Both deals only feature guarantees in the form of signing bonuses

The Green Bay Packers made two splash signings on the first day of the legal tampering period, adding guard Aaron Banks and cornerback Nate Hobbs to four-year contracts. At the moment, reports claim that Banks will stay at left guard, where he played for the San Francisco 49ers for virtually all of his professional career, which will lead to Elgton Jenkins sliding inside as a center as Josh Myers’ replacement. Meanwhile, Hobbs will transition from the slot, where he played primarily for three of his four years with the Las Vegas Raiders, to outside cornerback where he should be paired with fellow starter Keisean Nixon.

Both contracts have now been filed with the league, as the contract tracking website Spotrac has updated with the terms of both deals. Here’s how they are written:

Aaron Banks Contract Details

Banks is set to make $77 million over four years, but his $27 million signing bonus is the only guarantee in his contract. With a cap hit north of his dead cap in 2026, the Packers can get out of the deal after just one season for cap relief. With that being said, it would need to happen before the third day of the new league year in 2026, as that’s when Banks is due a $9.5 million roster bonus.

In truth, like most deals, this should be looked at as a two-year contract with two team options. Banks will almost certainly earn that 2026 signing bonus, which will bring his cashflow over the first two seasons up to $47.5 million. After that, the Packers will have to decide to pick up what amount to $15.5 million and $14 million team options in 2027 and 2028, respectively.

Focus on the cash. Cap space can be manipulated, especially with the cap rising like it has over the past couple of seasons and is projected to rise moving forward.

Nate Hobbs Contract Details

Hobbs’ contract is relatively similar to Banks’ in terms of structure. Aside from Banks being paid more and having the second roster bonus in 2027, the layout is close to the same. Hobbs got a four-year deal with the only guaranteed money coming in the form of a signing bonus plus a near-minimum salary in 2026 that aligns with a 2026 roster bonus which will trigger on the third day of the new league year. All of those terms were in the Banks contract, too.

Just like the Banks deal, the Packers can technically clear cap space with a pre-roster bonus release in 2026, but it’s much more likely that Hobbs’ contract will function as a two-year contract with two team options, just like Banks’ situation.

Over the first two years of the deal, Hobbs will bring in $29.8 million in cash. After that, the deal will function like the Packers having $10.05 million and $10.7 million team options for the cornerback in 2027 and 2028, respectively.

Green Bay Packers 2025 Salary Cap Space

According to cap expert Ken Ingalls, the Packers have roughly $10.3 million left in effective salary cap space remaining for the 2025 offseason. Effective cap space includes the cost of expected draft picks, expected practice squad players and wiggle room for replacement signings if players land on the injured reserve. All of those numbers count against the salary cap for clubs during the regular season.

With that being said, there are salary conversions that Green Bay can do to create more short-term cap space, if they feel the need to do so. This also doesn’t include the upcoming release or trade of cornerback Jaire Alexander, which will save the Packers nearly $7 million in cap space in 2025 if it happens before June 1st and more if it’s after.