During the 2012 season, Jackson was scheduled to make a little over $8 million in base salary. After the restructuring, Jackson has reduced his 2012 base salary to $4.25 million, with $4 million guaranteed. This is nearly a 50% paycut for the former #3 overall pick in 2009, and just by looking at the money the Chiefs saved on Jackson's contract this season, one would believe that this was a great move by the Chiefs. However, it's not that simple.
The restructured deal also voided out the 2014 season on Jackson's contract in terms of the salary cap, and accelerated the $2.5 million in option bonus onto this year's cap. The acceleration of that money means that Jackson's 2012 cap number will be $9.5 million, only a $1.255 million savings from what Jackson was originally scheduled to count against the cap. That's not much of a discount.
Jason LaConfora of NFL.com did point out that "as a practical matter the 2014 seasons for Jackson ... were already set to void as per the language in the original contracts. So it was already going to happen, it is just now in the language of the new contracts." So, for all intents and purposes, it hasn't changed the 2014 part of the deal all that much. The most interesting part of the contract restructuring, however, is what it did, or didn't do, for the 2013 season.
The contract restructure still means Jackson is scheduled to make an albatross of a 2013 pay day, with $14.72 million in base salary and another $3.2 million in guaranteed money. I'm going to guess that if Jackson continues to improve this season, the Chiefs will try to sign him to a new deal after this season so they won't have to incur such an unreasonable price. Otherwise, why would Jackson restructure his contract when he didn't have to? The Chiefs had plenty of money left under the cap, so the restructuring almost seems like a ultimatum to Jackson, turning 2012 into a contract year. After all, if Jackson doesn't perform, a cut is very possible before next season.
The issues don't stop there, however, considering the position that Jackson plays. 2012 might essentially be a contract year for Jackson, but it IS a contract year for Glenn Dorsey, the other defensive end in the Chiefs 3-4 scheme. The Jackson-Dorsey duo finished first and second in the NFL for defensive end stops in 2011, and if both have good seasons in 2012, the Chiefs will have a tough decision ahead of them, perhaps similar to the one they just faced last season with the Brandon Flowers-Brandon Carr scenario.
Personally, I think Jackson might be a better investment long term than Dorsey. Jackson is the prototypical size for a 3-4 DE, while Dorsey was brought in to Kansas City when the Chiefs were still playing a 4-3. The result is that Dorsey is slightly undersized to play the position, but his performance has still been solid since he joined the Chiefs as the fifth overall pick in 2008.
While both Dorsey and Jackson are teammates, they will definitely both be competing for a new contract against each other; either for the Chiefs or in free agency.
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