New York Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka’s career with the National Football League’s giant side looks in limbo as he has one year remaining on his contract.
The grandson of Uganda’s first Prime Minister Benedict Kiwanuka, who was born in Indiana will have his huge salary cut or will become a free agent if negiotations to readjust his deal with the two time Super Bowl champions.
According to NJ.com Kiwanuka has one year remaining on his contract, with a base salary of nearly $4.8 million. Kiwanuka’s cap hold however, is quite a bit higher at $7.45 million. Should the Giants decide to cut Kiwanuka before next season, he will only count $2.63 million against the cap, saving them approximately $4.83 million.
The Giants could, of course, ask Kiwanuka to restructure his contract again, but the veteran took a significant pay put last spring, one year after restructuring his deal to give the team more salary cap space. It would seem unlikely that Kiwanuka would be amenable to re-negotiating his contract for a third season in a row.
Kiwanuka will be 32 in March and is coming off his worst season in the National Football League(NFL) and has averaged 28 tackles and 2.5 sacks in a season that has seen him have his career blotted with injuries.
The Giants will most likely look for a much faster defensive end in the NFL players draft with Kiwanuka losing his speed due to injuries.