The little addition to Jared Goff's contract that changes everything for the Lions

The little addition to Jared Goff's contract that changes everything for the Lions originally appeared on A to Z Sports.

How a little addition in Jared Goff's contract helps the Lions sign Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, Brian Branch, Jack Campbell, and Sam LaPorta to big extensions

The Detroit Lions signed Jared Goff to a big four-year $212 million extension in May of 2024. That contract made Goff one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL.

In 2025, he goes into the first year of his extension, and the cap hit is a big one at $32.6 million. In 2026, that's when things get really big. He's slated to have a cap hit of $69.6 million next season.

After the 2025 season, the Lions have a big offseason that's expected to consist of extensions for Brian Branch, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jameson Williams, and Jack Campbell. These extensions are all expected to be near the top of their markets as well.

There's been a lot of talk about how the Lions are going to be able to do all of that. One gigantic thing that could help the Lions is the void year in Jared Goff's contract.

Void years are not a new thing for the Lions; they have many players on the roster who have them, but there's something special about Goff's. It has no money currently attached to it.

The reason it doesn't have any money on it right now is that it's likely to be used for a restructuring of Goff's contract. 2026 is the absolute best year to do that.

There are two different ways the Lions can go about this. They can either stick with the one void year they have now or opt to add additional void years and spread things out more. Here's what it would look like with both.

Without adding an extra void year

$55 million-$1.3 million (minimum base salary) = $53.7 million new signing bonus
$53.7 million/4 = $13.425 million per season
Base salary for 2026: 13.725 million
Cap savings for 2026: $40.275 million

With adding max void years

$55 million-$1.3 million (minimum base salary) = $53.7 million new signing bonus
$53.7 million/5 = $10.74 million per season
Base salary for 2026: $1.3 million
Cap savings for 2026: $42.96 million

The ability to open up $40 plus million in 2026 makes a lot of space for the Lions to get these extensions done. With the additions of void years for some of these players, it will allow the Lions to spread their money out as well. This is a game changer.