clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Nate Burleson agrees to restructure contract with Lions

Detroit Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson is going to restructure his contract to give the team additional cap space.

USA TODAY Sports

Detroit Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson has agreed to restructure his contract for 2013, according to Dave Birkett. The deal is apparently not official just yet, but the move will give the Lions additional cap space to work with when free agency opens in March.

Since Burleson is under contract through 2014, it's not clear if this restructure means taking a pay cut or moving money to next year. I'd have to imagine it's the former since Burleson was set to have a base salary of $4.5 million in 2013. Before restructuring his contract, his cap hit was around $6.5 million for this year partly because he has restructured his contract in the past by converting base salary money to a signing bonus.

The other thing that makes me think Burleson is taking a pay cut is that he essentially said after the season that he would be willing to take less money to stay in Detroit. Because of his contract, Burleson had been talked about as a potential cap casualty, although not so much lately because of the whole Titus Young fiasco and the Lions' lack of wide receiver depth.

Previously, center Dominic Raiola agreed to restructure his contract to create cap room. That was a pay cut, although it's not clear how much money the Lions saved just yet.

Reminder: You can follow Pride Of Detroit on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Pride of Detroit Direct

Sign up now for a 7-day free trial of Pride of Detroit Direct, with exclusive updates from Jeremy Reisman on the ground at Allen Park, instant reactions after each game, and in-depth Lions analysis from film expert Jon Ledyard.