Two people familiar with the move say the New York Jets have restructured D'Brickashaw Ferguson's contract, converting $9 million of the Pro Bowl left tackle's 2012 base salary to a signing bonus and helping the team create salary cap space.
Ferguson, who signed a six-year, $60 million extension in July 2010, now has a base salary of $985,000 for the upcoming season with the possibility of other bonuses. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the team had not announced the restructured deal.
The New York Daily News first reported the story Thursday.
The restructured deal creates about $7.5 million of new salary cap space for the Jets, who were projected to be very close to the cap limit entering free agency next month.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
