Contract details for Mike Gesicki, Cody Ford reveal how much salary cap space the Bengals have entering free agency
Bringing back Mike Gesicki and Cody Ford were priorities for the Cincinnati Bengals leading up to free agency.Gesicki may be listed as a tight end, but he's essentially their third wide receiver and main option in the slot. Ford will have a chance to potentially start at one of the guard spots and is at […]
Bringing back Mike Gesicki and Cody Ford were priorities for the Cincinnati Bengals leading up to free agency.
Gesicki may be listed as a tight end, but he's essentially their third wide receiver and main option in the slot. Ford will have a chance to potentially start at one of the guard spots and is at the very least locked in for a key reserve role along the offensive line.
Their returns to the roster are important, and they came at a cost to the team's salary cap space with free agency mere hours away.
Mike Gesicki contract details
Gesicki agreed to a three-year, $25.5 million deal. His cap hit for the 2025 season will be $7,666,666, the sum of his $5,400,000 base salary, $100,000 workout bonus, and one-third of his $6,500,000 signing bonus that will be prorated throughout the life of the deal. He will earn $12 million in 2025 alone.
Gesicki's cap hit for 2026 will also be $7,666,666, featuring a base salary of $3,050,000, a roster bonus of $2,000,000, per game roster bonuses of $350,000, and another workout bonus of $100,000. His roster bonus will become guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year.
There is no guaranteed money in the third year of Gesicki's contract, so the Bengals can release him in 2027 and save $8,000,000 in cap space and cash while only realizing $2,166,668 in dead cap. Gesicki's deal can essentially be viewed as a two-year, $17.5 million deal with an $8 million team option in 2027.
Cody Ford contract details
Ford's deal comes out to be two years worth up $6 million. His cap hit for the 2025 season will be $2,570,588, the sum of his $1,500,000 base salary, $100,000 workout bonus, one-half of his $1,000,000 signing bonus that will be prorated throughout the life of the deal, and 94% of his $500,000 in per game roster bonuses. Because Ford played in 16 of 17 possible games in 2024, $29,411 that $500,000 is considered Not Likely To Be Earned and won't count against the cap this year. He can earn up to $3.1 million in 2025 alone.
Ford's cap hit for 2026 will rise to $3,400,000 due to his base salary increasing to $2,300,000 and his workout bonus, per game roster bonuses, and signing bonus proration staying the same as 2025. The Bengals could also release Ford in 2026 and save $2,900,000 in cap space while only eating $500,000.
This may be a two-year deal on paper, but just like Gesicki's contract, the last year can considered a team option. This is a one-year, $3.1 million deal at the end of the day.
Bengals' updated salary cap space entering free agency
The Bengals right now have $43,414,568 in cap space with 61 contracts accounted for. There is still Tanner Hudson's one-year deal that remains undisclosed, so that cap hit will likely drop the total down closer to or under the $43 million mark as part of the cap hit would be offset due to the top-51 rule. Hudson's cap hit in 2024 was $1,152,500, and there's little reason to suspect he received a substantial raise.
Unofficially, the Bengals have over $42 million in cap space as of Monday morning. That number is set to change before Tuesday arrives as the team expects to be active after the opening of legal tampering.