Tag: salary cap

Bill Belichick says Sean Payton should be a Coach of the Year candidate

“They don’t even have a full team here from a salary cap standpoint,” Bill Belichick said of what Sean Payton is doing with the Broncos.

The Denver Broncos are 6-5 and within reach of making the playoffs, and former NFL coach Bill Belichick has taken notice.

During his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, Belichick suggested that Broncos coach Sean Payton should be in consideration for Coach of the Year honors.

Technically, Belichick said “Executive of the Year” for the way Payton has managed the team, but that’s not an award Payton would qualify for.

“I think Sean really should be in the running for — whatever, Executive of the Year or whatever you want to call it,” Belichick said. “I mean, to play with, you know, a team that’s 30% under the strength based on the salary cap and the dead money that they had to carry.

“They don’t even have a full team here from a salary cap standpoint. But these guys are playing really well and they’re in a tough division, but seems like they’re getting better. And they’re good on defense.”

The Broncos took on a $53 million dead money cap hit this spring when they released quarterback Russell Wilson. Despite that, Denver’s been competitive this fall, which is no small feat.

Belichick also spoke about the fit Nix has been in Payton’s offense as a rookie.

“Sean runs a tough offense,” Belichick said. “He does. They substitute almost on every play. They change formations a lot. They don’t repeat plays — they repeat concepts but not plays. There’s a lot for the quarterback to do to get things organized cleanly, and it seems like Nix is doing a good job of it. … It’s a pretty smooth operation.”

Notable praise from one of the best coaches in NFL history. Payton and Nix appear to have the Broncos back on track.

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50% of Cowboys’ cap space, $127 million, won’t see field vs Eagles in Week 10

Through massive injuries and dead money, the Cowboys are missing almost half of their cap space vs Philadelphia. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones have not come close to capitalizing on their investment in 2024. After spending the entire offseason telling fans that they had to protect the books, the financials are kicking their tails on the way to a lost season.

Thanks to a myriad of offseason decisions and untimely injuries, the Cowboys are going to take the field Sunday with barely 50% of their cap space in use against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Dallas sits at 3-5 through nine weeks, hardly getting the expected bang for the buck from the players they’ve paid. Injuries are mounting and for various reasons they have a ton of cap space being taken up by players who won’t take the field.

How much?

$105.7 million worth; over 41% of 2024’s salary cap of $255.4 million..

When combined with their $21 million in available space, that brings the total to $126.7 million of space that won’t be on the field in Week 10.

The reality is Dallas looks at contracts as internal rewards for previous performance instead of speculation on future contributions and it keeps them from entering the market as true participants.

Led by Dak Prescott’s $40 million and DeMarcus Lawrence’s $20 million cap hits, Dallas has over 20 entries in their ledger of players who will not be able to contribute to the team against the Eagles. Prescott is opting for season-ending hamstring surgery, while Lawrence is IR, along with names like Brandin Cooks and Sam Williams.

There are known names who are on the active roster but will be made inactive on Sunday, including Prescott and All-Pro CB DaRon Bland. Here’s a look at the total rundown of cap space that won’t see the field in Week 10.

Player 2024 Cap Hit (millions) Reason
Dak Prescott $44.6 injury
DeMarcus Lawrence $20.4 injury
Brandin Cooks $10 injury
Ezekiel Elliott $6 Dead Money
Tyron Smth $6 Dead Money
Michael Gallup $4.3 Dead Money
Leighton Vander Esch $2.5 Dead Money
Other dead money $1.8 Dead Money
Dorance Armstrong $1.5 Dead Money
Sam Williams $1.5 injury
Jordan Phillips $1.25 Injury
Marshawn Kneeland $1.24 Injury
DaRon Bland $1 Injury
Kelvin Joseph $0.75 Dead Money
Chuma Edoga $0.7 Injury
John Stephens $0.6 Injury
Amani Oruwariye $0.6 injury/dead
Nathan Thomas $0.5 injury
Earl Bostick $0.47 injury
Available Cap Space $20.9 unallocated
TOTAL $126.61 million

How trading Marshon Lattimore impacts the Saints salary cap

How does trading Marshon Lattimore impact the Saints salary cap? There’s little change this year, but they have to take their medicine in 2025:

The New Orleans Saints shifted gears and finally traded star cornerback Marshon Lattimore this week, just before the NFL trade deadline, sending thee playmaker to the Washington Commanders in exchange for multiple draft picks. But that isn’t the only cost of trading him. How did this move impact the Saints’ tense salary cap situation?

In brief, this will be felt for years. There isn’t much of a difference on 2024’s accounting since we’re in the middle of the season. Washington is paying the rest of Lattimore’s salary, saving the Saints about $605,000, but since he restructured his contract already they’re stuck with most of the dead money from those guarantees.

Let’s start with the bad news. The Saints are taking their medicine in 2025 with Lattimore counting against the cap by a whopping $31.6 million. Next year’s salary cap is projected to rise to about $273.3 million, but we won’t know the final number until the offseason. If it doesn’t move at all (it won’t), Lattimore’s dead money figure would take up 12.4% of this year’s cap, which was set at $255.4 million. If models are accurate, it’ll be almost 11.6% of the cap next year in 2025.

But the Saints shaved off more than $28 million from their 2026 salary cap spending. The cap is projected to reach as high as $292.4 million by then, which means their current cap commitments (about $237.9 million) are well beneath the spending limit. Inevitable restructures, free agent signings, and the next draft class will change that figure but so will any retirements and roster cuts this spring. We’re talking two years out so of course there’s going to be a lot of uncertainty.

This is a step in the right direction. The Saints didn’t get better by trading their best defender (if not their best player regardless of position), but their finances are going to improve. So is their ability to retain talent and sign upgrades in free agency. This is what a rebuild looks like. It isn’t pretty, and it won’t wrap up overnight. But the Saints tried the alternative — which blew up in their faces by hiring the wrong head coach and drafting the wrong players. So now they have to take the long, hard road back to success.

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Here’s what the Saints got from trading Marshon Lattimore

Here’s what the Saints got from their trade for Marshon Lattimore. The Commanders sent back multiple draft picks, including one of the Saints’ own:

Marshon Lattimore is on his way to the Washington Commanders after the New Orleans Saints cut a deal to trade the former four-time Pro Bowl cornerback. Was it worth it? What did they get back in the trade? Here’s what we know.

NFL insider Josina Anderson reported that the Saints packaged a fifth-round pick with Lattimore to get back picks in the third, fourth, and sixth rounds. ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed that the sixth rounder is the same pick New Orleans traded to Washington earlier this year, which they spent to acquire defensive tackle John Ridgeway III (plus a conditional seventh rounder).

But we’re still waiting for word on the third-round pick. If it’s Washington’s own choice, that is projected to fall at No. 93 overall. If it’s the third rounder the Commanders got from the Miami Dolphins (through the Philadelphia Eagles), that would slot in at No. 72 overall. That’s a massive swing, and getting the Commanders pick instead of the Dolphins choice would be significantly worse for New Orleans.

What about the salary cap? Lattimore restructured his deal earlier this year so the cap savings in 2024 are minimal —  about $605,000 in remaining salary  to be paid out in game checks each week. Lattimore will also count against  the 2025 salary cap by a staggering $31.6 million, but he’s off the books for good starting in 2026.

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Cardinals will pay all of Baron Browning’s remaining salary in 2024

The Broncos will get some salary cap relief after trading Baron Browning to the Cardinals.

After agreeing to trade a sixth-round draft pick to the Denver Broncos in exchange for pass rusher Baron Browning, the Arizona Cardinals are set to pay all of Browning’s remaining salary this season.

Browning went into the year with a $3.116 million base salary. Nine games into the season, he is still owed $1.56 million and the Cardinals will pay all of it, according to the Denver Post‘s Parker Gabriel.

It’s not much, but everything adds up for a team like the Broncos who are eating $53 million in dead money this season after cutting quarterback Russell Wilson in the spring.

Denver could have potentially received a compensatory draft pick if Browning walked in free agency next spring, but that would have depended on his next contract and the Broncos’ own free agency moves. Instead of weighing comp formulas next year, Denver decided to take a guaranteed sixth-round pick to trade Browning now.

The Broncos now hold seven draft picks in 2025.

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Cowboys could have shocking $100M+ in cap space unavailable Week 9 vs Falcons

Through massive injuries and dead money, the Cowboys are missing 1/3rd of their salary cap in the matchup with Atlanta. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Conversations about the Dallas Cowboys almost inevitably center around the topic of money. Despite three decades without sniffing a championship, owner Jerry Jones has used his extreme marketing savvy and business acumen to sit atop the list of rich sports franchises year after year. When talk of building a better team comes up, his son is always crying broke about the limitations of the NFL salary cap and how it’s impossible for the team to spend on free agency because of money earmarked to pay their megastars.

The reality is Dallas looks at contracts as internal rewards for previous performance instead of speculation on future contributions and it keeps them from entering the market as true participants.

As for 2024, Dallas sits at 3-4 through eight weeks, hardly getting the expected bang for the buck from the players they’ve paid. Injuries are mounting and for various reasons they have a ton of cap space being taken up by players who won’t take the field in Week 9.

How much?

$82.6 million worth; barely under a third of the 2024 salary cap.

When combined with their $21 million in available space, that brings the total to $103.6 million of space that won’t be on the field in Week 9.

Led by DeMarcus Lawrence’s $20 million cap hit, Dallas has over 20 entries in their ledger of players who will not be able to contribute to the team against the Atlanta Falcons. Lawrence is IR, along with names like Brandin Cooks and Sam Williams.

There are known names who are on the active roster but will be made inactive on Sunday, including Ezekiel Elliott, DaRon Bland, and more than likely Trevon Diggs.

If Diggs (calf tear) plays, the number drops to $68 million, still a ridiculously high percentage of 2024’s salary cap of $255.4 million.

Player 2024 Cap Hit (millions) Reason
DeMarcus Lawrence $20.4 injury
Trevon Diggs $14.1 Injury
Brandin Cooks $10 injury
Ezekiel Elliott $6 Dead Money
Tyron Smith $6 Dead Money
Micah Parsons $5.4 Injury
Michael Gallup $4.3 Dead Money
Leighton Vander Esch $2.5 dead Money
Ezekiel Elliott $2 Inactive
Other dead money $1.8 dead money
Dorance Armstrong $1.5 dead money
Sam Williams $1.5 injury
Jordan Phillips $1.25 Injury
Marshawn Kneeland $1.24 Injury
DaRon Bland $1 Injury
Kelvin Joseph $0.75 dead money
Chuma Edoga $0.7 Injury
John Stephens $0.6 Injury
Amani Oruwariye $0.6 injury/dead
Nathan Thomas $0.5 injury
Earl Bostick $0.47 injury

 

Chiefs cap space: Latest numbers after trades for DeAndre Hopkins, Joshua Uche

The Kansas City #Chiefs will have to get creative if they want to add another player before the NFL’s trade deadline.

The Kansas City Chiefs are officially all-in on their quest to complete the NFL’s first-ever Super Bowl three-peat after trading with the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and pass-rusher Joshua Uche.

Hopkins, who was dealt to Kansas City by Tennessee, is expected to play a key role in the Chiefs’ offense after injuries have decimated the defending champions’ receiving corps through seven games.

Uche was Kansas City’s latest acquisition by way of New England and should fit in well with Chris Jones and George Karlaftis on the Chiefs’ front four in Steve Spagnuolo’s gritty defense.

The deals that landed Hopkins and Uche didn’t come without a cost, though. After acquiring both players, Kansas City has effectively hit the NFL’s salary cap limit, with less than $1 million remaining available to spend.

 

Expect the Chiefs to get creative with the contracts they currently have on the books if injuries necessitate further roster moves through the rest of the season.

 

Early extension saved Saints a ton of money against the 2025 salary cap

An early extension with Alvin Kamara saved the Saints a ton of money against the 2025 salary cap. Next year’s cap gymnastics just got easier:

Now that’s some crafty accounting, but we’ve come to expect it from the New Orleans Saints. Alvin Kamara reached an agreement on a two-year extension with the Saints this week, and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the move is saving the team some money when it comes to the 2025 salary cap. Kamara’s early extension opened up about $18 million in savings on next year’s spending limit.

So how did the Saints manage to pay Kamara more money while spending less against the cap? We’ll know more when further details are shared about his deal’s structure, but NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill shares that it includes a $15.5 million signing bonus and $22.23 million in guarantees.

Kamara was initially on the books for 2025 at a staggering cap hit north of $29 million, with $25 million of it non-guaranteed, which made him a possible salary cap casualty. Instead, the Saints guaranteed a big portion of it but spread it out as a signing bonus (likely with their signature automatically-voiding “ghost years” tacked on).

The end result? Kamara’s 2025 cap hit should now fall at around $11 million, which is very manageable. And the Saints should now have somewhere close to $324 million in cap liabilities. Depending on where you look the 2025 salary cap is projected to rise to as high as $273 million, though more conservative models put it at just $260 million. The Saints still need to clear  at least $64 million before they can turn to signing new players, but that’s a problem for another day.

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Breaking down the details of the David Montgomery contract extension

Breaking down the details of the David Montgomery contract extension with the Lions

The Detroit Lions and running back David Montgomery agreed to a contract extension late last week. The financial details of the extension are now available, and it alters a little of the prevailing narrative about the money and obligations involved.

Per Over The Cap, the extension is indeed as advertised on the surface: two years, $18.25 million. Of that, $10.49 million is guaranteed, including a $3.25 million signing bonus. The extension runs through the 2027 season, though the Lions did add on a void year in 2028 to help amortize the cap hit over an extra year.

One detail that wasn’t initially reported is that there are now per-game roster bonuses for Montgomery through the end of the contract. Montgomery will get $30,000 for each game he is active, adding up to $510,000 in roster bonuses for a 17-game season.

The cap hit for 2026 is $8.37 million with a salary of $5.49 million. Those numbers jump to $10.245 million and $$7.49 million in 2027, a year that also includes a $1 million roster bonus.

As Over The Cap notes,

The extension lowered his cap number in 2024 by about $1.7 million. His 2025 cap number will increase by about $1.25 million as a result of the extension.

The way the cap setup is structured here, don’t expect Montgomery to play on this contract as it exists right now in 2027. There is considerable room, and time, for a restructure down the road.

Report: Saints ‘monitoring’ Davante Adams trade situation

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the New Orleans Saints are ‘monitoring’ the trade buzz surrounding Davante Adams:

Here’s the latest scoop on the Davante Adams front, courtesy of ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Trade rumors still surround the Las Vegas Raiders as they consider their options with the star wide receiver, who is currently dealing with a minor (and convenient) hamstring injury. And the New Orleans Saints have been linked to him.

While the widespread expectation is for Aaron Rodgers to push the New York Jets into pursuing Adams, Fowler reports that it’s no sure thing he’ll end up joining them. Other teams are in the mix, and, “I’m told the Saints are monitoring. You have the Derek Carr connection there.”

Fowler adds that the key issue will be Adams’ salary, and how much of it the Raiders are willing to pay to facilitate a trade. Teams running tight against the salary cap like the Saints are going to need that help, and it could spur  them into offering a sweeter deal than the Jets.

Let’s say the Jets offer a third-round pick while asking the Raiders to pay $5 million of Adams’ remaining salary. What if the Saints pony up a second rounder in exchange for Las Vegas covering $8 million? That’s what this could come down to, and it all hinges on how much urgency the Raiders feel to get Adams out of the building. But this is just speculation. The trade deadline is a month away on Nov. 5 and there’s plenty of time for this situation to develop further.

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