Salary Cap Estimate for 2013

[xwalker]

This spreadsheet shows the top 53 current contracts.

I'm using the top 53 contracts to approximate the salary cap. I'm not going to get into the actual rule of 51 and all of those details.

I have also estimated how some of the top cap hits could be reduced by simple restructures. The estimates also include a new contract for Romo, L.P. Ladouceur (FA) and Costa (RFA).

I have included 2M dead-money for Newman, the 5M penalty and an estimated 2M increase in cap space from a 2012 rollover.

I show them cutting Free(7M base), Spears(2M base), and Connor(3M base).

I have estimated the cost of draft picks based on cap hits of players selected in 2012 at the approximate positions where the Cowboys will be picking. The cost of the 6 draft picks is offset by removing the bottom 6 contracts.

I didn't show it, but the Cowboys could also add voidable years to Romo's contract to get the current cap hit very low. They have done this in the past. This could also be done with Ware's contract.

The estimate comes out to $14,764,419 available for Free Agents. Any of the Cowboys own Free Agents (Spencer) that are re-signed would come from this pool of money.

Keep in mind that the first year of Brandon Carr's contract had a cap hit of $3.2M. You could have 4 of those with 14M in cap space.

(click twice to enlarge)

[Hawk]

Originally Posted by xwalker

This spreadsheet shows the top 53 current contracts.

I'm using the top 53 contracts to approximate the salary cap. I'm not going to get into the actual rule of 51 and all of those details.

I have also estimated how some of the top cap hits could be reduced by simple restructures. The estimates also include a new contract for Romo, L.P. Ladouceur (FA) and Costa (RFA).

I have included 2M dead-money for Newman, the 5M penalty and an estimated 2M increase in cap space from a 2012 rollover.

I show them cutting Free(7M base), Spears(2M base), and Connor(3M base).

I have estimated the cost of draft picks based on cap hits of players selected in 2012 at the approximate positions where the Cowboys will be picking. The cost of the 6 draft picks is offset by removing the bottom 6 contracts.

[View Full Quote]I didn't show it, but the Cowboys could also add voidable years to Romo's contract to get the current cap hit very low. They have done this in the past. This could also be done with Ware's contract.

The estimate comes out to $14,764,419 available for Free Agents. Any of the Cowboys own Free Agents (Spencer) that are re-signed would come from this pool of money.

Keep in mind that the first year of Brandon Carr's contract had a cap hit of $3.2M. You could have 4 of those with 14M in cap space.

(click twice to enlarge)


<a href=" target="_blank">

I like mine better
: Salary Cap Keep in mind that only the top 51 salaries count against the salary cap.
I checked my post, again I think 51 is the right number!
2013 Salary Cap Breakdown By Player

1. Tony Romo- 11.5 + $5.728 SB- $17.228M cap hit
2. Brandon Carr- 14.3M + 2M SB- 16.3M cap hit
3. DeMarcus Ware- 5.5M + 5.3M SB + 1.418,750 other bonus- $12,221,750 cap hit
4. Doug Free- 7M + 4.175 SB- 11.175 cap hit
5. Miles Austin- 6.732M + 1.57 SB- 8.302 cap hit
6. Jason Witten- $5.5M + 2.5M SB- 8M cap hit
7. Jay Ratliff- 5M + 2M SB- 7M cap hit (It would cost cowboys $1m to cut Rat)
8. Dan Connor- 3M + 1.350M= 4.350M cap hit
9. Orlando Scandrick- 3.8M cap hit
10. Gerald Sensabaugh- 3M + 750K- 3.750M cap hit
11. Morris Claiborne- 1,129,296 + 2,567,182= 3,696,478 cap hit
12. Dez Bryant- 1,557,500 + 390K SB + 1,935,000 other bonus= 3.66M cap hit
13. Tyron Smith- 1,511,009 + 1,897,018= 3,408,027 cap hit
14. Kyle Orton- 1.35M + 1,666,667= 3,016,667 cap hit
15. Jason Hatcher- 2M + 833,333= 2,833,333 cap hit
16. Marcus Spears- 2M + 700K= 2.7M cap hit
17. Mackenzy Bernadeau- 1.75M + $812,500= 2,562,500 cap hit
18. Nate Livings- 1.7M + 700K= 2.4M cap hit
19. Barry Church*** (estimate) 1.4M + 625K= 2.025M cap hit
***I’m assuming 3.8M in guarantees includes 1.4M base for 2013 + 2.5M SB
20. Jeremy Parnell- 1,023,088 + 333,333= 1,356,421 cap hit
21. Lawrence Vickers- 1.2M + 100K= 1.3M
22. Ryan Cook- 1,100,000 + 150K= 1,250M
_______________________________________________

With the top 22 players accounted for, the Cowboys are already over the projected salary cap at $122,335,176

23. Bruce Carter- 766,327 + 507,500 SB= 1,273,827 cap hit
24. Sean Lissemore- 630K + 412,150= 1,042,150 cap hit
25. Sean Lee- 575,000 + 300K= 875K cap hit
26. Eric Frampton- 950K= 950K cap hit
27. DeMarco Murray- $620,313 + 165,500 + 25,000= 810,813 cap hit
28. David Arkin- 555K + 125K= 680K cap hit
29. Tyrone Crawford- 480K + 143,813= 623,813 cap hit
30. Kyle Wilber- 480K + 109,800= 589,800 cap hit
31. Dan Bailey- 555,833= 555,833 cap hit
32. Matt Johnson- 480K + 75,146= 555,146 cap hit
33. Dwayne Harris- 555,000= 555K cap hit
34. Kevin Kowalski- 555K= 555K cap hit
35. Phillip Tanner- 550K= 550K cap hit
36. Alex Albright- 555K= 555K cap hit
37. James Hanna- 480K + 26,213= 506,213 cap hit
38. Caleb McSurdy- 480K + 14,850 SB= 494,850 cap hit
39. Donovan Kemp- 480K= 480K cap hit
40. Cole Beasley- 480K= 480K cap hit
41. Lance Dunbar- 480K= 480K cap hit
42. Darrian Weems- 480K= 480K cap hit
43. Sterling Moore- Amount unknown (vet minimum would be 480K)

EDIT

44. Danny McCray- is a RFA. The vet minimum would be $685K)
__________________________________________________ _

Total for 43 players is estimated to be $136,457,621 and with Danny McCray receiving a minimum RFA tender would be $137,142,621


With McCray, Dallas needs to add 9 players (6 players will be added in the draft and I'm projecting the same rookie pool as last year), account for $5M cap penalty, and remaining dead money (such as TNew). The Cowboys rookie pool for 2012 was $5.71M.

Assuming the rookie pool for 2013 will be substantially the same as 2012, this is what the Cowboys 2013 cap situation looks like right now…

$137,142,621 (43 players currently under contract + 1 RFA w/ minimum tender [McCray])
+
$5.71M rookie pool (this brings us up to 50 players with 6 draft picks [at least])
+
$5M cap penalty
+
$2M dead money of TNew
+
$390K for the 51st player who I'm projecting to be an UDFA (Cowboys still need 2 other players to fill roster but they do NOT count against salary cap)
=
$150,242,621

Additional Considerations

Dallas can barrow $3M from a future cap and I believe they can roll over current money under the cap to next year which is between $3-4M. At a minimum, approximately $23,000,000 needs to be shaved from the above salaries or $33,000,000 if we want to franchise tag Anthony Spencer again. But, I don't think we should be too quick to assume Dallas would want to borrow $3M from the future for THIS YEAR. Why? Next year's cap also looks really bad. And, we have some huge signings around the corner... Sean Lee next year and Dez Bryant and Demarco Murray the following year.

[Romo 2 Austin]

What did Dan Bailey do to get $833

[Risen Star]

The savings on Free wouldn't come until June.

[Boys122]

Oh well, it's worth the wait.

[theogt]

Originally Posted by Hawk

I like mine better
: Salary Cap Keep in mind that only the top 51 salaries count against the salary cap.
I checked my post, again I think 51 is the right number!
2013 Salary Cap Breakdown By Player

1. Tony Romo- 11.5 + $5.728 SB- $17.228M cap hit
2. Brandon Carr- 14.3M + 2M SB- 16.3M cap hit
3. DeMarcus Ware- 5.5M + 5.3M SB + 1.418,750 other bonus- $12,221,750 cap hit
4. Doug Free- 7M + 4.175 SB- 11.175 cap hit
5. Miles Austin- 6.732M + 1.57 SB- 8.302 cap hit
6. Jason Witten- $5.5M + 2.5M SB- 8M cap hit
7. Jay Ratliff- 5M + 2M SB- 7M cap hit (It would cost cowboys $1m to cut Rat)
8. Dan Connor- 3M + 1.350M= 4.350M cap hit
9. Orlando Scandrick- 3.8M cap hit
10. Gerald Sensabaugh- 3M + 750K- 3.750M cap hit
11. Morris Claiborne- 1,129,296 + 2,567,182= 3,696,478 cap hit
12. Dez Bryant- 1,557,500 + 390K SB + 1,935,000 other bonus= 3.66M cap hit
[View Full Quote]13. Tyron Smith- 1,511,009 + 1,897,018= 3,408,027 cap hit
14. Kyle Orton- 1.35M + 1,666,667= 3,016,667 cap hit
15. Jason Hatcher- 2M + 833,333= 2,833,333 cap hit
16. Marcus Spears- 2M + 700K= 2.7M cap hit
17. Mackenzy Bernadeau- 1.75M + $812,500= 2,562,500 cap hit
18. Nate Livings- 1.7M + 700K= 2.4M cap hit
19. Barry Church*** (estimate) 1.4M + 625K= 2.025M cap hit
***I’m assuming 3.8M in guarantees includes 1.4M base for 2013 + 2.5M SB
20. Jeremy Parnell- 1,023,088 + 333,333= 1,356,421 cap hit
21. Lawrence Vickers- 1.2M + 100K= 1.3M
22. Ryan Cook- 1,100,000 + 150K= 1,250M
_______________________________________________

With the top 22 players accounted for, the Cowboys are already over the projected salary cap at $122,335,176

23. Bruce Carter- 766,327 + 507,500 SB= 1,273,827 cap hit
24. Sean Lissemore- 630K + 412,150= 1,042,150 cap hit
25. Sean Lee- 575,000 + 300K= 875K cap hit
26. Eric Frampton- 950K= 950K cap hit
27. DeMarco Murray- $620,313 + 165,500 + 25,000= 810,813 cap hit
28. David Arkin- 555K + 125K= 680K cap hit
29. Tyrone Crawford- 480K + 143,813= 623,813 cap hit
30. Kyle Wilber- 480K + 109,800= 589,800 cap hit
31. Dan Bailey- 555,833= 555,833 cap hit
32. Matt Johnson- 480K + 75,146= 555,146 cap hit
33. Dwayne Harris- 555,000= 555K cap hit
34. Kevin Kowalski- 555K= 555K cap hit
35. Phillip Tanner- 550K= 550K cap hit
36. Alex Albright- 555K= 555K cap hit
37. James Hanna- 480K + 26,213= 506,213 cap hit
38. Caleb McSurdy- 480K + 14,850 SB= 494,850 cap hit
39. Donovan Kemp- 480K= 480K cap hit
40. Cole Beasley- 480K= 480K cap hit
41. Lance Dunbar- 480K= 480K cap hit
42. Darrian Weems- 480K= 480K cap hit
43. Sterling Moore- Amount unknown (vet minimum would be 480K)

EDIT

44. Danny McCray- is a RFA. The vet minimum would be $685K)
__________________________________________________ _

Total for 43 players is estimated to be $136,457,621 and with Danny McCray receiving a minimum RFA tender would be $137,142,621


With McCray, Dallas needs to add 9 players (6 players will be added in the draft and I'm projecting the same rookie pool as last year), account for $5M cap penalty, and remaining dead money (such as TNew). The Cowboys rookie pool for 2012 was $5.71M.

Assuming the rookie pool for 2013 will be substantially the same as 2012, this is what the Cowboys 2013 cap situation looks like right now…

$137,142,621 (43 players currently under contract + 1 RFA w/ minimum tender [McCray])
+
$5.71M rookie pool (this brings us up to 50 players with 6 draft picks [at least])
+
$5M cap penalty
+
$2M dead money of TNew
+
$390K for the 51st player who I'm projecting to be an UDFA (Cowboys still need 2 other players to fill roster but they do NOT count against salary cap)
=
$150,242,621

Additional Considerations

Dallas can barrow $3M from a future cap and I believe they can roll over current money under the cap to next year which is between $3-4M. At a minimum, approximately $23,000,000 needs to be shaved from the above salaries or $33,000,000 if we want to franchise tag Anthony Spencer again. But, I don't think we should be too quick to assume Dallas would want to borrow $3M from the future for THIS YEAR. Why? Next year's cap also looks really bad. And, we have some huge signings around the corner... Sean Lee next year and Dez Bryant and Demarco Murray the following year.

I just read your first two numbers and can tell you this is wrong.

[LatinMind]

Originally Posted by Risen Star

The savings on Free wouldn't come until June.

IM pretty sure if u designate for june 1 cut it counts immediately but is like a june 1 cut. Otherwise what would be the point of having that option?

[Bluestang]

Originally Posted by LatinMind

IM pretty sure if u designate for june 1 cut it counts immediately but is like a june 1 cut. Otherwise what would be the point of having that option?

June 1 cuts are designated so that a team can take half the cap hit one year and the rest the following year. Cutting Free results in a little over $8M cap hit, so designating him a June 1st cut you only take about $4M hit this year and carry the other $4M in 2014.

You don't get the savings until June 1st.

[Nation]

Originally Posted by Romo 2 Austin

What did Dan Bailey do to get $833

He signed a 3 year contract with a $2,500 signing bonus

[bkight13]

Originally Posted by xwalker

The estimate comes out to $14,764,419 available for Free Agents. Any of the Cowboys own Free Agents (Spencer) that are re-signed would come from this pool of money.

It looks like you added the $2M carryover from 2012 instead of subtracting it. That should add another $4M to make it $18+M available.

[newnationcb]

Why does anyone even engage in this exercise. If they're not Adamjjts numbers then they're only remarkable in the attempt.

[hmcorp]

Originally Posted by newnationcb

Why does anyone even engage in this exercise. If they're not Adamjjts numbers then they're only remarkable in the attempt.

Where are Adams #s???

[junk]

Originally Posted by newnationcb

Why does anyone even engage in this exercise. If they're not Adamjjts numbers then they're only remarkable in the attempt.

It is an approximation. Should be good enough for a ball park idea of where the team will be at. I appreciate the effort.

[burmafrd]

We are all waiting for the Finger of God to write on the Stone Tablets

in other words until Adamjts gets around to it nothing else matters

[MichaelWinicki]

Nice job xwalker!