Numbers are starting to come out for some of the recent signings by the Detroit Lions. It’s always important to understand the true numbers within a contract and not just the base numbers that are initially reported/pushed by agents.

Here, we’ll take a look at some of the contract breakdowns for some of the recent players newly signed by the Lions this offseason. All numbers come from Over the Cap and Spotrac.

CB D.J REED
The Lions lost Carlton Davis to the New England Patriots but landed former Jets cornerback D.J. Reed on a cheaper deal than Davis signed with the Patriots. Reed signed a three-year, $48 million contract. The deal includes a signing bonus worth $15,235,000 and $30.98 million is guaranteed at signing. That’s his signing bonus, his 2025 base salary of $1.255 million and his 2026 base salary of $14.49 million.

Reed also has a pre-game roster bonus of $30,000 per game. For 2025, his cap hit is currently set at $420,000 as Reed played 14 games last season, so that money is considered “likely to be earned”. If Reed plays more than 14 games, the extra money will be charged towards the 2026 salary cap. If he plays less than 14 games, the Lions would get a credit towards the 2026 cap.

Reed has an option bonus in 2027 worth $13.645 million. There are four void years added to the contract to spread out the cap hits.

Reed’s cap hits are as follows:
2025 – $4.722 million
2026 – $18.047 million
2027 – $8.131 million

The Lions will have a dead money charge of $17.01 million if Reed plays out the contract. They can get out of the contract after the 2026 season and leave just $9.141 million in dead money — the Lions would avoid paying the 2027 option bonus, his $500,000 roster bonus, his potential $510,000 in per-game roster bonuses and his $1.345 million base salary.

DT ROY LOPEZ
Lopez comes over from the Arizona Cardinals. He signed a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. The deal includes a $2 million signing bonus and a base salary of $1.33 million. Lopez also has $170,000 in per-game roster bonuses ($10,000 per game, guaranteed for injury). Lopez can also make $1.15 million in incentives.

QB KYLE ALLEN
Allen’s contract to be a backup quarterback with the Lions is a very simple one. One year, $1.27 million. That breaks down as a $1.17 million base salary and a $100,000 signing bonus. Due to the NFL’s Veteran Salary Benefit, the Lions are able to sign Allen, with more than four accredited seasons, to a minimum contract but only have a salary-cap hit of a player with two accredit seasons. In this case, that’s $1.13 million, effectively saving the Lions $140,000 in cap space as result.

LB GRANT STUARD
The former Colts linebacker signed a one-year deal worth $1.7 million. The contract includes a $1.35 million base salary and a $350,000 signing bonus. The entire contract is fully guaranteed and he will count the full $1.7 million against the salary cap.