Tag: over the cap

Steelers salary cap update after Cordarelle Patterson, Dean Lowry signings

The Steelers still have over $11 million in salary cap space.

This has been the busiest offseason in the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers thanks in huge part to General Manager Omar Khan and his aggressive nature when it comes to adding talent. This is something many fans don’t understand after two decades of Kevin Colbert and his ultra-conservative approach.

The most recent additions to the Steelers roster are defensive lineman Dean Lowry and wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. Lowry gives the Steelers a strong run defender who should provide some nice depth. Patterson is a do-it-all skill player with tons of experience who should excel as a kick returner with the new rules.

You might think the Steelers are out of money after all the activity this offseason but Khan’s background in working the salary cap has shown itself big time. According to Over The Cap, even after all the moves the Steelers have made, they still have $11,309,907 in cap space.

This is ideal with the 2024 NFL draft coming up. The Steelers have plenty of money to sign their rookie class and even delve into post-draft free agency when teams start cutting salaries.

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NFL sets salary cap for 2024, what it means for the Seahawks

So, what does it mean for the Seahawks?

The NFL can’t exactly print money just yet, but at this rate they’ll get there eventually. The league just announced the salary cap ceiling for the 2024 season and it’s significantly higher than the original projections were.

According to Tom Pelissero at NFL Network, the cap has been set at $255.4 million this year.

That’s $30 million more than last year and $13 million more than the Over the Cap projections.

So, what does it mean for the Seahawks?

Yesterday the team did a simple restructure of Geno Smith’s contract, converting a roster bonus that was due next month into a signing bonus. The move saved them $4.8 million in cap room for 2024. That pulled them about even with the old projected cap ceiling.

However, with the new cap ceiling number the Seahawks now have just under $13 million to spend. Their effective cap space, which includes the cost of their draft class is now roughly at $7.89 million.

This means we should start to see some roster movement soon. Priority free agents for Seattle to re-sign include Leonard Williams, Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks. Potential cap casualties include Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs and Tyler Lockett.

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Vikings are getting value from their players

Despite not having the greatest salary cap health, the Vikings are getting the most out of their contracts

OverTheCap.com’s Jason Fitzgerald put a dollar value to a team’s on the field performance using a mixture of positional value and Pro Football Focus and their evaluation process. OverTheCap calls it a team’s Overall Value in their Team Valuation metrics.

According to Over The Cap the Vikings are getting a bang for their buck this season, ranking ninth in overall value through week two.

Ranked ahead of them are teams like the Miami Dolphins, Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts. The Dolphins are getting their money’s worth out of trio of Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Like the Dolphins, the Commanders and Colts are also getting instant contributions from quarterbacks on their rookie deals.

Minnesota’s top player in overall value is Kirk Cousins, with a value of $43.06M. However, when it comes to players outplaying their contracts, their is the superstar Justin Jefferson, who is making around $3.28M but has an overall value closer to $26.44M. Ivan Pace also is notably on this list for his overall value being closer to $18.97M and making less than $1M this season.

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Vikings have third-most draft picks still currently in the league

Despite some misses, the Vikings have done a really good job drafting

Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com listed the teams “responsible for starting the career” of the most players in the NFL. For clarification, this means that the team has drafted the most players that are still on NFL rosters.

The Dallas Cowboys lead this metric with 82 players. Following them are the Baltimore Ravens, with 77 players. In third are the Minnesota Vikings, with 75 players. The top-five rounds out with the San Francisco 49ers with 74 and the New England Patriots at 71.

The Cowboys, Ravens, 49ers and Patriots scouting departments are known for their success in the drafts. The Patriots held on to 20 years of success based on how they drafted and constructed their rosters. The Cowboys, Ravens and 49ers have been consistent contenders based on the talent they have taken the past few years.

For the Vikings to be in the middle of this discussion is a nod to the success of their scouting department and their ability to find players with talent that translates to the NFL.

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Salary cap expert says these 5 Saints veterans are in dangerous territory

It’s a day that ends in “Y” so an NFL salary cap expert is anxiously studying the Saints’ outlook. They say these five veterans are entering dangerous territory:

It’s a day that ends in “Y” so an NFL salary cap expert is anxiously studying the New Orleans Saints’ outlook. But this time they’re making predictions about it. Over The Cap’s Nick Korte writes that these five Saints veterans are entering dangerous territory, and that they’re in jeopardy of losing their roster spots in 2024.

Using a concept termed “contract fate” created by studying how teams treat veteran players after signing contracts, Korte found five outcomes were possible after players put pens to paper — negative “fates” like termination and pay cuts, along with positive “fates” in extensions and pay raises, along with a “fate” that’s fair for both the player and team in which the contract expires as written.

Korte then studied a sample size of more than 2,000 NFL contracts to find how often each “fate” occurred. And 50.7% of players are terminated before their contracts run out, while another 11.6% take pay cuts; a combined 62.3% of contracts ended with a negative outcome for the player. After breaking it down further into position groups, Korte took a look around the league and put together a list of players with “odds of negative contract fate” in 2023.

In other words, Korte suggests, these players might be fighting for their jobs in 2024. Despite having signed multi-year deals with the Saints, they’ll need to play at a high level in 2023 to return the following season. New Orleans is in the red by more than $63 million next year, though they can reach cap compliance again through another round of their usual restructures. Still, departures are possible.

Let’s break down each case and see whether we agree or disagree with Korte’s assessment:

Top 20 salary cap hits for the Lions in 2023

Breaking down the top 20 salary cap commitments for the Detroit Lions in 2023

Who are the 20 players who will count the most against the salary cap for the Detroit Lions in 2023?

Salary cap commitment is not the same as salary. Things like prorated bonuses, signing bonuses and incentive clauses mean the cap obligation is often quite different from the amount the player will actually earn in a season.

Here are the top 20 salary cap commitments for the Detroit Lions in 2023.

 

The 15 biggest salary cap hits for the Seahawks in 2023

Nowhere is the change more apparent than the Seahawks’ salary cap outlook for the 2023 season.

The Seattle Seahawks have undergone a pretty dramatic transformation over the last 16 months. Since what’s become a grand larceny type trade sending Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, the front office has remade the core of their roster into one that’s younger, better suited to compete in the modern NFL and yet still very-much a product of Pete Carroll and John Schneider’s team-building philosophy.

Nowhere is the change more apparent than the Seahawks’ salary cap outlook for the 2023 season. Where once Wilson’s next contract would have taken up a massive amount of resources, the money is now far more evenly-divided – reflective of a more balanced team overall. Here are Seattle’s 15 highest cap numbers this year.

All salary cap numbers are courtesy of Over the Cap.

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Vikings double salary cap space with pending Dalvin Cook release

Moving on from Dalvin Cook will result in a lot of savings for the Vikings

On Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings informed running back Dalvin Cook that they planned to release him. Before doing so, they are going to make one more effort to trade him.

When they do inevitably release him, the salary cap situation for the Vikings will be a lot healthier for both 2023 and 2024. Upon his release, the Vikings will have $18.75 million in cap space in 2023 per Over The Cap. That money will make a difference for the Vikings in trying to sign wide receiver Justin Jefferson and edge rusher Danielle Hunter to long-term contracts.

The 2024 salary cap is in an even better spot. With a Cook release, $12.5 million of the $15.6 million comes off the books giving the Vikings a total of $54.3 million in salary cap space.

The dead money is a frustrating element. After securing $2 million guaranteed with his shoulder surgery back in February, Cook will cost the Vikings $8.2 million in dead cap over the next two seasons.

The Vikings are continuing to reshape the roster which gives them financial flexibility. Moving on from veterans on bad contracts that Rick Spielman signed during his tenure is what they are doing to get there.

Chiefs are top spenders on undrafted free agent guarantees in 2023

The #Chiefs are the biggest spenders in the NFL when it comes to undrafted free agent guaranteed money in 2023.

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The Kansas City Chiefs have spent more guaranteed money on their class of undrafted free agents in 2023 than any other team in the NFL.

OverTheCap’s Nick Korte shared a list on Twitter on Tuesday, featuring the most and least guaranteed money given to 2023 UDFAs by teams. The Chiefs were right at the top with $1.1225M, while the Cincinnati Bengals came in at the bottom with $35K in guarantees spent.

RB Deneric Prince and DE Truman Jones — two of the top-ranked UDFAs signed by Kansas City — both earned $216K in guarantees on their contracts. CB Reese Taylor, CB Kahlef Hailassie, OL Jerome Carvin, LB Cam Jones, WR Nikko Remigio and LB Isaiah Moore all had at least $50K or more in guaranteed money attached to their deals.

This isn’t exactly a one-off for the Chiefs either. Korte added a follow-up tweet saying that the team has given six-figure guarantees to 19 UDFAs on record, including six total in 2023.

One reason Kansas City is a big spender here — their entire draft class costs less than others given that they’re picking at the end of each round after winning Super Bowl LVII. Brett Veach feels he can go out and spend a bit more there in order to land players that they really like and who they believe will make their roster more competitive.

There is also something to be said about opportunity. A lot of undrafted free agents are sold on the system, the culture and the opportunity to compete. As a Super Bowl-winning roster without a lot of starting jobs up for grabs, this team isn’t as flush with chances as others might be. Some of these players might need some extra motivation in the way of a guaranteed salary or a signing bonus to join a team that it’ll be much more difficult to make when it comes time for roster cuts.

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Report: Vikings retain part of Za’Darius Smith’s salary

Wording from Ian Rapoport’s tweet of a reworked contract smelled fishy, and it came to fruition as the Vikings retained part of his salary.

On Friday evening, the Minnesota Vikings traded outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith to the Cleveland Browns in a pick swap. The Vikings sent 2025 sixth and seventh-round picks to the Browns in exchange for fifth-round picks in 2024 and 2025.

Mere hours later, Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reported that the Vikings retained some of Smith’s salary. This was something I alluded to in an earlier piece when the trade was announced, as the tweet from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport alluded to a reworked contract to make the move happen.

The wording signaled that the Vikings retained some of Smith’s salary, as it was just vague enough to allude to something of the sort.

How much did the Vikings end up taking on? That remains to be seen, but it’s likely substantial. The Browns entered the day with only $7.1 million in cap space per Over The Cap and the Vikings were set to pay Smith $5 million guaranteed after that amount vested five days into the new league year.

Overall, it’s a disappointment that the Vikings absorbed any salary considering the rather poor return they got back from the Browns. Although, upgrading sixth and seventh-round picks is still better than nothing at all.