Following the announcement that the Bucs would be signing future Hall of Fame wide receiver Julio Jones, many immediately began to speculate on how much the contract would be for. And now thanks to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport it appears we have that information.

The #Bucs have officially signed FA WR Julio Jones, giving him a 1-year deal worth $6M base salary with a max value of $8M, source says.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 27, 2022

The $6 million dollar base makes Jones the fourth-highest paid receiver on the roster. This may suggest the Bucs truly see Russell Gage as being ahead of Jones on the depth chart. The $2 million in incentives that could push the total contract value up to $8 million are most likely considered “not likely to be earned.”

This means they are performance milestones Jones did not hit last year. Because of this, if he does reach those milestones the $2 million charge would not hit this year’s salary cap. It would be charged to next year.

Bucs WR Julio Jones – Photo by: USA Today

Per OverTheCap.com the Bucs had just over $10.5 million in cap space before Jones’ signing. With him on board that available cap space will fall by $5,096,666, as he will replace Cam Gill’s salary on the “top 51” salaries that are charged to the cap during the offseason.

Jones’ deal comes in considerably higher than I thought it would. This suggests Jones had a decent market of suitors to choose from. However, as Jones noted during a media availability on Wednesday, the Bucs were high on his list from the moment he became a free agent. When asked when he started to consider the Bucs as a destination this is what he had to say.

“[Tampa Bay] all along. Once I got the call from Tennessee saying I could go out and explore I texted my agent and discussed some options,” Jones said. “And I already told them where I wanted to play. Began with a household name at quarterback, a great quarterback. The coaching staff here. It’s next door – I’m from Alabama, I played in Georgia [with the Falcons]. So, it’s right here. My family can come see me. I’m not going out of the way. Just having an ability to come out here and just work. Bring what I can to the team to help. Whether it’s mentor, play-style whatever the case may be. Just come out here everyday and try to get better.”

With Jones on board at $6 million, look for the team to potentially restructure some deals to create some additional cap room for in-season moves. This also could be an indicator that a Mike Evans extension may come sooner rather than later.