I very much get the impression that this was a 'cut the budget' move first and foremost, which is more worrying to me than the value given up to accomplish that goal. We owed Hayed $5.25M real dollars over the next 2 years, with $1.25M coming in the form of signing bonuses paid today and next July 1st. I would be very surprised if we wouldn't have been able to get a team to take him for nothing with 50% retention (which would have been eating $2.625M real dollars spread over 2 seasons). He's making less than his cap hit, so he is the kind of contract that is easier on the payroll than the cap calculation.
I get that the amounts we discuss as rounding errors are still 7 figure real-dollar amounts that even rich owners still notice. But if we're trying that hard to trade out those type of dollar amounts, I think it is unlikely that we will turn around and eat bad short term contracts in order to maximize returns elsewhere.
I don't like paying a 2nd to rectify/shed a lost gamble, but I'm more concerned about what this type of move means about our ownership group's willingness to pay cash for futures assets.