Earlier this month, linebacker Jahlani Tavai became the latest member of the New England Patriots to sign a contract extension with the club. Tavai, whose original contract was set to expire in March, added three new years to his deal at a total value of $16 million.
Those numbers marked a clear increase compared to his previous extension, a two-year, $4.4 million pact signed during the 2022 season. Nonetheless, they can be classified as a sound investment for the team given a) Tavai’s projected role as a starting linebacker, and b) the details of the contract as shared by salary cap expert Miguel Benzan.
LB Jahlani Tavai: Contract details
2024:
Base salary: $1,125,000*
Signing bonus: $1,727,084*
Roster bonus: $500,000
Workout bonus: $100,000
Salary cap hit: $3,452,082
2025:
Base salary: $1,500,000*
Signing bonus: $1,443,750*
Roster bonus: $750,000
Workout bonus: $250,000
Salary cap hit: $3,943,750
2026:
Base salary: $3,000,000
Signing bonus: $1,443,750*
Roster bonus: $750,000
Workout bonus: $250,000
Salary cap hit: $5,443,750
2027:
Base salary: $2,875,000
Signing bonus: $1,443,750*
Roster bonus: $750,000
Workout bonus: $300,000
Salary cap hit: $5,368,750
*fully guaranteed
As part of adding three more years to his current deal, the Patriots also reworked the 2024 portion of it. Tavai’s salary and roster bonuses were lowered slightly, while a new signing bonus proration was introduced. As a result, his cap hit increased by $293,750 from previously $3.158 million to $3.452 million.
The rest of the deal itself is pretty straight forward with the exception of his $1.5 million salary in 2025 being fully guaranteed. Combined with that year’s signing bonus proration of $1.443 million this essentially means that Tavai is a lock to make the roster as well next offseason.
His outlook becomes less clear for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. Not only are there no additional guarantees left, his cap impact will also jump beyond the $5 million mark in each of those years. Then again, if Tavai continues playing on the level he showcased recently the team likely would still be happy with its return on investment.
That is especially true given that Tavai is still only the 30th-highest-paid linebacker in football at the moment from the perspective of his contract’s average annual value. Over the coming years, the deal might only start looking better.
