It’s been a life-changing 48 hours for Shaquil Barrett.
But he should be used to life changing quickly by now. A one-year tryout deal with the Buccaneers ended with Barrett leading the league in sacks. That led to a franchise tag worth nearly $16 million dollars. Next came the four-year, $72 million deal with $36 million guaranteed that he signed on Monday.
That’s a helluva snowball. But now, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Barrett will add a little more than $1.372 million to his 2021 earnings.
Rich get richer: Bucs are paying Shaq Barrett a settlement from last year's franchise-tag grievance in the amount of $1.372 million – in addition to his new contract this week, per source. Good week for Barrett and his bank account.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2021
The money stems from the above-mentioned franchise tag grievance Barrett filed against the Bucs last year. Barrett was tagged as a linebacker, but he instead wanted the defensive end designation. Such designation rendered a $2 million difference in pay.
It makes sense considering the fact that even though Barrett is listed as an OLB, he plays the majority of defensive snaps along the defensive line. He’s primary goal is also to get after the quarterback, while a linebacker used primarily to chase down the ball carrier and fill run gaps.
Over The Cap figured Barrett’s grievance into the equation weeks ago. They currently have the Bucs at $9.6 million in cap room, but that number doesn’t include Barrett’s $5.6 million cap hit and Rob Gronkowski’s $4.8 million cap hit. After figuring in the top-51 rule, it appears that Bucs have around $400k in cap room.
