Tag: NFL salary cap

Browns impact: What does the new NFL-NFLPA agreement mean?

How all the recent developments impact the Cleveland Browns training camp and 2020 season

Get ready for a crazy season everyone. On Friday, July 24, 2020, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to terms on modifications to the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) due to the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is a quick look at the key points of the new agreement:

New Schedule To Start

Day 1: Testing/virtual meetings.

Days 2-3: Virtual meetings.

Day 4: Testing/virtual meetings.

Days 5-6: Physicals.

Days 7-15: Strength and conditioning (with a day off.)

Day 16: Practice starts.

Day 21: First padded practice.

8-day strength and conditioning ramp-up

Rookies can start that ramp-up as soon as Monday

There are a maximum of 14 padded practices.

Things will start moving quickly for all teams around the league. For the Browns, players will be packing their backs and heading towards Cleveland for training camp on Tuesday, August 28, 2020.

All players must test negative twice in the span of 72 hours before they can enter their team facilities. Additionally, players will be tested every day for at least the first two weeks of camp and then every other day if the positivity rate dips below 5%.

Roster Size

There will be an August 16, 2020 cutdown from 90 players to 80 players. You will be required to have a split-quad if you are over 80 players.

Comments: This is not a great year to be a late-round rookie or a journeyman looking to endear yourself to a team. There just isn’t enough time for the stars to align and the Browns have a new front office and coaching staff in place.

Salary Cap Floor

The 2021 cap will have a floor of $175 million. The remaining losses would be spread out from 2022-2024. The 2020 cap is currently at $198.2 million.

Don’t forget about the salary cap rollover. Currently, the Browns have $38 million available in the rollover cap. What does this mean? It means the Browns can enter the 2021 offseason with little impact on their overall roster due to the potential lowering of the 2021 salary cap. Unfortunately, this does likely mean a lot of restructuring of contracts or cutting/trading of players who hold flexible contracts.

Comments: For the Browns, there is plenty of flexibility throughout the entire roster. Odell Beckham, Sheldon Richardson, and Jarvis Landry all have contracts the Browns can do something with to create cap space. Additionally, the Browns have ten NFL draft picks in 2021. Draft picks will be at a premium value-wise due to other franchises being in dire cap straights. It should also be noted, this is the floor. If there is additional money that becomes available, the salary cap can go up.

This was a massive miss by the NFLPA. The previous salary cap projections had the cap above $200 million and continuing a growth of about 6%. A reduction of over $20 million will be devastating for some franchises overall.

Pay For Play

Very simply, if there is no 2020 NFL season or if the NFL season is cut short, players are only paid for the games played. However, guarantees will still be owed to players, from their base salaries, in future years.

Comments: Nothing Browns-specific to add here.

The Opt-Out Clause

Any player may opt-out of the 2020 season with written notice by August 1, 2020. There are two types of opt-outs, which are irrevocable and due seven days from the agreement being finalized:

  1. High risk: $250,000 stipend with no offset, accrued/credited season
  2. Voluntary: $150,000 salary advance, no accrued/credited season.

Players will not be allowed to opt-out during the season.

Comments: The next week will be very telling for what the Browns 2020 season looks like. While the Browns have a very talented roster, they have overall depth chart issues and can’t afford too many losses on the season.

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These are only considered loans from the team and the contracts “toll” (move to the next year) in both cases. So, if a player makes $350,000 this year, the money has to be paid back in future salaries.

Practice squads expanded from 12 to 16 players.

This is a big change and chance for NFL players. Along with the four additional players, six of the players can have unlimited accrued seasons. In addition, the NFL has also discussed the possibility of allowing an unlimited amount of players to return from injured reserve and non-football injury lists this season.

Comments: Due to COVID-19 there is no saying how injuries will impact the overall season. The ability to allow teams to put players on and take players off injured reserve creates better overall roster flexibility throughout the season.

Despite incoming salary cap decrease, Jags projected to be in good shape in 2021

The league’s salary cap will be decreasing in 2021, but the Jags are still projected to be in good shape.

On Friday evening, the NFLPA and NFL agreed to make adjustments to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement because of the coronavirus pandemic. With all of the key issues out of the way, training camp will start on time, and for the Jacksonville Jaguars, that date will be on Tuesday, July 28.

One of the key issues that were resolved Friday was the projected salary cap figures for this year and others in the future. For the upcoming season, the salary cap will remain at $198.2 million and will decrease to a minimum of $175 million in 2021, with the possibility to be a little higher depending on revenue. That marks a decrease of roughly $25 million, which has concerned fans about their team’s respective cap situations in 2021. Fortunately, for the Jags, they will be in good shape still.

In a preview estimating what each team’s salary cap situation could look like in 2021 by Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, the Jags came in with the fourth amount of cap space. If they were able to carryover what’s available now (approximately $14,794,764), they are currently projected to end up with roughly $63,695,889. While that’s not the estimated $96.9 million that was projected back in May before the CBA adjustment, that’s still plenty of wiggle room for a team.

The only other teams projected to have more cap space were the Indianapolis Colts (over $91 million), Los Angeles Chargers ($72.7 million), and Washington Football Team ($66.6 million), respectively.

For the Jags, all of their big signings are likely out of the way this year so their current cap number might not move much. However, they do have a few candidates for new extensions in Cam Robinson, D.J. Chark (who will be on Year 4 of his deal), and whoever the Jags decide to keep between pending free-agents receivers Dede Westbrook, Chris Conley, and Keelan Cole. With the projected amount the Jags have for 2021, they should be able to keep three of those names if they earn extensions. They also might have room for at least one or two big-time free-agent, but again, that’s if they would like and they don’t make a big signing this season.

Regardless, the salary cap is something Jags fans shouldn’t worry about next season. That’s especially the case when considering the Jags have a great deal of draft compensation in 2020, too, which could allow them to focus on acquiring good talent through the draft over free-agency.

Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.

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With NFL proposed $175M salary cap in 2021, Ravens would be hurting

With an expected loss of revenue due to COVID-19, the NFL has proposed a salary cap of $175M in 2021, making life tough for the Ravens

Though the NFL is marching forward as though there will be a 2020 season, there’s no denying it’s not going to be standard operating procedure as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic.

The Baltimore Ravens and several other teams have already announced significantly reduced attendance — if fans will be allowed in the stands at all. While a good chunk of the money the NFL makes comes from television contracts, the loss of stadium revenue is destined to hurt projections and subsequently the salary cap.

The NFL and NFLPA have been negotiating ahead of the start of training camp, with the financials being one of the final sticking points. The NFL recently proposed a minimum 2021 salary cap of just $175 million, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Considering the current salary cap is $198.2 million and was expected to explode under the new CBA, that would be a pretty massive reduction for teams and players to figure out.

According to Over The Cap, the Ravens are currently on the hook for $151.5 million next season with their current contracts. That would leave them roughly $23.5 million available under the newly proposed salary cap, which would be the eighth-most in the NFL. When factoring in any potential carryover from the 2020 salary cap, Baltimore would have nearly $31 million, according to OTC. Currently, eight teams are set to actually have negative cap space, helping put Baltimore’s situation into a more positive context.

While Baltimore being one of the few teams with some cap space next season is a positive, the Ravens have some big contracts to sign, turning that optimism into outright fear in the blink of an eye.

Baltimore used the franchise tag on outside linebacker Matthew Judon this offseason, ultimately pushing further negotiations until next year after missing the contract extension deadline in July. The Ravens also have left tackle Ronnie Stanley set to hit free agency next offseason. As arguably the best tackle in the game right now, Stanley has a pretty clear case for a record-breaking contract extension. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey will also be on his fifth-year option, costing Baltimore a projected $10.24 million, according to OTC. The Ravens also have guys like wide receiver Willie Snead and outside linebacker Tyus Bowser hitting free agency next offseason as well. Just one or two of these big names needing new deals could easily tap Baltimore’s limited cap space, much less all of them combined.

Baltimore would have some options available to them if the salary cap does indeed plummet to $175 million in 2021. The Ravens could cut some players in order to free up cap space next offseason if they wish. Players like safety Earl Thomas, running back Mark Ingram, and defensive tackle Brandon Williams could be easy cap casualties, freeing up a combined $20.5 million if cut. That would potentially ease the financial burden, but cutting starters means Baltimore would have to have replacements for those players, something that’s far easier said than done.

Though the Ravens aren’t in the worst shape in 2021 under the proposed salary cap, the loss of revenue from the pandemic could put a serious damper on what was expected to be an outstanding offseason for Baltimore.

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Lions set up to withstand a potential drop in NFL salary cap after 2020 season

With the NFL expected to take losses due to COVID-19, future salary caps are expected to drop, but the Detroit Lions are set up to survive.

The NFL and NFLPA still have a lot to figure out before the start of the 2020 season, and while player safety remains priority one, there are major concerns surrounding the economic fallout from the season, as it could have long term implications.

One potential area of impact will be on future salary caps. Each offseason the NFL salary is determined based on a complicated formula that is derived from how much profit the league generated the year prior.

Here’s an overly simplified explanation. The league determines how much profit it made in year X, then allocates 48-percent of that number to the following years player cost. Player cost is split into two parts, benefits (health insurance, disability insurance, etc) and salary (wages). After removing money for benefits, the remaining salary portion determines the salary cap.

Over the past decade, the league has made sizable profits, and in turn, the salary cap has risen. In 2011, the salary cap was $120 million, saw a slight uptick to $120.6 million in 2012, then increased to $123 million in 2013. But over the last seven years, the salary cap has risen by at least $10 million each year and currently sits at $198.2 million for the 2020 season.

With the NFL expected to take losses due to COVID-19 — potentially up to $3 Billion if fans are not allowed to attend games — future salary caps could take massive hits.

Neither the NFL nor the NFLPA wants to see the salary cap take a step backward and the two have each proposed alternatives for addressing the issue.

The NFL proposed putting 35-percent of the player’s salaries in escrow — holding off paying a portion of the player’s salary for a later date — affording the league the ability to keep profits and salary cap at a reasonable level. But unsurprisingly and understandably that was met with resistance from the players/NFLPA.

The NFLPA offered a counter-proposal:

“All fully guaranteed money paid even if games are canceled” seems like something the owners are unlikely to accept, but the other three points have merit.

If the salary cap holds at $198.2 in 2021, then most teams will be able to sustain the COVID-impact. But if the cap drops, then most teams will be scrambling to make roster adjustments to become cap compliment, meaning some teams will be forced to make big cuts to player contracts.

The problem here stems from nearly a decade of high profitability, along with teams/players anticipating the cap to continue to rise in large chunks, and contracts being designed with a rising salary cap in mind.

When looking ahead, if the salary cap remains at $198.2 million and all teams are able to rollover their current 2020 cap space (highly unlikely), there would still be three teams who would enter the 2021 offseason over the salary cap: the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons.

Fortunately for Detroit Lions fans, after struggling with the salary cap for years, general manager Bob Quinn — and cap specialist Mike Disner — have put the team in a solid financial situation.

Currently, the Lions have 89 of their 90-players under contract — only seventh-round pick Jashon Cornell remains unsigned — and have around $21.6 million available in salary cap room for 2020.

Most salary cap tracking websites have the Lions at $29.1 million in cap room but after signing Jeff Okudah, D’Andre Swift,  Quintez Cephus, and Jason Huntley this week, that number will end up around $7.5 million less as those contracts haven’t been processed yet.

If the 2021 salary cap stays at $198.2, the Lions’ would enter the offseason with roughly $34 million in available space, and depending on how much of the 2020 cap remains for rollover purposes, the Lions could once again be sitting on $50 million available for spending.

This rough estimation would put the Lions salary cap space in the upper half of the league for 2021, while also setting the team up to stay there for the foreseeable future, regardless of how far this year’s anticipated losses extend.

Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery lands in a ranking the NFL’s 10 most overpaid players based on 2020 salary cap hit

Alshon Jeffery No. 7 on CBS Sports list of NFL most overpaid players

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The Philadelphia Eagles think a lot of Alshon Jeffery and that is one of the big reasons why his salary for this season was guaranteed despite looming salary cap implications.

With Jeffery dealing with a foot injury that required surgery, the Eagles may or may not have attempted to find a suitor for the star wide receiver during the offseason.

With Jeffery and the Eagles looking at large cap-hit this season, Alshon landed on a CBS Sports ranking of the most overpaid players in the NFL based on salary cap implications.

7 . Alshon Jeffery, WR (Eagles)
2020 cap hit: $15.5 million

There’s been plenty of speculation this offseason about whether or not Alshon Jeffery would be returning to Philadelphia in 2020, and although Eagles general manager Howie Roseman gave him a vote of confidence back in March, you have to think that Roseman isn’t too thrilled to still be stuck with the wide receiver’s contract. Jeffery’s cap hit for this season is going to be $15.5 million, which is the seventh-highest of all receivers in the NFL. That’s a huge hit to take for a receiver who hasn’t been productive, can’t stay healthy and doesn’t seem to be too popular in the locker room. Roseman has been trying to trade Jeffery since at least October, and although he’d love to get a deal done, it’s starting to look like the Eagles are going to be stuck with the receiver for another year, which might actually end up being a good thing for the tam, since DeSean Jackson doesn’t seem to be too popular with the front office right now.

If Jeffery can get back on the field and regain his penchant for being a monster in the red zone, the Eagles will totally forget about the salary cap implications because a healthy and productive Alshon will likely mean a deep playoff run for the Birds.

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How Cam Newton’s lost 2019 season created a vital financial break for the Patriots

There goes Bill Belichick, working the system again.

We had been talking about Cam Newton signing with the Patriots for months before it finally happened on Sunday night, but there was always one potential roadblock that was impossible to ignore: New England’s lack of cap space.

Well, a deal got done anyway, thanks in large part to Newton carrying a $1.1 million cap hit into the 2020 season. The deal also includes up to $6.5 million in incentives, which fall under the category of “not likely to be earned.” That’s an important distinction. Incentives that are considered “likely to be earned” (LTBE) count against a team’s cap BEFORE the season starts. “Not likely to be earned” (NLTBE) incentives do not count until after.

So how is that determined?

Well, it’s actually pretty simple. It’s based on benchmarks reached by the quarterback in the previous season. For instance, if a player had a bonus for playing in 15 games but only played in 14 the previous season, it would be considered an NLTBE bonus. If he had played in 16 games the season before, the bonus would be considered LTBE, and the team would have to fit the bonus into its budget before the season.

So with Newton playing in only two games in 2019, the Patriots had an extremely low bar to clear to come up with incentives that wouldn’t count against the cap until after the season. Because Newton did not throw a touchdown pass in 2019, New England could offer him a $5 million bonus for throwing just one touchdown pass in 2020. He could throw that touchdown pass in the first quarter of the first game and it still wouldn’t count against the Patriots’ cap until 2021.

We don’t actually know the details of the incentives included in Newton’s contract, but it’s possible (if not likely) that he will hit all of the benchmarks necessary to trigger them and earn that “extra” $6.5 million. If you’re wondering how the Patriots were able to lure a former MVP to New England for the vet minimum, that’s how.

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Lions rank 2nd in available salary cap room entering the 2020 NFL Draft

Lions rank 2nd in available salary cap room entering the 2020 NFL Draft

With a projected $29.5 million in salary cap room available, GM Bob Quinn has the Detroit Lions poised to make a move to acquire a high-priced veteran or two this offseason. And based on the rankings of available cap room, Quinn could win just about any bidding war he chooses to enter.

Field Yates of ESPN has the Lions with the second-most cap room entering this week’s draft. They trail only the Cleveland Browns, who hold over $37 million. The Lions have a $2.3 million advantage over the No. 3 team on the list, the Philadelphia Eagles. The Darius Slay trade effectively flipped the two teams in the cap availability rankings.

The figures do not include the rookie cap allotment for draft picks.

Bills cap space entering 2020 NFL Draft

Where the Buffalo Bills sit in terms of salary cap space heading into the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Buffalo Bills made plenty of moves in free agency, adding the likes of Mario Addison and Josh Norman, among several other moves.

Certainly in the “other” category is trading for high-profile wide receiver Stefon Diggs. While many of these moves were costly, the Bills are still sitting pretty well in terms of salary cap space as the 2020 NFL Draft approaches.

Per ESPN’s Field Yates, the official cap number for the Bills is $20,596,199. That lands the Bills at the 11th most salary cap space in the NFL. Buffalo entered the offseason among the league leaders in terms of cap space, but they still have a healthy chunk left to work with.

The Browns lead the NFL in terms of current cap space, with $37.5 million. They edge out the Lions ($29.5M) and Eagles ($27.2M), respectively.

A quick look around the AFC East sees the Jets just outside that top three at No. 4 with $25.2 million. The Dolphins slightly edge out the Bills as well, sitting at $22.7 million, which puts them at No. 8. The Patriots are the AFC East team in the roughest shape, sitting at dead last in terms of cap space with only $1.1 million as things currently sit.

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Browns carry the most salary cap room into the draft

GM Andrew Berry and the Cleveland Browns carry the most 2020 salary cap room into the draft

Heading into the 2020 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns are in very good shape on the salary cap front. No team has more 2020 cap room available at the kickoff of the draft than the Browns.

Per Field Yates of ESPN, the Browns top the list with over $37 million in available cap room. That figure is over $8 million higher than the second team on the list, the Detroit Lions.

It’s a sign that new GM Andrew Berry and his regime have not gone hog-wild splurging on big-ticket free agents. The abundant cap room gives the Browns some flexibility to acquire high-priced veterans in trades, if they choose that path.

With Myles Garrett and Kareem Hunt among the many key players who will need new contracts in the next year or two, it’s important for Berry and the Browns to remain prudent. But it’s still nice to have the cap space to help bolster the roster in ways several other teams cannot.

Ryan Tannehill’s $118M deal with Titans is further proof Eagles made correct decision with Carson Wentz

Ryan Tannehill’s $118M deal is further proof Eagles made the correct decision with Carson Wentz

After the NFL and the players agreed to a new CBA early Sunday morning, the contract agreements started to flow as the Tennessee Titans fired the first salvo, forgoing a relationship with Tom Brady, to re-sign Ryan Tannehill to a four-year deal, worth $118 million with $62 million fully guaranteed per ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.

It’s a huge deal for a quarterback who was jettisoned out of Miami for a late-round pick from the Titans.

The Titans clearly feel like Tannehill was an integral part of their run to the postseason and paid him like he was a tier-1 signal-caller.

Had the Philadelphia Eagles waited to address Carson Wentz’s contract status this offseason, they’d probably be facing a similar contract conundrum to the one the Cowboys have with Dak Prescott.

Howie Roseman and company struck first and they struck quickly during the 2019 offseason, signing Wentz to a cap-friendly deal that will allow the Eagles to remain competitive for years to come.

Wentz’s deal is worth $128 million, with at least $107 million guaranteed, and he even though he’s among the top-5 highest paid at his position in average, he could have gotten more.

In comparing the deals, the 31-year old Tannehill’s deal is for four years, at $118 million total, at $29.5 million per season, with $62 million fully guaranteed.

Meanwhile, Wentz is just 27 years old on a four-year deal that won’t start until next season. Its total value is $128 million total at $32 million per season and $66 million guaranteed.

Wentz is among the highest-paid when it comes to average value per season, but in 2020, he’ll be the 15th highest paid in the league per average.

Per Over The Cap, Wentz earned $8.5 million in 2019 and will be on the hook for $22.7 million in 2020 as part of a fifth-year option the Eagles exercised before last season.

The Eagles could have waited to extend Wentz, considering he’s suffered season-ending injuries during the 2017 and 2018 NFL seasons.

With Jared Goff, Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes all coming up on the horizon, both Wentz and Howie Roseman did the best thing for the organization, getting the deal out the way, while allowing cap flexibility, as his deal falls in line at about $26 million per season thanks to some resourceful contract structures.

The Eagles could have paid more and had the 26-year-old quarterback won MVP in 2019, he could be requesting $40 million per.

Allowing the Eagles and Wentz to set the quarterback market, without mortgaging the talent around him, Wentz’s deal forced the hand of the Rams who had to pay Goff more than Wentz, based on the merit of actually competing in and winning a few playoff games.

With Tannehill off the board, Prescott and Patrick Mahomes are among the players who are scheduled to get paid next. Mahomes will reset the market for years to come, but by taking care of Wentz a year early, the Eagles eliminated themselves from matching what could be a $35 million+ per year deal between Prescott and the Cowboys or closer to $38 million if Dallas chooses to franchise him this offseason and in 2021.

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