Lions likely won't be keeping Za'Darius Smith in 2025 with his contract as-is

Za'Darius Smith will very likely be a Detroit Lion in 2025, but his contract will need an adjustment.
ByBrad Berreman|
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After being acquired from the Cleveland Browns at the trade deadline, Za'Darius Smith was everything the Detroit Lions could've hoped he'd be. Over eight regular season games he had four sacks and 36 quarterback pressures to bolster a pass rush that needed some juice without Aidan Hutchinson.

Smith is under contract for 2025, so the end of his recent post on Instagram hit a little bit oddly.

"Motor City, 2024 didn’t go as planned at all; we fell short of the outcome we had planned for," Smith wrote. "2025 gives us another opportunity to adjust and go for that championship! I enjoyed every moment with my boys, and even though some faces have changed for the new season, I hope to be a part of this great organization for the future!"

Smith having whatever level of doubt he has about being a Lion comes from how his contract is structured. One thing that immediately stands out is the four void years (2026-2029, via Spotrac), which spread out the cap hit from a $6.99 million option bonus that he is due on the third day of the new league year.

Lions have to address Za'Darius Smith's contract structure before the new league year starts

Along with that $6.99 million option bonus, Smith also has a $2 million bonus due to him on the third day of the new league year in March. That $8.99 million tacked onto his $1.5 million base salary, suddenly make Smith look like a fairly expensive player for 2025, when he'll be 33 years old.

Smith also has a total $510,000 in per-game active bonuses ($30,000 per game) next season. All of the above full costs, with proration of the $6.99 million bonus, creates a cap hit of $5.7 million in 2025. That isn't unreasonably high, but the first void year in Smith current contract (2026) comes with a $5.24 million cap charge whether he's on the team or not.

The Lions can just cut Smith, and have no dead money in 2025 or 2026. But that feels unlikely, with how well he fit and how he produced after arriving.

The more likely scenario is a restructure to push some guaranteed money Smith's way sooner, while also lessening the multi-year cap hit for the Lions. Four void years on his contract as it is currently is patently ridiculous (#Browns), so something will surely be done there to more palatably keep Smith in a Lions' uniform next season.

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