Houston Texans: 5 Ways to Rationalize Johnathan Joseph Extension

Nov 23, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph (24) returns an interception for a touchdown during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Final Year Doesn’t Count

Whenever a deal is announced, it’s always important to go past the overall totals, because all that matters is the specific breakdown of the deal. According to the information on Spotrac.com, all of Joseph’s $11.5 million in guaranteed money will be paid out in 2015 and 2016, so the fact that no guaranteed money is on the table in 2017 means that the final year of his new three-year deal doesn’t matter.

If the Texans don’t think Joseph is good enough to be worth the $7 million cap hit in the 2017 season (hint: he won’t be, because he’ll be 33 and might even be fully washed up by then), then they can cut him without having any dead cap on their hands. Now, the fact that he has $4.5 million in dead money in 2016 is a bit of a concern, but the Texans would still save $2.5 million against the cap by releasing him prior to the 2016 season (which would only happen if he completely implodes in 2015, which seems quite unlikely).

Basically, the 2017 season in his deal is a phantom year that is meant as a sweetening incentive, because this contract is all about the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Next: Saving cap this year