Salary cap void years and why we can do better

[StarOfGlory]

Void years are often misunderstood with regard to what it actually means to a team's overall working cap number.

There are two different account variables that are combined into void years, but they don't have the same impact. First is the amortized signing bonus, and the second is the pro-rated option bonus.

Amoritized, for those who may be fuzzy about this, is basically spreading out an asset cost over a fixed amount of time. The asset NFL fans are most concerned about is the player attached to a team contract. Reducing the balance payment of a contract can be set up as front or back loaded, as per teams needs. On the other hand, a pro-rated option bonus, projected and not guaranteed, is money accounted for that may never be paid, depending on how a contract is structured.

The only money that 100% counts for cap purposes is the guaranteed money. For example, Jalen Carter's new deal gives him a potential $160 million, with $106 guaranteed. Creative accounting or accurate future projections by a savvy GM use this tool to make player salaries less onerous.

A huge factor in this is that a team diving head first into this strategy must be a good drafting team, and also be able to identify and extend those players believed to be key to future success.

The teams that has spent the most money over the past ten years are the Browns and the Eagles. Bad talent evaluation both in the draft and in free agency has sunk the Browns, while good talent evaluation has allowed the Eagles to retool on the fly and always be competitive.

How does this apply to us? It shouldn't be difficult to do a little bit of what the Eagles and 49ers do with contracts in order to keep a good core of talent year to year. And I say this because overall, the organization does a good job of getting talent through the draft. We draft more starting players than busts over the years, although you'd never know this by reading these boards. Yes, I know Roseman is a high-IQ guy, is an attorney, and has a degree in economics, but somewhere in our building must be a guy smart enough to figure this process out.

Please tell me we have a smart guy somewhere for the job. I know it's not Dumb and Dumber.

 

[Reality]

I think most fans understand how the salary cap, pro-rated signing/option bonuses and void years work as many of us have discussed it in detail over the years.

The Cowboys actually do a great job at managing the salary cap. They are highly contingent-focused with their contracts as they always provide ways to protect the team in the later years of contracts.

Some fans of course conflate the lack of new deals for players like Parsons, Pickens, etc. with bad salary cap management but in reality, those are smart moves by them.

They had too much money tied up with several players and they had upcoming contracts they needed to extend as well as outliers like Picken's franchise tag contract, which they actually saved millions of dollars by offering only that for 2026 instead of a new contract (that changes next year when 5-year rolling average surges much higher).

The Cowboys have also added void years to many of their current contracts.

For example, when Dak got his extension, they added 4 void years as well, though I don't think the first one was available until the second year of that contract due to the 5-year limit on pro-rated.

The truth is the Eagles are not better at managing the salary cap than the Cowboys are .. the more accurate assessment is they have been better at the players and coaches they acquired than the Cowboys at least in recent years.

 

[zrinkill]

The truth is the Eagles are not better at managing the salary cap than the Cowboys are .. they have just been better about the what players and coaches they spent the money on for their team.

That's what happens when you have football men who are also business men.

Instead of a chemical engineer who is masquerading as a football man.