Tag: cap space

49ers have least cap space in NFL

The #49ers will need to clear some cap space soon. They have the lowest cap space in the league.

The 49ers cap situation is not in a great spot with OTAs set to open Monday. In fact, they have the least available space in the NFL according to Over the Cap.

San Francisco is working with just $673,752 in cap space, but their situation looks even worse in effective cap space. They’re over by $708,468 in effective cap space, which is “the cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster,” per OTC.

There’s some good news though: the 49ers have the means to rapidly clear several million in cap space. While there are a host of maneuvers they can make, unloading Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract is their most efficient way of generating room they don’t have with OTAs looming.

Whether they trade or release Garoppolo once he’s recovered from offseason shoulder surgery, the 49ers can clear $25.5 million in cap space. That’s a key reason why it’s hard to believe they’ll go into the year with him on the roster. While they don’t need the space for this year necessarily, they can roll that space over, and use it within the season to give themselves a little wiggle room.

Restructures and extensions can help clear some room, and perhaps San Francisco goes that route to try and get themselves under the cap once their nine-player rookie class is signed. Moving Garoppolo would be more efficient though. Either way, there’ll be some maneuvers before the year to help solve their current cap crunch.

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Chiefs have over $18M in cap space following recent free agency moves

After the Tyreek Hill trade and recent free agent moves, the #Chiefs still have quite a bit of salary cap space to work with.

The Kansas City Chiefs are in a good spot when it comes to their salary cap space this offseason.

According to the NFLPA’s public salary cap report, the Chiefs have $18.475 million in salary-cap space with 75 players under contract. That includes recent contracts for recently-signed free agents like Deon Bush and Ronald Jones. It also includes the trade of Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins.

As things currently stand only the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers have more cap space per the NFLPA’s reporting. That puts them at seventh in the NFL in terms of 2022 cap space, at least for the time being.

With 12 picks in the 2022 NFL draft, the Chiefs need to account for roughly $3.5 million in cap space to sign all of those players. The reality is that after some trades in the early rounds, that number could be even smaller.

Ultimately, the Chiefs could probably use around $14 million of their current cap space and still be comfortable with their finances heading into the draft. Remember, they can also free up some cap space later in July by signing Orlando Brown Jr. to a long-term contract extension. He carries a $16.6 million cap hit so long as he’s on the franchise tag.

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Browns current salary cap space updated

As March is coming to a close, a look at the Browns cap space. Needless to say, they have some to spend and more on the way:

The Cleveland Browns have had an interesting offseason with two big additions plus a few other smaller ones. The team also moved on from a few veterans that helped save cap space.

The acquisition of QB Deshaun Watson will reverberate through the organization for years to come. The Browns signed him to the biggest guaranteed contract in NFL history and only the second fully guaranteed multi-year deal ever (Kirk Cousins was first). The new contract minimized his cap hit in 2022.

Amari Cooper was added in a trade along with his three years and $60 million contract. His deal was restructured to save cap space this year as well.

Jarvis Landry and J.C. Tretter were released and Case Keenum was traded to save the team significant cap space.

According to the NFLPA’s website, Cleveland still has over $22 million in cap space. They only have one team, the Carolina Panthers, with more than $30 million in space.

As the Browns did, many teams are able to create more cap space this year but doing so pushes bigger cap hits later.

Cleveland will add more cap space on June 1st when the release of Austin Hooper gives them another $9.5 million.

Baker Mayfield remains on the Browns roster and salary cap. It seems unlikely that the team will gain the full $18.8 million if they trade him. Even if the Browns have to pay half of his salary, saving over $9 million in cap space would be huge for the team. Combined with the Hooper savings, the Browns would have $40 million in cap space to spend.

The team still has needs and has some interest in bringing Jadeveon Clowney and Landry back. John Johnson III even said that Odell Beckham Jr. is returning to Cleveland.

At least for 2022, cap space is not a problem for the Browns.

Dolphins create cap space restructuring Byron Jones and Clayton Fejedelem

The Dolphins are making sure they have the money to stay cap compliant.

The Miami Dolphins have spent quite a bit of money since the start of the offseason between re-signing their free agents, signing others, and trading for/extending wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

With all of these moves, the Dolphins needed to re-work some of their existing contracts to give them some wiggle room.

On Friday, ESPN’s Field Yates reported that Miami converted part of cornerback Byron Jones’ salary into a bonus as well as re-worked Clayton Fejedelem’s contract as well.

The conversion for Jones creates $10.694 million in cap space for the Dolphins, and Fejedelem’s re-working adds another $750,000.

According to Over the Cap, before these restructures Miami had $3.65 million remaining this season, however, that number didn’t include Terron Armstead or Sheldrick Redwine’s contracts.

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How much salary cap space do Packers have after Davante Adams trade?

Once the Davante Adams trade is official, the Packers will gain almost $20 million in cap space and have plenty of room to retain in-house free agents or sign other veteran players.

The Green Bay Packers will immediately gain almost $20 million in cap space when the trade of Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders is officially completed.

A team pushed up against the cap will suddenly be free to sign in-house free agents or pursue other available free agents.

The Packers went into Thursday night at around $1 million in cap space, thanks to over $75 million worth of cap adjustments completed over the last month to get under the cap by the start of the new league year. Trading Adams will create around $19.4 million in new cap space, which will give the Packers all the space needed to get aggressive on the open market if desired.

Overall, the Packers will have roughly $20.4 million of cap space after dealing Adams.

Adams was on the books at a $20.1 million cap number after being given the franchise tag earlier this month. The Packers will remove the entire sum by trading him to the Raiders, but his cap number will be replaced by a minimum contract ($705,000) because of the Top 51 rule. The difference between the two numbers is roughly $19.4 million.

The new cap space could be used to re-sign cornerback Rasul Douglas, receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling or tight end Robert Tonyan, the team’s top three unrestricted free agents. The Packers could also hunt for a veteran receiver or defensive lineman in free agency. With an extra $20 million, Gutekunst could easily keep or add 2-3 players.

Losing Adams is certainly a blow, especially to the passing game and the offense’s ability to consistently score points. He won’t be easily replaced. But the Packers are now loaded with draft picks and suddenly free of handcuffing salary cap constraints.

Trading Adams provided Gutekunst and the Packers with valuable assets. Now, the team must make the most of the picks and cap space. Turning an All-Pro receiver into a handful of good players could make the Packers a more well-rounded and deeper team, but it’s on Gutekunst and the personnel department to pay the right players and draft the right prospects.

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Saints officially under the salary cap with David Onyemata, James Hurst restructures

Saints officially get under the salary cap (for now) with David Onyemata, James Hurst contract restructures:

Bang: the New Orleans Saints are officially under the salary cap on Wednesday morning through two more contract restructures, saving a combined $7.016 million in salary conversions with David Onyemata and James Hurst, per ESPN’s Field Yates. Well, they’re under the cap for now, at this moment in time. It’s complicated.

New Orleans is going to take on almost $16 million Wednesday afternoon once their contracts with Terron Armstead and Jameis Winston; both deals had void years written into them, meaning the deferred payments will accelerate onto the books for 2022 if neither player signs an extension. That will happen at the start of the new league year at 3 p.m. CT. Assuming that remains likely, the Saints will need to come up with even more cap space.

And more restructures are probably their path to getting there. They can free up more resources in restructures with Taysom Hill (up to $7.2 million), Demario Davis ($4.2 million), Malcolm Jenkins ($3 million), and Wil Lutz ($1.3 million). Releases or pay cuts are also possible, but maybe not likely for those cornerstone players.

But we do need to consider whether this dead money for Armstead and Winston actually triggers this year. So much hinges on Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson’s trade decision — Armstead specifically has been said to be monitoring that situation, with a return to the Saints in the cards should Watson be traded there. Working out a restructure with Watson upon a trade to fit his contract (including an initial $35 million cap hit in 2022) on the books wouldn’t be difficult.

If Watson chooses to come to New Orleans, the Saints could act quickly and work out an extension with Armstead to lower his cap hit while keeping him under contract, avoiding any dead money altogether. Winston still has a $3 million hit but the Saints could also pivot to him should Watson choose to go somewhere else.

We’ll just have to wait and see how that plays out. The latest estimates have the Saints under the 2022 salary cap by about $4 million, with Spotrac estimating $4,032,057 in cap space and Over The Cap positing $4,024,781. But neither of those figures include the still-undefined extension with Bradley Roby, which will lower his $10.1 million cap hit dramatically. Assuming the Saints move as much of that into future years as possible, they could have as much as $11 million in cap space. We just don’t know for sure.

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Browns cash spending tops NFL according to NFLPA

Fans mostly care about the salary cap but the NFLPA’s number says Browns owner Jimmy Haslam spent the most cash on his players in 2021:

The ins and outs of the NFL salary cap is an interesting one for a variety of reasons. While fans either care too much about it or don’t care at all. Like most things, somewhere in the middle is probably the healthiest way to think about the cap.

Salary cap space helps us understand what players the team can add in free agency or extend on their own team except there is a myriad of ways to work around it. From restructuring contracts, the use of void years or using bonuses to spread out cap hits, the salary cap has long been manipulated by teams.

In the end, it comes due but winning teams will do whatever they can to push that off as long as they can.

Another interesting aspect is the amount of cash a team spends. Far different than the salary cap, this is the amount of money directly paid to players in a given year. For 2021, the Cleveland Browns paid out the most according to the Players’ Association:

This list is an interesting one with the Super Bowl champions, the Los Angeles Rams, at the bottom of the cash spending and teams like the New York Jets and New York Giants spending $70 million or more than the Rams.

In the end, it is clear that Jimmy Haslam isn’t afraid to spend money to get things done. With the help of rollover cap space, Andrew Berry and company have been aggressive in adding players each of the last two offseasons.

With the 2022 offseason opening next week, we will find out just how aggressive Berry can be again and just how much cash Haslam will be shelling out to the players.

Saints also restructured contract with Andrus Peat, saving another $7.8M

In addition to Michael Thomas and Ryan Ramczyk, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports the Saints also restructured their deal with Andrus Peat to work towards salary cap compliance:

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In addition to reworked contracts with wide receiver Michael Thomas and  offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports that the New Orleans Saints also restructured their deal with Andrus Peat to work towards salary cap compliance. Peat’s restructure freed up about $7.8 million against the 2022 salary cap.

Taken with the $26.2 million wiped out in restructures with Thomas and Ramczyk, and that’s about $34 million taken off the books on a lazy Saturday afternoon in-between Mardi Gras parades. If Saints general manager Mickey Loomis can hurry, he just might get over in time to catch Endymion as it starts rolling.

So how did the Saints do this? Thanks to reporting from the analysts at Over The Cap, we can see that the Saints reduced Peat’s 2022 base salary (which was fully guaranteed already) from over $10.8 million down to the veteran’s minimum of about $1.1 million, converting the difference into a new signing bonus that will count against the remaining years left on his contract. In order for the math to work out, the Saints must have added two void years onto his contract, which was set to expire after the 2024 season anyway.

The downside to this, though, is that Peat has a 2023 cap hit north of $18.3 million. If he’s playing well and avoids injury, nobody cares about that and the Saints will likely restructure him again in 2023 (as they’ve done in 2022 and 2021). With the salary cap expected to go to the moon next year as new media rights agreements flush cash into the NFL’s coffers, Peat’s specific cap hit will be even less of a deal. But injuries and subpar play have dogged him throughout his career, and there is some risk here. The Saints won’t save significant cap space in cutting Peat until after June 1, 2023 as things currently stand.

So let’s hope it doesn’t get to that point. Right now, the Saints are still over the 2022 cap (set at $208.2 million) by approximately $42.2 million, down from the $76 million albatross they started with. And while that may seem like a lot they’ve only got a few more easy moves to make before reaching cap compliance: restructuring contracts with cornerback Marshon Lattimore (saving up to $18.4 million), quarterback Taysom Hill ($7.2 million) and  running back Alvin Kamara ($6.4 million) gets them most of the way there.

Reaching a decision on backup corner Bradley Roby (releasing him from his contract recoups over $9.4 million) leaves the Saints over the cap by roughly $800,000, and then they’re in the clear. At that point, New Orleans can make tougher calls on expensive veterans like defensive end Cameron Jordan, linebacker Demario Davis, safety Malcolm Jenkins, and defensive tackle David Onyemata. Simple restructures create immediate cap space, but make it tougher to get out of those contracts if the player’s performance erodes with age. And in Onyemata’s case, a true extension may be better than another restructure.

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7 teams that could sign pending free agent QB Jameis Winston

Jameis Winston shouldn’t lack for suitors in free agency. Quarterback upheaval is taking place across the league, and these 7 teams could try to recruit him:

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The New Orleans Saints chose to retain offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael after spending a week or two searching for his replacement, and his return to that job should make it more likely that Jameis Winston re-signs with the team. But he’s still a pending free agent, and after playing for two years on a fraction of a starter’s salary (and suffering a season-ending knee injury in the process) Winston owes it to himself and his family to go looking for the best offer on the market.

Maybe the best offer comes from the Saints. But there are isn’t a dearth of quarterback-needy teams — far from it. Half a dozen or more squads may be starting new passers in 2022, and enough of them have enough money to throw around to where we shouldn’t assume Winston stays in New Orleans. If he’s at all open to leaving (or if the Saints instead choose to go in a different direction), he should have other options. Let’s explore:

13 most reasonable ways the Packers can create salary cap space this offseason

Here are the 13 most reasonable ways the Packers can clear salary cap space before the start of the new league year in mid-March.

Brian Gutekunst, Russ Ball and the Green Bay Packers are about to have a busy month or two. According to Over the Cap, the Packers are currently (as of Feb. 3) around $50 million over the 2022 salary cap, and this figure doesn’t even include the $20 million franchise tag expected to be given to All-Pro receiver Davante Adams.

Long story short: Like last offseason, the Packers must make a number of moves to fix their salary cap situation before the start of the new league year on March 16.

The team is in a difficult spot, but you can bet there’s been a thorough plan (and many backup plans) in place for months. In fact, it’s clear the Packers have a number of logical ways to dig their way out of this hole without completely gutting the roster and starting over in a rebuilding year in 2022.

Of course, Aaron Rodgers’ decision weighs heavily on the immediate future. What he decides may shape the entire offseason.

So, how can the Packers pull it off? Here is an in-depth breakdown of the most reasonable ways the Packers can reasonably clear cap space this offseason, using Ken Ingalls’ salary cap insights as a guide.