Arizona Cardinals News: Larry Fitzgerald Restructures Contract

Larry Fitzgerald continues to prove he's a team player and that the future success of the Arizona Cardinals is his number one priority. He agreed, volunteered in fact, to restructure his contract if the team "needed it" and that he wouldn't hesitate if they asked. There is no word on how or when the new cap space will be used and he didn't put any stipulations on the team but he did mention Anquan Boldin:

"Guys that are elite players in the business, they have to sacrifice," Fitzgerald said. "I know my fellow guy Q, he is in a position he doesn't want to be in and I just want to see him happy. We talked about it when we moved into the new stadium, I remember in a preseason game talking with him about the Ring of Honor and how nice it wouldbe to both have our names up there one day."

The restructuring had to do with incentives that he might earn this season, which under the old contract would have immediately counted against the cap. Fitzgerald's original cap number was around $10.75 million and the restructure involved lowering his base salary this season (formerly at $4.6 million) to a more manageable figure of $1.6 million. The difference will be paid via a roster bonus.

It's worth mentioning that while this obviously shows that Fitzgerald is willing to work with the franchise, this move doesn't mean that he's taking a pay cut or giving any money back to the organization. Players normally recieve more money up front when they restructure and the team is able to do "funny" things with that money in an effort to circumvent the salary cap. Still though, it's encouraging to see that Fitz is willing restructure and this could point to a new deal for someone else in the near future.