Cornerback Brandon Boykin signed a one-year deal Monday with the Carolina Panthers and now we know the specifics related to the deal. And boy are they shocking.
According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today, Boykin’s deal includes a minimum base salary of $760,000 in addition to an $80,000 signing bonus.
This, as you can clearly see, is a Minimum Salary Benefit deal and as a result, Boykin will have a reduced salary cap charge in 2016 of $680,000.
It’s hard to imagine that the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t have the same deal on the table for Boykin. We’ll never know for sure, but he obviously chose minimum money to play for the Panthers.
Despite his lack of playing time last year in Pittsburgh after the Steelers traded for him, Boykin still played relatively well when finally given the opportunity. The fact that he remained unsigned as long as he did really remains a mystery and it’s even more shocking that he ultimately had to settle for the minimum.
Boykin will likely compete for the starting nickel job with the Panthers with an eye on testing free agency next offseason with a much higher market value.
