The Los Angeles Rams tendered Michael Hoecht as a Restricted Free Agent in 2024, so he was bound to get a raise in 2025 after another solid season. The Buffalo Bills obliged, and we now have contract details via Aaron Wilson and Spotrac.
Hoecht signed a three-year, $21 million deal with Buffalo but the Bills can easily get out of it after two if things don’t work out. It’s a two-year, $13.43 million contract with incentives and a reasonable team option for Year 3.
It’s hard to put a finger on which position he’s going to play given that he spent time at defensive tackle, edge rusher, and linebacker with Los Angeles, so we won’t compare him to the other players at his position. Though I expect him to spend most of his time at edge rusher based on his incentives.
How much guaranteed money did Michael Hoecht receive from the Bills?
The guaranteed money starts with the $4.39 million signing bonus, then his $3 million base salary is fully guaranteed for 2025. His 2026 salary of $6.04 million is also fully guaranteed for a total $13.43 million. There are no injury guaranteed.
So it’s a two-year, $13.43 million guaranteed contract with a team option for $5.74 million in 2027.
How are the Bills managing the cap with the Michael Hoecht contract?
The Bills used two void years to turn the three-year deal into five for the signing bonus proration.
It should be noted that the Bills didn’t fully leverage Hoecht’s deal, keeping his base salary at $3 million in 2025. They could have brought that base salary down to $1.2 million and aded two void years to spread up to another $1.4 million into future years. It’s not a lot, but not pushing that hit into the future provides them with more opportunities to get out of the contract easier later.
What incentives are in Michael Hoecht’s contract with the Bills?
Like most Brandon Beane contract, there is a workout bonus in each season where he can earn $100,000 for participating in the offseason program.
There are also $30,000 per-game roster bonuses, which total $510,000 in each season if he plays 17 games. Because he played 17 in 2024, those are Likely To Be Earned in 2024 and they count against his cap number immediately.
The reason I think he’s going to play defensive end and rush the passer more than anything is that Buffalo built in $1 million annual incentives for sacks into the contract. We don’t know the threshold he needs to get the incentive, but it’s not on the cap so it’s Not Likely To Be Earned in 2025.
Full cap breakdown and contract numbers for the Michael Hoecht with the Buffalo Bills
Here are the full contract breakdowns by year for Michael Hoecht. None of the years include the $1 million sack incentive:
2025Signing bonus: $878,000Workout bonus: $100,000Per-game roster bonus: $510,000 LTBE ($30,000 per game)
Base salary: $3 million (fully guaranteed)
Cap hit: $4.488 million
Total cash: $8 million (including per-game bonuses)
2026Signing bonus: $878,000Workout bonus: $100,000Per-game roster bonus: $510,000 ($30,000 per game)
Base salary: $6.04 million (fully guaranteed)
Cap hit: $7.528 million
Total cash: $6.65 million (including per-game bonuses)
Cumulative cash: $14.65 million (including per-game bonuses)
2027Signing bonus: $878,000Workout bonus: $100,000Per-game roster bonus: $510,000 ($30,000 per game)
Base salary: $5.74 million
Cap hit: $7.228 millionDead cap if cut: $2.634 million
Cap saved if cut: $4.594 million
Total cash: $6.35 million (including per-game bonuses)
Cumulative cash: $21 million (including per-game bonuses)
2028 – VOID YEAR
Signing bonus: $878,000
Dead cap if not re-signed: $1.756 million
Includes dead cap from both 2028 and 2029
2029 – VOID YEAR
Signing bonus: $878,000
Dead cap if not re-signed: $878,000
This would accelerate to 2028 if he’s not re-signed then
