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AlbaNY_Ram
Whitworth's salary next year is $10M, there's a roster bonus of $750k, and another bonus labeled 'other' that's also worth $750K. So if he comes back next season he stand to pocket $11.5M.
His cap hit would be $16,659,168, but $5,159,168 of that is the prorated signing bonus. He was paid that money already but it counts against the cap this year. (Details: he was paid a $5M signing bonus when he signed the original contract in 2017: that money is spread across all three years of the contract when calculating his cap hit - $1,666,666 a year. Then, prior to the 2018 season, $6.985M of his 2018 salary was converted to a signing bonus. He was paid that money in 2018, but half of it ($3.4925M) counted against the cap in 2018 and the rest counts against the cap in 2019).
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overthecap.com]
To recap, whether Whit plays or not in 2019 both prorated signing bonuses count against the cap: $1,666,668 + $3,492,500 = $5,159,168.
If he plays in 2019 he gets paid $11.5M, raising his cap hit to $16,659,168. This is the money Whit would walk away from if he retires.