The Detroit Lions dismissed cornerback Cameron Sutton from his contract on Thursday, citing substantial legal issues, including an arrest warrant. The move removes a starter from the roster, but it also leaves a tricky salary cap situation—one that will not be handled soon.
To truly grasp the financial consequences of the Lions’ decision to release Sutton, you must first comprehend the fundamentals of NFL contracts, after which we will go into the specifics of the Lions’ alternatives.
A player’s contract has a “base salary”, which has the potential to have guarantees built into it. Teams can reward players with additional contractual items, including a variety of bonuses. Some bonuses carry guarantees—the most common being a “signing bonus”—but most do not. Sometimes players have “voided” years added onto their deal (that extend beyond the length of the deal) which is used to spread out certain cap hits—like a signing bonus.
If we look at Sutton’s remaining contract (below), we can see several key parts of his deal were still guaranteed (Note: a number highlighted in green indicates it is guaranteed).
Sutton’s contract was for $29.75 million, with $19.22 million guaranteed.
Guarantees are necessary for teams to demonstrate trust in a player, but there is a disadvantage to over-guaranteeing. The most significant disadvantage of guarantees is that if a team wishes to release a player, they must pay a cap penalty equal to the total value of all existing guarantees.
As a result of Sutton’s release, the Lions are currently obligated to pay $19.22 million in cap penalties. And, because all cap penalties are due whenever a player is released, the Lions will assume responsibility for that amount immediately.
Fortunately for the Lions, the league has a regulation in place to help teams manage big cap fines known as the June 1st designation. This rule allows teams to spread out the cap penalty across two seasons, allowing for salary cap relief. Unfortunately, this law requires teams to carry their cap penalty until June 1st, limiting their ability to spend money during free agency.
The Lions took advantage of the June 1st designation by releasing Sutton and spreading his cap penalty across the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Here’s how cap penalties are distributed:
On the surface, the Lions appear to have been substantially penalized as a result of Sutton’s actions, but the NFL and NFLPA have personal conduct guidelines in place that can help the Lions seek compensation.
The Lions have petitioned the NFL to nullify Sutton’s base salary as a result of his actions. The NFL will now investigate the Lions’ allegation, and if they determine that Sutton violated the League’s code of conduct, the Lions will receive Sutton’s guaranteed basic salary.
As it appears Sutton is in violation, after the League rules on the subject, the results of Sutton’s contract will be as follows:
