Arizona Cardinals: Justin Bethel’s Salary Cut and Contract Shortened

Arizona Cardinals cornerback Justin Bethel accepted a pay cut, in exchange for a shortened contract.

The Arizona Cardinals have experienced significant attrition in free agency, due to their limited space under the salary cap. Much of the Cardinals cap space is allocated to star players such as Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, Patrick Peterson, and Chandler Jones – the types of players that most teams would be happy to pay.

Moreover, a closer look at the Cardinals salaries suggests that Arizona Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim has generally done a good job of avoiding bad contracts. With this said, there are a few players who have not performed up to their level of compensation. Arizona Cardinals cornerback Justin Bethel stands out as one of these players.

In December of 2015, Bethel signed a three-year contract extension worth $15 million, with $9 million in guaranteed money. The terms of the contract seemed to indicate that the Cardinals viewed Bethel as more than a Pro Bowl special teams player – they expected him to develop into their starting cornerback across from Patrick Peterson.

More from Raising Zona

• Arizona Cardinals weren’t as high on in-house candidates for GM
• Major network ranks Arizona Cardinals head coach opening last
• Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray should take notes on Lawrence, Burrow
• 4 candidates stand out as Arizona Cardinals search for a head coach
• Arizona Cardinals hired a strong supplement to Monti Ossenfort

Thus far, Bethel has failed to solidify his hold on the starting cornerback job. In fact, Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Bruce Arians once went so far as to refer to Bethel’s efforts to earn the job as “A failure in progress.”

Bethel’s performance at cornerback over the past few seasons has, in all actuality, been more mediocre than outright poor. In 2015, Bethel earned a Pro Football Focus grade of 71.5, followed by a grade of 71.0 in 2016 – grades that are considered on the low-end of average.

Coach Arians’ statements were likely one part hyperbole, one part motivation, and one part nugget of truth. Nonetheless, the fact remained that $5 million per season is a lot to pay for barely-average cornerback play.

With this in mind, it comes as no surprise that the Cardinals would look to cut Bethel’s salary. As was confirmed by Cardinals beat writer Kent Somers, Bethel agreed to a $2.5 million pay cut for the upcoming 2017 season. In exchange for accepting a pay cut, the Cardinals have shortened the terms of Bethel’s contract, allowing him to be a free agent in 2018.

This move is likely in the best interest of both parties. For the Cardinals, it seems clear that they no longer view Bethel as a long-term starting cornerback, so cutting his salary allows them to justify keeping him on the roster in 2017 for his special teams contributions and spot duty at cornerback.

For Justin Bethel, the restructured contract allows him to enter free agency a year sooner than would be the case under his previous contract. Though he is not a top cornerback, it would not be surprising if another team is willing to sign him as a starter. Though he is losing money in the short-term, Bethel stands to earn more in the long-term if he can establish himself as a starter, sooner rather than later.