Normally the Packers contract structure goes like this

- Year 1: cap hit 50% AAV
- Year 2: cap hit 90% AAV
- Years 3 & 4: cap hits 120ish% AAV

This allows the team to keep a guy for two years and cut him if he's not living up to the contract.

That's not what they did with Banks.

He has a $9M his in 25, a WHOPPING $25M cap hit in 26, then it drops to $22M and $21M in his last two years. They can still cut him after year 2 and save money, but they loaded up that second year cap hit.

My guess is the Packers hope he plays well enough in 25 that they don't have to restructure his deal in 2026. If they can take that $25M cap hit in 2026, he'll actually get cheaper in his final two years. If he doesn't play well in year one, they may have to do a max restructure and add void years to spread out those cap hits.