Details Emerge On Malcolm Butler's Contract With Patriots
BOSTON (CBS) -- Malcolm Butler coming out of retirement was a bit surprising. Malcolm Butler re-signing with the Patriots was extremely surprising. Malcolm Butler coming out of retirement to sign with the Patriots for $9 million was -- yes -- even more surprising.
Now, though, the details of that two-year, $9 million contract are out, and they show that the Patriots don't owe much in the way of guaranteed money to the 32-year-old cornerback.
The Boston Globe's Ben Volin reported that only $750,000 is guaranteed to Butler, and that comes in the form of a $500,000 signing bonus, and $250,000 of guaranteed salary in 2022.
Butler will count for $2.22 million against the cap in 2022, and $2.75 million in 2023.
Malcolm Butler 2-year, max $9m deal with Patriots:
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) March 29, 2022
*$750k guaranteed -- $500k signing bonus, and $250k of his '22 salary.
*Will make between $2.5m-$4.5m each year.
Cap numbers: $2.22m and $2.75m.
Roster spot not guaranteed, but close to it. Good chance to last 2 years, too.
Butler retired last summer after spending training cap with the Arizona Cardinals. In 2020, he played in all 16 games for the Titans, tying a career high with four interceptions while defensing 14 passes and recording a career-high 100 tackles.
Butler, of course, entered the league as an undrafted free agent in New England, making the roster out of camp and playing sparingly throughout the 2014 season before making an NFL history-altering play to win the Super Bowl for the Patriots against the Seahawks. He won another Super Bowl in 2016 as the team's top cornerback, but his Patriots tenure ended in controversial fashion, as he was benched on defense for the entirety of the Patriots' Super Bowl LII loss to the Eagles.