The Green Bay Packers have officially acquired second-round draft pick Edgerrin Cooper. Above the Cap now has details on what Cooper’s rookie deal will look like.
Cooper earned a standard four-year rookie contract worth a total of $8.598 million with a signing bonus of $3.073 million.
Cooper will receive his full signing bonus upfront, but in terms of the salary cap, this amount may be prorated over the life of the contract. In brief, the maximum cap on this bonus in 2024 is just $768,440.
This prorated signing bonus amount plus a base salary of $795,000 will constitute Cooper’s cap hit this season, which is $1.563 million.
Going forward, after 2024, the $768,440 cap hit from the prorated signing bonus will be booked by the Packers for all four years of the contract, and Cooper’s base salary will also escalate each year.
In 2025, Cooper’s base salary will be $1.185 million. In 2026, it will escalate to USD 1.576 million, and in 2027 – USD 1.967 million.
Here’s a look at Cooper’s best results each season:
2024: $1.563 million
2025: $1.954 million
2026: $2.345 million
2027: $2.736 million
The Packers are looking to play a faster and more physical defense under Jeff Hafley, and Cooper certainly adds those elements. The Packers view him as someone who can play both the run and the pass, and he will ultimately be able to handle both Mike, Sam and Will’s linebacker duties in Hafley’s 4-3 system.
Cooper has excellent sideline-to-sideline speed, can operate in space and was a very effective rusher last season for Texas A&M while also making a huge number of tackles for loss.
