All suspensions are without pay.
The actual cost of a suspension of the same length for two players with the same offense is usually different because of salary and contract structure. For example, a player suspended four games for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) with a $1.7 million base salary costs twice as much as a player with the same PED suspension that has an $850,000 base salary. The first player will lose $400,000, or 4/17ths of his base salary. Whereas 4/17ths of the second player's base salary is $200,000.
The teams of the players will get a salary cap credit in the current season for the amount of the suspensions.
Other salary components can be at risk with suspensions. Teams can recoup the same proportion of the prorated amount of a player's signing bonus as he's losing in base salary. If the first player in the previous example had $1.275 million of signing bonus proration, he would be out an additional $300,000 because his team would also recover 4/17ths of the proration. The total cost of his suspension would be $700,000.
Teams are required under the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to recoup signing bonuses for PED and substance-abuse suspensions.
Recapture is at the team's discretion for other contract breaches, such as holdouts (i.e., Kam Chancellor) and other types of suspensions. Unlike base salary, the cap credit will not begin until the following season with signing bonus that is recovered.
Roster, reporting and option bonuses can also be recouped but the standard under the CBA is different from signing bonuses. These types of bonuses are only forfeitable if a breach occurs in the contract year where money is earned. This means that a roster bonus in 2014 can't be recouped for a suspension taking place in 2015.
