No one can ever say that Philip Rivers isn’t a team player. With the start of the Chargers 2013 season set to kick off on Monday when they play the Texans, CBS Sports reports that the Chargers and Rivers has agreed to terms that will restructure how Rivers will earn his 2013 salary of $12 million.
Basically the Chargers appears to have needed cap space to sign LB Donald Butler to a long term deal, and they leaned on the veteran leadership of QB Rivers. Rivers won’t make less than he was supposed to this year, but he will make a base of $7 million and the other $5 million will be converted into a signing bonus. This was a crafty move by the Chargers, since Rivers remains happy and we will most likely see a contract extension coming soon for Butler.
In the NFL, bonus money can be spread over the life of a player’s contract, so that is how the Chargers are able to free up the room for Butler. The Chargers organization most likely watched the beating that their AFC West rivals, the Broncos, handed to the Ravens last night and decided they needed to secure a solid defense asap!