Twitter: NFL Salary Cap to rise to $133mil - Post #67

[MichaelWinicki]

I heard this on the NFL Radio yesterday, and they went on to mention something I wasn't aware of. Many teams that have huge chunks of salary cap room don't have the cash on hand for signing bonuses, to go after free agents. They said that in order for a team to sign a free agent, and give them signing bonus, they have to have the cash on hand at he time of the signing. Teams like the Raiders, in the Al Davis days, never had the cash so Al would guarantee the salaries. They said that is why some teams always have extra cap room, because they don' have the cash on hand for signing bonuses.

Very valid point.

There are probably many teams in the same boat.

 

[Corso]

I heard this on the NFL Radio yesterday, and they went on to mention something I wasn't aware of. Many teams that have huge chunks of salary cap room don't have the cash on hand for signing bonuses, to go after free agents. They said that in order for a team to sign a free agent, and give them signing bonus, they have to have the cash on hand at he time of the signing. Teams like the Raiders, in the Al Davis days, never had the cash so Al would guarantee the salaries. They said that is why some teams always have extra cap room, because they don' have the cash on hand for signing bonuses.

That is very interesting.
I'd like to know more about which teams are in this particular lurch and how they plan on alleviating it.

 

[Direwolf63]

That is very interesting.
I'd like to know more about which teams are in this particular lurch and how they plan on alleviating it.

Oakland, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay immediately come to mind. St. Louis? Perhaps. Minnesota? Perhaps. Maybe even Miami. Probably a few others.

 

[Beats_By_Zeke]

I heard this on the NFL Radio yesterday, and they went on to mention something I wasn't aware of. Many teams that have huge chunks of salary cap room don't have the cash on hand for signing bonuses, to go after free agents. They said that in order for a team to sign a free agent, and give them signing bonus, they have to have the cash on hand at he time of the signing. Teams like the Raiders, in the Al Davis days, never had the cash so Al would guarantee the salaries. They said that is why some teams always have extra cap room, because they don' have the cash on hand for signing bonuses.

Can someone explain this to me. I don't understand how they do not have the cash on hand, if they have that cap room. Are signing bonuses coming out of the pockets of the owners and then get reimbursed with the cap money?

 

[burmafrd]

Can someone explain this to me. I don't understand how they do not have the cash on hand, if they have that cap room. Are signing bonuses coming out of the pockets of the owners and then get reimbursed with the cap money?

I don't think this is anywhere near a major factor. When all those teams are worth hundreds of millions of dollars it would not be hard to get a short term loan for 10 million or so. If they wanted to get a player and they have the cap space they CAN. Now some just want to run things as cheaply as possible so they choose NOT TO.

 

[Direwolf63]

Can someone explain this to me. I don't understand how they do not have the cash on hand, if they have that cap room. Are signing bonuses coming out of the pockets of the owners and then get reimbursed with the cap money?

Signing bonuses have to be paid up front when the player signs the deal. A player who has a $30M signing bonus gets a cheque from the owner and deposits the money in his bank. So the owner has to have the $30M on hand or the cheque bounces.

All teams share TV revenues, but there are many revenue streams that are not shared, like gate revenues and merchandising among others. So lower profile teams can have significantly lower revenues than others. Things like private boxes are huge for teams. That's why lower revenue teams are always looking at building new stadiums, to increase their revenues.

This is not an issue for big revenue teams like Dallas, Washington, NY, NE, etc. But some teams do not have the $30M in the bank to sign that free agent. So they have to pay out the money more slowly, through salaries. And the way the salary cap is calculated ,that leaves them with tons of cap space.

 

[WoodysGirl]

 

[Direwolf63]

I don't think this is anywhere near a major factor. When all those teams are worth hundreds of millions of dollars it would not be hard to get a short term loan for 10 million or so. If they wanted to get a player and they have the cap space they CAN. Now some just want to run things as cheaply as possible so they choose NOT TO.

I remember when Clevelands old owner (whose name escapes me) left for Baltimore, this was a primary issue. He talked about how Dallas could give Deion Sanders a huge signing bonus, but he had to borrow $5M to sign guys he wanted. So he toook the team to Baltimore and their new stadium, got a good deal and remained competitive. And got 2 Super Bowls out of it.

Borrowing money to pay players may be a short term band-aid, but over the long haul you won't be able to compete in the NFL. It's not the only issue, but it's is a huge problem for the Raiders and a primary reason they are annual league doormats.

 

[Direwolf63]

Actually, the biggest benefit for the Cowboys is that they won't have to push as much money forward through restructures. This rise in salary cap this year probably saves them from having to restructure Carr and/or Scandrick. That will give the team more breathing space in future years.

 

[Corso]

I don't think this is anywhere near a major factor. When all those teams are worth hundreds of millions of dollars it would not be hard to get a short term loan for 10 million or so. If they wanted to get a player and they have the cap space they CAN. Now some just want to run things as cheaply as possible so they choose NOT TO.

I have to say- you're at your best when you're not insulting people Burma.

 

[Corso]

Actually, the biggest benefit for the Cowboys is that they won't have to push as much money forward through restructures. This rise in salary cap this year probably saves them from having to restructure Carr and/or Scandrick. That will give the team more breathing space in future years.

Music to my ears...

 

[burmafrd]

I have to say- you're at your best when you're not insulting people Burma.

but some of you make it so attractive....

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Now if you mean restructure where Ware gets his annual salary reduced both this season and next, then I think it's only one of two option the Cowboys' brain trust is considering (the other option being released).

But if you mean the Cowboys convert some of Ware's salary from '14 & '15 into a bonus that is amortized over the rest of the length of the contract... Ah... No. I don't see that happening. The conversations that are being shared with us do not seem to going in this direction.

Yes, pass rushing DE's are hard to find, but the way I look at it this team had arguably one of the worst defenses ever in the history of the NFL with Ware... And they can have the same thing without him.

good points. but we are right now in a rock and hard place.

we know we can't win without a QB. we don't have room's replacement nor any plans at this point, given the multitude of needs. room's window is short (3 at most). so we have to get something done very quickly.

I think Jerry's biggest mistake was to move from a 3-4 to a 4-3. a team in rebuilding mode makes a change of direction, not a team expecting to contend. now, we have to rebuild, because switching back is a mistake. so having a need all across DL, with limited high draft picks and a limited cap space (unlike Commanders and a few others), makes it difficult. you need to hold on to what you have. thus the ware delimma....we went for years after Haley trying to find the next pass rusher and spent pick after pick and couldnt' find one, its one of the biggest gambles in draft (finding a passrushing 4-3 DE).

if we think the window is only 3 years, then restructuring Ware's contract, turning some of the salary into bonus and extending the contract to limit the cap hit and yes, eating the dead cap money in the future, is an option that should be considered. otherwise, we might drop Ware, then need to draft one, because his replacement isn't on the roster, and it will take another 3 years to rebuild the defense and by then we need a QB, which we don't have. and QBs in the draft are a gamble anyway and the really good ones don't hit the market.

 

[AmishCowboy]

Oakland, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay immediately come to mind. St. Louis? Perhaps. Minnesota? Perhaps. Maybe even Miami. Probably a few others.

Believe it or not, that is one of the reasons why Pittsburgh is never a big player in FA

 

[Hoofbite]

Actually, the biggest benefit for the Cowboys is that they won't have to push as much money forward through restructures. This rise in salary cap this year probably saves them from having to restructure Carr and/or Scandrick. That will give the team more breathing space in future years.

That would be the smart move. To not burden future years with players who are currently in decline.

Likely won't happen.

 

[Nation]

Believe it or not, that is one of the reasons why Pittsburgh is never a big player in FA

Pittsburgh drafts and develops their own, that's the main reason the are not factors in free agency

 

[AmishCowboy]

Pittsburgh drafts and develops their own, that's the main reason the are not factors in free agency

True, but they also don't have the cash on hand and they know it

 

[Nation]

True, but they also don't have the cash on hand and they know it

They did do big money contracts with Roetlisberger, Woodley, Timmons, Antonio Brown, Heath Miller (12M+ guaranteed), Polamalu, Ike Taylor, etc though. You can only throw out so many contracts that have 8-10+ million in guaranteed money out there to make the cap work and field a team with backend depth.

 

[Hoofbite]

I doubt it's a money issue when it comes to signing people.

Billionaires can buy a team for hundreds of millions.........can't give out $10M in signing bonuses.

These people can always move money around. They're wealthy because they're smart enough to make their money work for them, not because they were living paycheck-to-paycheck and never acquiring anything.

 

[calicowboy54]

Source: Cap will be $133 million per team

Posted by Mike Florio on February 27, 2014, 7:08 PM EST

For 2014, each team will have $10 million more to spend than it had a year ago.

Per a league source, the salary cap will be $133 million in 2014. That’s a significant jump from the spending limit of $123 million last year, especially in light of recent increases of only a million or two per year.

Well thats awesome!!!! With the Carry over from last year we should be at 134million with 152 Million over the cap. need to Cut 18million

if we Restructure these players we save this amount:

NamePos.ASBase Salary
{Guaranteed}Prorated
BonusRoster
BonusWorkout
BonusCap
NumberTransactionProjected
Dead MoneyProjected
Cap Gain/Loss

Tony RomoQB11$13,500,000$13,500,000$8,273,000$0$0$21,773,000$0$10,036,000
DeMarcus Ware34OLB9$12,250,000$3,253,750$0$500,000$16,003,750$0$8,546,250
Brandon CarrCB6$7,500,000$4,717,000$0$0$12,217,000$0$5,077,500
Jason WittenTE11$5,000,000$3,412,000$0$0$8,412,000$0$3,033,750
Miles AustinWR8$5,500,000$2,749,400$0$0$8,249,400$2,749,400$5,500,000
Sean LeeILB4$5,500,000$2,000,000$0$0$7,500,000$0$3,816,000
Orlando ScandrickCB6$4,500,000$4,500,000$2,101,250$0$0$6,601,250$0$3,016,000
So we CUT June 1st:
Austin 5.5 Million Saved

Restructure:
Romo 10 Million Saved
Ware 8.5 Million Saved
Carr 5 Million Saved
Witten 3 Million Saved
Lee 3 Million Saved
Oscan 3 Million Saved

38 Million off the 152M leaves us 20 M under the Cap (Can Sign Who ever we want)