Contract details emerge for Packers' newest free agent additions, revealing a different approach for each signing

As the Packers always do with non-quarterbacks, the signing bonus is all the fully guaranteed part of the deal, and that's $27 million for Banks.

In 2025, the cap hit is low, $9.032 million, because it's the signing bonus proration, a $1.5 million base salary, and $1 million available in per-game and workout bonuses ($900k count against the cap). In reality, Banks will make $29.4 million in Year 1.

In Year 2, it's still a big cash. Banks will make $18.1 million in 2026, with $7.7 million in base salary and a $9.5 million roster bonus. Technically the Packers could cut him before that, but there would be $20.25 million in dead money.

The deal drastically goes down in Years 3 and 4, with Banks making $15.5 million in 2027 and $14 million in 2028, and this is the part of the deal where the Packers can really get out of it. Releasing him after Year 2 would leave behind a $13.5 million dead money, and it would be $6.75 million after Year 3.

In terms of strategy, there are two scenarios of why the Packers structured this deal like they did. First, the competition for Banks was real in free agency, so Green Bay frontloaded his contract to make it more appealing against teams that are willing to guarantee parts of the contract beyond the first year.

The second scenario is that the Packers are taking advantage of a comfortable cap situation to frontload the deal and make it more flexible down the road, because the cap hit is bigger in Year 2 than it is in Years 3 and 4.

It's still a lot of money for a player who hasn't been consistent or played at an extremely high-level at any point in the NFL.

Hobbs brings more flexibility

The former Las Vegas Raiders cornerback signed a four-year, $48 million contract, with a $16 million signing bonus. This one is a classic Packers' structure all the way through.

In Year 1, its' a $5.988 million cap number—$1.2 million base salary, $4 million of the signing bonus proration, and $1 million in cash in per-game and workout bonuses (just a part of it hits the cap because Hobbs played only 11 games in 2024).

After making $18.2 million in 2025, his cash number goes down to $9.05 million in 2026, and then $10.05 million in 2027 and $10.7 million in 2027. It's more of a pay as you go deal than Banks'. The cap numbers will be progressively higher in this case, but it's a small difference — $13.05 million in 2026, $14.05 million in 2027, and $14.7 million in 2028.

The fully guaranteed part is only in Year 1, but Year 2 is a practical guarantee unless the situation goes dramatically bad from the get go. Over the last two years, the Packers will have more flexibility to make their decisions.

After these two signings, the Packers still have $29.68 million in projected cap space, and the effective cap space to spend in free agency is around $14 million of it. Maybe they will want more external additions, maybe they will keep it to extend players like Zach Tom. But the Packers can still make some big moves over the next few weeks.