When Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen first signed with the team, it was first reported as a one-year, $8.52 million contract. However, it seems that the actual value of the deal could be less than the initial reporting on the subject.
OverTheCap has now posted Allen's one year deal on their site. His actual 2025 cap hit will be $5.27 million. There is $2.255 million fully guaranteed on the veteran wide receiver's contract. Allen's total cash payout is just a tick over $3 million.
There are of course cap sheet ramifications from this. As a result of Allen's contract only accounting for about $5 million against the cap, the Chargers still maintain a decent amount of financial flexibility. Los Angeles ranks 12th in league cap space with $27.259 million.
It seems like Chargers GM Joe Hortiz got another contract for a bargain.
The technical cap space available figure will be a little lower when money saved for in-season transactions is baked into that. Still, the Chargers will have the ability to go out and make some signings and trades either before the season or during it. Of course, Los Angeles will still maintain the ability to roll over a portion of this cap space to next season's sheet.
The Chargers' wide receiver room as a whole remains one of their most cost-effective groups on the team. Ladd McConkey, Tre' Harris, and KeAndre Lambert-Smith still have several years of rookie contract cost-controlled WR play between the three of them.
Quentin Johnston still has two years left on his rookie deal. Allen is effectively the most expensive Chargers receiver on the roster with a $5.27M cap hit. While GM Joe Hortiz hasn't taken a big financial swing on a wideout yet, he's built a competitive room and maintained plenty of current and future flexibility.
The Chargers could look at adding to their offensive line room closer to cutdowns with the attrition they've gone through there. Outside of that, there are always some surprises before the season. Hortiz takes his roster building up until the last minute as demonstrated by the Elijah Molden trade last year.