The New York Giants couldn’t officially lock in their most exciting rookie until one of their top veterans helped clear the path. First-round pick Abdul Carter finally signed his rookie deal on Thursday, but it took a well-timed move from fellow pass rusher Brian Burns to make it possible.
Burns, who signed a massive five-year extension with the G-Men in 2024, agreed to restructure his contract to help the front office get under the salary cap, as reported by Field Yates. By converting more than $10 million of his base salary into a signing bonus, the Giants freed up the space they needed to finalize Carter’s fully guaranteed four-year deal. With only a little over $1 million in cap room before the move, something had to give.
The numbers were tight, but the payoff is huge. Burns and Carter are expected to form one of the most dominant pass-rushing tandems in football. Now that Carter is officially under contract, the vision becomes reality.
Giants free up cap space by restructuring Brian Burns’ contract
Carter’s deal came in right where the slotting system predicted: four years, $45.255 million fully guaranteed. The signing bonus alone clocks in at just under $30 million. That kind of investment doesn’t happen without some serious cap gymnastics. And Burns, who already carries the weight of a $141 million contract, gave the team just enough flexibility to pull it off.
The move trimmed his 2025 cap hit down from nearly $30 million to somewhere in the $14 million range. It buys short-term breathing room at the expense of higher hits down the line, but it’s a trade-off the Giants were willing to make to get Carter signed before OTAs ramp up.
The payoff could be huge. Carter was one of the most dominant defensive players in the 2025 draft, and his fit in New York’s front seven is about as clean as it gets. Lining him up alongside Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Dexter Lawrence gives the Giants a group that can consistently disrupt any offense in the league.
There’s still work to do — Jaxson Dart, Darius Alexander, and Cam Skattebo remain unsigned — but this was a major piece of offseason business that finally fell into place. And it wouldn’t have happened without a little help from one of the highest-paid players on the roster.
Burns might be paid to bring down quarterbacks, but this time, he delivered the Giants a huge win before the season even started.