Charles Godfrey had no leverage. The Panthers safety tore his Achilles in Week 2 last year, he was due a big base salary in 2014, and not many teams are in the market for a guy coming off a torn Achilles.Godfrey’s only real option was to hope to return to pre-injury form after taking a large pay cut. That expected move officially went through Tuesday.According to contract numbers on the NFLPA’s website, Godfrey’s 2014 base has been sliced from $5,000,000 to $750,000. And since nothing was added to the remaining two years of his deal, this appears to be a strict pay cut, not a kick-the-can-down-the-road restructure.[pricing_table columns=”2″] [pricing_table_column featured=”false” title=”Before Pay Cut”] [icon_list] [icon_list_item type=”ok”] 2014: $5 million [/icon_list_item] [icon_list_item type=”ok”] 2015: $5 million [/icon_list_item] [icon_list_item type=”ok”] 2016: $5.3 million [/icon_list_item] [/icon_list] [/pricing_table_column] [pricing_table_column featured=”false” title=”After Pay Cut”] [icon_list] [icon_list_item style=”color: red;” type=”remove”] 2014: $750,000 [/icon_list_item] [icon_list_item type=”ok”] 2015: $5 million [/icon_list_item] [icon_list_item type=”ok”] 2016: $5.3 million [/icon_list_item] [/icon_list] [/pricing_table_column] [/pricing_table]Monday night, the NFLPA’s salary cap report placed the Panthers at just $1,733,296 under the cap. After Godfrey’s pay cut, they’re now $5,770,796 under.The Panthers could have saved $5.1 million if they made him a June 1 cut, but they figure it’s worth around one million in cap space to give Godfrey a chance to contribute.As we reported last month, the 28-year-old has been on a good pace during his rehab, and with Captain Munnerlyn now in Minnesota, the teams needs a nickelback. Godfrey has played safety since Carolina drafted him in 2008, but 25 of the 28 starts he made at Iowa during his college days were at cornerback.
Even if the Panthers try Godfrey at corner, that doesn’t mean his safety days are done. He can play both strong and free, Thomas DeCoud and Roman Harper were free agents for a reason, and it’s tough to put too many eggs in the basket of 2013 undrafted rookie Robert Lester.For some reason, many fans have more bad memories of Godfrey than may actually be deserved. Before last year’s injury, he had started all but one of the Panthers’ 75 games since 2008 and he was never a true liability.Now Godfrey gets a chance to help Carolina at a much cheaper price. It’s not a great thing for his bank account, but it could be a good thing for the Panthers.[share title=”Share this Post” facebook=”true” twitter=”true” google_plus=”true” linkedin=”true” pinterest=”true” reddit=”true” email=”true”][author title=”About the Author”]
As Expected, Panthers Safety Charles Godfrey Takes Massive Pay Cut
Posted on Author Bill VothCategories NewsTags 2014, Captain Munnerlyn, Charles Godfrey, NFL, NFLPA, Panthers, Robert Lester, Roman Harper, Thomas DeCoud
This has really been a long time coming. The Godfrey contract was a fat one that truly represents the Marty Hurney era. This isn’t a referendum on Hurney’s GM performance, but he has been commonly described loose with the wallet for his favorite guys. I think this was a great move for Carolina. Really, you are on the hook for his guaranteed money, so the base salary is really the only thing that can be negotiated to save the organization money. It’s good for Godfrey as well. While he would have had a nice chunk of change if he was a cap casualty, he would have to go and try to prove himself with another organization, which would likely be a tougher road. This way he can get his shot on the field with a familiar system in an effort to reprove himself with the league, which he could then have a better run at free agency when he does get cut. Big win for the defense today. Now is the ultimate questions, what does this mean about the draft?
If you look at the remaining years still left on the deal, does this preclude a 1 year and done with Godfrey? I don’t see him getting that remaining 10.3 million.
Sam S since so little is guaranteed in the NFL, I wouldn’t look much at those other two years right now. they’re just a good gauge to show it wasn’t a restructure.
Cat_Chronicles FWIW, Godfrey was a relatively solid safety in a league where the position has gotten much more important. Marty knew that, which is one of the reasons they made him a safety immediately and then wanted to lock him down. This was something coming for a few weeks, so it’s not like it’ll change anything last minute for the draft. With or without him, they could REALLY use a young safety. In the meantime, IF healthy, Charles could very well be starting safety and then nickel on those downs.
billvoth Cat_Chronicles Not sure what FWIW means, but I don’t entirely agree that it won’t change anything for the draft. Sure it might be obvious or really that important in say rounds 1-4 round impact, but with Godfrey on the team he does add a lot to another piece-meal secondary. As you pointed out, he was a pretty good player prior to his injury. This won’t make it as imperative to grab a safety in the draft out of need in later rounds. I agree that they “REALLY” need a safety, but at least Godfrey gives them a little more operating room.
Loving BlackandBlueReview.com btw, #KeepPounding
Cat_Chronicles The Godfrey contract was just one of many moves encouraged–if not mandated–by a fellow above Hurney’s head: Richardson. Because he punted the 2010 season to make a labor point in advance of the lockout, he made Hurney prove to the fans that the team was indeed interested in winning by splurging on guys as much for the sake of it as anything else.