads that amount in equal parts over the next five seasons.

An option bonus is much like a signing bonus but instead of it kicking in immediately, the money becomes guaranteed as a later date. Which may explain why this action was done so well ahead of the game by the Saints.

That means New Orleans will now save $11.032 million in 2024, starting to work their way toward cap compliance. Usually the organization wait until a little later in the off-season to begin this work, but getting a head start is not necessarily indicative of anything.

What it does do though is put to bed some of the specious musings around Lattimore’s future with the team. This restructure, being that it pushes money into future years, all but solidifies that Lattimore will not be traded this off-season.

The Saints will still have a lot to do when it comes to the cap. With the 2024 salary limits expected to be announced this month, it is unclear what their exact overage is at this time. But it should not be much of a challenge to get below the limit.

There is little rush to be cap compliant by the March deadline, but there is nothing wrong with starting a little early. Players like running back Alvin Kamara, linebacker Demario Davis, quarterbacks Derek Carr and Taylor Hill, offensive linemen Cesar Ruiz and Erik McCoy, and other players with large roster bonuses will all have base salaries of $10+ million.

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