Vita Vea Restructures Contract

It is absolutely no secret that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in salary cap hell right now, and the front office executives are having to make some very tough financial decisions that could impact the on-field product for the 2023-2024 season. We all knew a rebuild was on the horizon this year for the Bucs after Tom Brady retired.

The Bucs have already saved some money by releasing Donovan Smith. That was a great move that should have happened last off-season. Smith can be described as a turnstile, a holding machine, and a walking false start penalty waiting to happen that would kill a Bucs’ promising drive like no other. Leonard Fournette and Cameron Brate were also cap casualties this year as well.

Another big money move Tampa pulled off this year was Vita Vea being willing to restructure his contract. In an article titled “Buccaneers Restructure Vita Vea’s Contract” by Josh Alper on Yahoo Sports, Alper describes the details as “The Buccaneers are restructuring defensive tackle Vita Vea‘s contract for the second straight year.

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the team will convert the bulk of Vea’s $12.5 million salary into a signing bonus. The move will free up about $9 million in cap space for the Bucs.

Vea is signed through 2026 and had 31 tackles, 6.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in 14 games last season.