How much cap space do NY Jets save in Zach Wilson trade?

The NY Jets finally put an end to the Zach Wilson saga on Monday, sending the former No. 2 overall pick to the Denver Broncos in a trade that also included a swap of Day 3 picks.

The Jets were able to recoup a sixth-round pick in the trade, sending one of their two seventh-round picks to the Broncos. It's, to be honest, more than most expected the Jets to receive for the struggling quarterback.

There's a reason for that, however. The Jets also took on a portion of Wilson's remaining salary to help facilitate the trade. The good news is that the team wasn't forced to eat Wilson's entire remaining salary.

Unfortunately, the Jets will still take on a sizable cap hit as a result of the trade. How big is that dead cap hit, though? How much money do the Jets save in this trade? Let's take a closer look at the financial ramifications of the Zach Wilson trade.

How much money did the NY Jets save in the Zach Wilson trade?

Wilson was set to count $11.18 million against the cap in 2024. The Jets would have been forced to eat that entire salary if they outright released him at any point. Trading him does save them a little money.

The trade comes with an already required $5.73 million in dead cap. In theory, the acquiring team should be forced to take on the remaining $5.5 million, but the Jets and Broncos agreed to split that dollar figure.

The Broncos and Jets will each take on $2.75 million of Wilson's remaining guaranteed salary in 2024, bringing the Jets' total dead cap charge to around $8.5 million. In short, they save a little under $3 million.

That's not an insignificant sum of money. Those savings could be used to sign a player like Donovan Smith, Connor McGovern, or even David Bakhtiari. Another way to look at it is that this covers the cap hit of Tyrod Taylor is set to count $2.8 million against the cap in 2024 as the team's primary backup QB.

Considering the fact that many believed the Jets would be forced to eat Wilson's entire salary, either via a trade or an outright release, this has to be seen as a win for Gang Green.

The Jets now have roughly $3.7 million in cap space entering the 2024 NFL Draft when accounting for the money set aside to sign draft picks. That number could (and likely will) very well increase in the coming weeks/months as well.

The Jets offloaded a dead asset, acquired draft capital, and still saved money in the process. It's hard to be mad about that.