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An Embarassment of Riches: The State of the Salary Cap
By Tim Wilson
Some more fodder for discussion as we continue the slow march to training camp. Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports files an article this week on the surprising amount of salary cap dollars remaining unused around the league.
Cole lists 14 teams that have over $10 million of cap space available this season. Not next season, but this year– unused cap space for the 2007 campaign. These teams are obviously capable of awarding significant new contracts right now if they wanted to, but that $10 million figure doesn’t even tell the full story.
With the 2007 offseason largely completed, and 2007 draft pick signings only projected to take up an average of $4.27 million per club, most of these teams will roll a large percentage of that $10+ million extra space over into the 2008 offseason. If the league increases the cap ceiling again next year as it has in recent years, and there is no reason to believe that it won’t, then there are going to be 7 or 8 franchises out there with $15+ million in cap room, and 3 or 4 with $20+ million.
Cole’s article includes a chart which breaks down exactly which teams are currently the wealthiest in terms of cap space. The Dallas Cowboys come in at #8 with $13.8 million of cap room available. This figure obviously does not take into account signings of most of our 2007 draft picks and any new deal which may be worked out with Tony Romo in the coming months.
As we have stated before on this blog, part of what this means is that some teams are learning how to work with the cap. There was a dearth of quality free agents the past two offseasons, compared to the caliber of players available in free agency’s infancy in the late 1990’s, and that trend figures to continue.
What many of you rightfully pointed out during the flurry of free agent signings this past spring, however, was: How can one say that teams are learning how to work with the cap when such seemingly inflated contracts are being awarded to above-average but less than top-tier players like Derrick Dockery?
This abundance of cap room is the reason we are seeing such high-priced contracts, deals which seem ridiculous when using the benchmarks of even 3 or 4 years ago. With a large number of teams managing their cap well, they are more able to lock up their own players before they hit free agency. This means a smaller number of quality free agents on the market. Combine that small number of quality players available with the high number of teams that have large amounts of money ready to spend, and you end up with decent players getting exceptional money.
For the Cowboys’ immediate future, this means one thing very clearly: try not to let your players hit the open market, because there are teams out there who will make you pay max dollar if you want to keep them.
It is worthwhile to note, for instance, that Cleveland, Buffalo, and Minnesota, the top three teams in terms of current cap space, are also three teams with glaring holes at cornerback. Terence Newman is not under contract for much longer. Newman would be a prime example of a player whose price tag will jump significantly in this inflated market, simply because at the moment, many teams have more money than they know what to with, and there are going to be a limited number of candidates for them to throw their riches at.
http://theboysblog.com/
By Tim Wilson
Some more fodder for discussion as we continue the slow march to training camp. Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports files an article this week on the surprising amount of salary cap dollars remaining unused around the league.
Cole lists 14 teams that have over $10 million of cap space available this season. Not next season, but this year– unused cap space for the 2007 campaign. These teams are obviously capable of awarding significant new contracts right now if they wanted to, but that $10 million figure doesn’t even tell the full story.
With the 2007 offseason largely completed, and 2007 draft pick signings only projected to take up an average of $4.27 million per club, most of these teams will roll a large percentage of that $10+ million extra space over into the 2008 offseason. If the league increases the cap ceiling again next year as it has in recent years, and there is no reason to believe that it won’t, then there are going to be 7 or 8 franchises out there with $15+ million in cap room, and 3 or 4 with $20+ million.
Cole’s article includes a chart which breaks down exactly which teams are currently the wealthiest in terms of cap space. The Dallas Cowboys come in at #8 with $13.8 million of cap room available. This figure obviously does not take into account signings of most of our 2007 draft picks and any new deal which may be worked out with Tony Romo in the coming months.
As we have stated before on this blog, part of what this means is that some teams are learning how to work with the cap. There was a dearth of quality free agents the past two offseasons, compared to the caliber of players available in free agency’s infancy in the late 1990’s, and that trend figures to continue.
What many of you rightfully pointed out during the flurry of free agent signings this past spring, however, was: How can one say that teams are learning how to work with the cap when such seemingly inflated contracts are being awarded to above-average but less than top-tier players like Derrick Dockery?
This abundance of cap room is the reason we are seeing such high-priced contracts, deals which seem ridiculous when using the benchmarks of even 3 or 4 years ago. With a large number of teams managing their cap well, they are more able to lock up their own players before they hit free agency. This means a smaller number of quality free agents on the market. Combine that small number of quality players available with the high number of teams that have large amounts of money ready to spend, and you end up with decent players getting exceptional money.
For the Cowboys’ immediate future, this means one thing very clearly: try not to let your players hit the open market, because there are teams out there who will make you pay max dollar if you want to keep them.
It is worthwhile to note, for instance, that Cleveland, Buffalo, and Minnesota, the top three teams in terms of current cap space, are also three teams with glaring holes at cornerback. Terence Newman is not under contract for much longer. Newman would be a prime example of a player whose price tag will jump significantly in this inflated market, simply because at the moment, many teams have more money than they know what to with, and there are going to be a limited number of candidates for them to throw their riches at.
http://theboysblog.com/
