KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Outside linebacker Tamba Hali was the first player to rework his contract Sunday.
Monday produced another veteran to do the same in a move that offered the Chiefs salary cap relief a day before the NFL’s calendar year begins Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
Defensive end Mike DeVito agreed to restructure his contract with the Chiefs, a source confirmed with ChiefsDigest.com.
ProFootballTalk.com was the first to report the news, while Terez Paylor of The Kansas City Star was the first to confirm it.
DeVito also took to Twitter to announce the deal:
Contract stuff is done! Thanks for another chance #chiefs #ChiefsNation! I won’t let you down!!! #trulyblessed
— Michael DeVito (@MikeDeVito70) March 9, 2015
DeVito was set to enter the 2015 season with a base salary of $3.75 million and count an estimated $5.4 million against the cap.
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Mike DeVito (70) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
While the Chiefs have not announced the transaction, ProFootballTalk.com reports DeVito’s new deal reduced his cap number to $2.9 million and cleared an estimated $2.5 million in cap space.
DeVito, who turns 31 in June, took a pay cut from his previous 2015 base salary of $3.75 million with the restructure.
He will now earn “$870k, converting $300,000 to a signing bonus, $30,000 to a workout bonus, and a $18,750 per game active bonus,” according to spotrac.com.
The Chiefs are now an estimated $8 million below the cap with DeVito’s and Hali’s new deals, according to spotrac.com.
The 6-3, 305 pound DeVito originally joined the Chiefs on March 13, 2013 from the New York Jets after signing a three-year, $12.6 million free-agent contract.
He appeared in 14 games with 13 starts in 2013, totaling 28 tackles (18 solo) and a pass defensed.
DeVito suffered a ruptured Achilles during the 2014 regular-season opener and spent the season on injured reserve.
His presence – along with inside linebacker Derrick Johnson, who also suffered a rupture Achilles in the season opener – was missed on defense, as the Chiefs defense suffered against the run, ranking 28th in the league (127.2 yards allowed per game).
Entering his ninth season (six with the Jets), DeVito has appeared in 97 games (52 starts) and totaled 231 tackles (144 solo), 2 ½ sacks, three passes defensed, six forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries on his career.
