Pack93z
  • Pack93z
  • Select Member Topic Starter
13 years ago
Another good read if you enjoy the numbers behind the football..


Breaking In the New Cap 

With a brand new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in place over the next ten years -- and no way for either side to get out of it (which got us into the mess we were in the past five months) -- it will take some time for everyone to learn some of its most important features. I have received scores of questions about what the new CBA does and doesn’t contain. With last week’s frenzy as an initial guide to how things may transpire, let’s look at some of its nuances.

Still soft after all these years

The Salary Cap (“Cap”) has been a hallmark of the NFL system since 1993 and still is. And there was never a doubt that the Cap would remain as a feature of the new system. Unlike the CBA negotiations in 2006, the NFLPA never even tried to leverage the possibility of an uncapped NFL, having seen the lack of spending in the uncapped 2010.

We hear about a “hard Cap” in labor disputes, with NBA Owners desperately trying to “harden” their Cap, even pointing to the NFL as a model. However, while thought not as “soft” as the NBA version, the NFL is still a soft cap -- a “yarmulke”, if you will.

How soft? In the last capped year, 2009, while never being “over the Cap” of $123 million, teams like the Cowboys and Raiders had cash spending of over $150 million!

Cash over Cap

Manning signed for $90 million but lowered his Cap charge by $7 million.

A couple recent contracts negotiated from high-Cap Franchise tags show the continuing loophole for teams to drive through on Cap spending. Peyton Manning was scheduled to make a Cap and cash number of $23 million in 2011. When he negotiated his $90 million deal replacing that one-year deal, his cash in 2011 now approaches $30 million but his Cap charge was reduced to $16 million. Thus, with only one player, the Colts are spending up to $14 million more in cash over Cap!

Similarly in Pittsburgh, LaMarr Woodley was scheduled to make $10 million this season. Upon negotiation of a six-year $60 million deal to replace the tag, Woodley will now make over $18 million in 2011 yet his Cap charge is reduced to $6.5 million. Thus, on Woodley alone, the Steelers are paying cash over Cap of $11.5 million.

Proration salvation

How does this happen? Signing bonuses are treated in different ways for cash and Cap: (1) for cash purposes, they are treated as fully paid, regardless of deferrals; and (2) for Cap purposes, they are prorated through the life of the contract.

As an example, Charles Johnson of the Panthers received a $30 million signing bonus on a six-year deal. It is treated as $30 million for cash purposes in 2011, yet due to Cap proration of signing bonuses, only $5 million for Cap purposes in each year between 2011 and 2016. Were Johnson to be released or traded prior to 2016, the $5 million of annual Cap charges would accelerate immediately into the then-existing Cap.

In my opinion, however, the less proration the better. I always tried to “pay as you go”, preferring high salaries and roster bonuses (not prorated) to contain Cap charges in the year of negotiation rather than building up unamortized charges into the future. More and more teams are trying to get to that consistent approach to roster management.

The proration loophole shows how the NFL Cap has remained “soft” and how teams can easily spend more cash than their Cap number. Which leads to questions about the teams that may not spend their cash or Cap....

The Minimum Myth

In evaluating the new CBA and determining the “winners and losers” that we love to do, many -- including this writer -- evaluated the cash minimum spending requirements of the NFL and its teams to be important “wins” for the Players. I thought the key for the Players was to require the under-spending teams to spend up to higher floors, making the league more competitive and the players more evenly compensated.

Looking further into the details, I still think it’s a “win” for the Players, but not to the extent I had originally thought. Here’s the rub: there are no team spending requirements in this CBA until 2013!

There are league spending requirements, which is definitely a good thing for player spending, but it does not have the teeth relative to an individual team spending requirement.

The league spending requirement for 2011 and 2012 mandates that league wide cash spending reach 99% of the Cap, or approximately $3.8 billion of player spending. As shown above, teams can routinely spend more cash than Cap, with teams like the Panthers and Colts spending $30 million each on one player.

Thus, I don’t anticipate the minimum spending requirement being an issue in 2011. The NFL teams -- collectively -- will spend.

On the team level, however, there are no requirements this year and next. That allows teams -- pick your favorite target franchise not spending in this recent frenzy (Bengals, Buccaneers, Bills, Chiefs, etc.) -- to “free-ride” off of the higher spending teams while the league as a whole meets the spending requirement.

Even in the now-expired CBA -- the one that the Bills and Bengals voted against -- there were minimum spending Cap requirements, although no cash minimums. It is hard to know why at least Cap minimums were not included in the new CBA for this year and next. I know that tougher team minimums are coming in 2013, but that is for then to discuss, not now.

Time will tell if player spending on the team level is what the NFLPA hoped it would be for the next two years, but nothing is in place to mandate that. Cash over Cap lives, but not necessarily everywhere in the NFL....


"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
Fan Shout
Zero2Cool (18h) : Patriots / Panthers feeling is what I got. didn't watch that one either
Zero2Cool (18h) : Easier to get a camera on her in the suite where she can't impact the game by being distraction???
TheKanataThrilla (18h) : This is the least excited I have been in a long time for a Super Bowl. Unfortunately they both can't lose.
wpr (18h) : So why don;'t they have her on the sidelines and doing the halftime fandango instead of sitting on her but in a $1,000,000 suite?
Zero2Cool (19h) : Think more eyes on Super Bowl with Swift fans pulling for her TE boyfriend?
Zero2Cool (19h) : She dating the TE of the Chiefs.
Zero2Cool (19h) : Taylor Swift has millions of fans, yeah?
Zero2Cool (19h) : They did. They are going to show the post production Sunday with plethora of ads.
wpr (5-Feb) : I thought KC already won
Zero2Cool (4-Feb) : If you wanna post about the Super Bowl, please, by all means, open a topic. They are free this month! 😁
Zero2Cool (4-Feb) : There doesn't need to be a topic. There's a playoff prediction thread.
packerfanoutwest (4-Feb) : and there no SB contest over in the other Packer forum, either
buckeyepackfan (4-Feb) : #2Officially Retires!
beast (4-Feb) : Probably no SB topic as people are wore out talking about the Chiefs, Refs and Eagles
Zero2Cool (4-Feb) : Packers reportedly have their new LB coach, promoting Sean Duggan to that role
Zero2Cool (4-Feb) : WR Cooper Kupp is being traded.
packerfanoutwest (4-Feb) : why is there no SB Prediction topic?
Zero2Cool (3-Feb) : Anthony Perkins spent 2024 as a defensive quality-control coach with the Packers.
Zero2Cool (3-Feb) : Packers lose another assistant.
Zero2Cool (3-Feb) : Defensive Player of the Year and Browns star Myles Garrett has requested a trade.
Zero2Cool (3-Feb) : deleted all my browser history and autofill and passwords. gonna be fun!
packerfanoutwest (3-Feb) : too funny
packerfanoutwest (3-Feb) : Lions QB Jared Goff was the offensive MVP
packerfanoutwest (3-Feb) : for the Pro Bowl, which is flag football
Zero2Cool (2-Feb) : Rather, the murder WAS covered up to prevent ...
Zero2Cool (2-Feb) : JFK murder was a cover-up to prevent war with Cuba/Russia.
Martha Careful (1-Feb) : I have always admired the pluck of the man
Zero2Cool (1-Feb) : I remember thinking he was going to be something good.
Mucky Tundra (1-Feb) : The Dualing Banjo!
Zero2Cool (31-Jan) : Jets have named Chris Banjo as their special teams coordinator, Former Packers player
Zero2Cool (31-Jan) : Jaguars have hired Anthony Campanile as their DC. We lose coach
Zero2Cool (30-Jan) : QB coach Sean Mannion
Zero2Cool (30-Jan) : DL Coach DeMarcus Covington
dfosterf (30-Jan) : from ft Belvoir, Quantico and points south. Somber reminder of this tragedy at Reagan Nat Airport
dfosterf (30-Jan) : So eerily quiet here in Alexandria. I live in the flight path of commercial craft coming from the south and west, plus the military craft
dfosterf (30-Jan) : So eeri
Mucky Tundra (30-Jan) : Now that's a thought, maybe they're looking at the college ranks? Maybe not head coaches but DC/assistant DCs with league experience?
beast (30-Jan) : College Coaches wouldn't want that publicly, as it would hurt recruiting and they might not get the job.
beast (30-Jan) : I thought they were supposed to publicly announce them, at least the NFL ones. Hafley was from college, so I believe different rules.
Mucky Tundra (30-Jan) : Who knows who they're interviewing? I mean, nobody knew about Hafley and then out of nowhere he was hired
beast (30-Jan) : I wonder what's taking so long with hiring a DL coach, 2 of the 3 known to interview have already been hired elsewhere.
Zero2Cool (27-Jan) : Packers coach Matt LaFleur hires Luke Getsy as senior assistant, extends Rich Bisaccia's deal
Zero2Cool (27-Jan) : Chiefs again huh? I guess another Super Bowl I'll be finding something else to do.
Mucky Tundra (27-Jan) : Chiefs Eagles...again...sigh
dfosterf (27-Jan) : Happy Birthday Dave!
Mucky Tundra (27-Jan) : happy birthday dhazer
TheKanataThrilla (26-Jan) : Exactly buck...Washington came up with the ball. It is just a shitty coincidence one week later
buckeyepackfan (26-Jan) : I forgot, they corrected the call a week later. Lol btw HAPPY BIRTHDAY dhazer!
buckeyepackfan (26-Jan) : That brings up the question, why wasn't Nixon down by contact? I think that was the point Kanata was making.
buckeyepackfan (26-Jan) : Turnovers rule, win the turnover battle, win the game.
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