When the Green Bay Packers signed Mecole Hardman last week, the move made sense from the get go. It’s certainly not a big profile addition, but the three-time Super Bowl Champion for the Kansas City Chiefs brings value as both a kickoff and punt returner, in addition to his speed to have a role on offense.
Now, his contract details have come up, and it looks even smarter. As expected, it’s a really low-cost move, and there actually wouldn’t be a reason for the Packers not to pull the trigger.
On his one-year deal, Hardman will make $1.5 million—that’s slightly more than the veteran minimum, which would be $1.17 million for a player with six accrued seasons in the NFL.
Normal structure to incentivize participation
The only guaranteed part on Hardman’s contract is a $150k signing bonus. If the wide receiver doesn’t make the 53-man roster, for instance, that will be the dead money for Green Bay.
The veteran minimum salary of $1.17 million is his base. The Packers also added some incentives based on OTAs attendances ($50k) and $130k in per-game bonuses. This is $7,647 per game in which Hardman is active.
Because the receiver only played 12 games in 2024, something around $91k is likely to be earned and hit the cap this year, and the rest is unlikely to be earned. If Hardman gets it all, the cost on the cap will happen in 2026, but if he doesn’t get what was likely, the Packers get the amount credited back next year.
Because of that, Hardman’s cap hit in 2025 will be $1.461 million. There’s not void years to spread the cap hit—the Packers have avoided those over the past two years after being forced to use them at the end of Aaron Rodgers’ tenure.
Mecole Hardman is certainly not the player the Chiefs expected when they took him in the second round in 2019, and injuries have affected his play over the last few seasons. But based on cost and what he brings to the table, it’s hard to argue that it was a smart marginal move with almost no risk.