Mecole Hardman's one-year deal with the Green Bay Packers includes only $150,000 guaranteed -- all in the form of a signing bonus -- and has a cap number just under $1,500,000 for the 2025 season, per Over the Cap. The deal suggests Hardman is no lock for the 53-man roster and takes nearly all the financial risk out of adding the veteran speedster to the roster's expected competitions at wide receiver and returner this summer.
Hardman will have a base salary of $1,170,000 -- the minimum for a veteran player with six accrued seasons -- and a $50,000 workout bonus, plus $130,000 total available in per-game roster bonuses. His cap number will be only $1,461,765.
Among the contracts signed by free agent receivers this offseason, only three have less guaranteed money than Hardman's $150,000. In terms of guarantees and total value, Hardman's deal with the Packers is comparable to Parris Campbell's deal with the Dallas Cowboys and Devin Duvernay's deal with the Chicago Bears -- both worth $1,337,000 total with $167,500 guaranteed.
In Green Bay, Hardman -- a three-time Super Bowl champ with the Kansas City Chiefs -- should get a chance to win a job as a gadget weapon on offense and kick and punt returner on special teams.
If Hardman doesn't make the 53-man roster, the Packers will carry only $150,000 in dead money on the 2025 cap.
Hardman may not move the needle significantly for the 2025 Packers, but he's a low cost, low risk investment at two need spots -- receiver and returner. And though Hardman will have to win a roster spot first, he'll have a legitimate opportunity to provide far more value in a gadget/special teams role than what the Packers are risking in terms of a one-year financial investment.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Mecole Hardman's one-year deal with Packers includes only $150K guaranteed
