Tag: salary cap space

Do the Saints have enough salary cap space to sign their draft picks?

The New Orleans Saints have plenty of salary cap space to sign their rookies after making their selections in the 2020 NFL Draft.

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The 2020 NFL Draft is just a day away, and the New Orleans Saints have set themselves up to improve after retaining many of their own free agents in this year’s open signing period. While some positions (linebacker, receiver) should be a higher priority to address than others (offensive line, cornerback), the Saints are in position to add a prospect at almost any spot and walk away feeling great about it.

But do they even have enough salary cap space to sign their draft class? There’s always plenty of hand-wringing in the media over how the Saints use their resources, but you don’t get extra credit for unspent cap space. Per ESPN’s Field Yates, the Saints rank 28th in spending room with $4,067,357 to burn.

That places them among two well-run franchises (the rebuilding New England Patriots and the reigning-champion Kansas City Chiefs) as well as two others desperate to get back to relevancy after botched Super Bowl bids (the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams). It’s interesting that of those five teams ranked lowest in cap space, all five have made it at least to the conference title game in recent years.

And, yes, the Saints won’t have a problem signing their draft class. The offseason top-51 rule means that only the 51 highest-valued contracts count against the salary cap, so any new rookie contracts the Saints add will wipe lesser-valued deals off the books — effectively curbing the cost.

Per the analysts at Over The Cap, the Saints currently-slotted draft picks are valued at around $5,258,257. Because rookie contract values are partially tied to draft slots, that number will change if the Saints make any trades. But if you break it down to their slots as-is and add those rookie salary cap hits to the Saints salary cap table, they’re still more than $2.8 million beneath the limit.

So this is nothing to worry about. These are all things the Saints are keenly aware of, which salary cap guru Khai Hartley has factored into his spreadsheets. There’s a reason he’ll be in the decision-making videoconference call with head coach Sean Payton, general manager Mickey Loomis, and assistant G.M./college scouting director Jeff Ireland on draft day. The team is in good hands.

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Broncos have 6th-most salary cap space in the NFL

These ten teams have the most salary cap space going into the NFL Draft.

Going into the NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos have the sixth-most salary cap space in the league, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

Here’s a look at the 10 teams with the most cap space, per Yates:

1. Cleveland Browns $37,547,510
2. Detroit Lions $29,488,200
3. Philadelphia Eagles $27,145,824
4. New York Jets $25,164,780
5. Washington Redskins $24,943,685
6. Denver Broncos $24,173,954
7. Indianapolis Colts $23,926,469
8. Miami Dolphins $22,682,552
9. Tennessee Titans $21,896,801
10. Los Angeles Chargers $20,994,933

Even after paying a large rookie class, Denver will still have a decent amount of cap space left. The Broncos will want to have some extra cap available going into the season so they can sign injury replacements and possibly pick up players cut by other teams in early September.

Any unused cap space from this season will roll over and be added to Denver’s 2021 total. Earlier this year, the Broncos rolled over nearly $15 million in unused salary cap space from last season.

Von Miller will be Denver’s biggest cap hit this year ($25.625 million).

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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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NFLPA reports updated 2020 Saints salary cap space figure

The NFL Players Association reported that the Saints have 68 players under contract for the 2020 season, limiting their salary cap space.

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Pinning down an exact number for how much salary cap space NFL teams have to work with is a difficult business. Transactions happen almost daily this time of the year, in-between free agency and the draft, and the problem is compounded by innovative teams like the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are more creative in their contract structures than most outfits around the league, leading to a constantly-shifting salary cap space outlook.

Thankfully, the NFL Players Association does its part to keep the public in the know. They’ve released an updated salary cap space report for each NFL team, detailing how many contracts each team has on the books as well as their current amount of spending-room.

For the Saints, the NFLPA report estimates them to be $4,279,857 beneath the 2020 salary cap, with 68 players signed (of a possible 90). That would include the contracts with cornerback P.J. Williams and offensive lineman Cameron Tom, the details of which were recently reported by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football.

Underhill reports that Williams returned with a 2020 cap hit of just over $2 million (accounting for a $1.87 million base salary and a $137,500 signing bonus, both fully-guaranteed). Tom, however, will count just $850,000 against the Saints salary cap with a base salary of $750,000 and a $100,000 signing bonus. His deal includes a $37,500 incentive for being active in Week 1.

While the Saints will need some salary cap space to sign their rookie class, it won’t amount for much, and it’s also a number they can already estimate based off their draft slots. But we shouldn’t expect any more big moves unless the Saints first work out a restructure or two with some of the highly-paid members of the team.

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Colts have $24M in salary cap space after free agency

An updated look at the salary cap space for Indy.

The Indianapolis Colts were uncharacteristically among the big spenders this offseason but still have enough salary cap space left to make some moves before the 2020 NFL draft if they want to.

Starting free agency with roughly $80 million in salary cap space, the Colts are now down to just over $24 million—good for the seventh-most in the league, per Over The Cap.

The big contracts like the extensions for defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and left tackle Anthony Castonzo took a big hit out of the salary cap as did the one-year deal for quarterback Philip Rivers.

After that, the Colts signed some cheap one-year deals that barely impact the cap. Those came in the form of defensive tackle Sheldon Day and cornerbacks T.J. Carrie and Xavier Rhodes.

With $24 million left, the Colts could still make a a move for a depth player but their big spending is likely over. When considering the amount of money needed for the draft pool and the amount of money the Colts might rollover to 2021, a big contract likely isn’t on the way.

Chris Ballard’s frugality in recent offseasons has allowed for this big offseason of spending. It gave them the flexibility with the salary cap to add a player like Buckner on a four-year extension while also signing Rivers to a $25 million deal.

With the draft just a few weeks away, the Colts are turning all of their focus on the incoming rookie class, but they still have enough money to make a move if they need to.

Updated 49ers salary cap space in mid-free agency

The 49ers have the 16th-most salary cap room in the NFL.

A salary cap crunch forced the 49ers to make their biggest splash of the offseason in a trade that sent Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts. They re-signed Arik Armstead and Jimmie Ward, but most of their other additions have been relatively minor depth signings.

All of their offseason maneuvering has left them with $14,558,790 in salary cap space according to Over the Cap. That’s the 16th-most room in the NFL at the end of March.

Despite the fact they’re not going to need a ton of room to make a big free agent move, that cap number matters for the 49ers. A long-term extension for tight end George Kittle is still on the table, and they need some room to add their 2020 draft class.

Their relatively sizable cap space can be traced back to the structure of the Armstead and Ward contracts. Both of them have low cap hits in 2020, which gave the 49ers a little wiggle room. They can generate additional space by making a couple of post-June 1 cuts.

This is the reason the 49ers made the deal they made for Buckner. He got a massive, front-loaded contract that San Francisco would not have been able to fit and still re-sign Armstead, Ward and a host of others. It also would’ve made Kittle’s extension even more difficult. Now they’re in a position where they’re far enough under the cap that they have some breathing room to negotiate a deal for arguably their most important player.

Broncos’ updated salary cap space after re-signing Shelby Harris

How much salary cap space do the Broncos have left after bringing back Shelby Harris?

Even after agreeing to re-sign defensive lineman Shelby Harris to a one-year deal, the Broncos are still projected to have more than $18 million in remaining salary cap space, according to Spotrac.com.

Harris will have a base salary of $2.5 million and a roster bonus of $750,000, according to Spotrac. That brings his 2020 salary cap hit to $3.25 million, which is about 1.52% of the team’s salary cap of $213,959,450.

After re-signing Harris, Denver will be left with $18,479,354 in cap space, according to Spotrac’s estimate. That does not include the cap hits for recently re-signed linebacker Joe Jones and defensive lineman Joel Heath — but both of those defenders should have low cap hits.

If the Broncos do not use all of their remaining cap space this season, the unused cap will roll over for the 2021 season.

Denver might consider making a few more bargain signings. One possible candidate could be cornerback Prince Amukamara, who played with Vic Fangio in Chicago. If he is still available after the draft, Amukarama could make sense as an experienced depth player for the Broncos’ secondary.

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Broncos still have some salary cap space to work with

Broncos general manager John Elway still has close to $20 million in remaining salary cap space, according to this estimate.

The Broncos are believed to be done making splashes in free agency but that doesn’t mean the team is out of money.

After learning the details of Graham Glasgow’s contract, OverTheCap.com estimates that the Broncos have $21,960,396 in remaining salary cap space. That includes the cap hits for new players such as A.J. Bouye (around $13.4 million), Jurrell Casey (about $11.8 million) and Melvin Gordon ($7 million).

That total does not include the cap hit for new punter Sam Martin, who will earn an average of $2.35 million per year. Martin’s cap hit probably won’t be exactly $2.35 million this season but for the sake of an estimation, we’ll subtract that from OTC’s number to get $19,610,396 in remaining cap space.

Denver will want to have some cap space remaining during the season to sign injury replacements but the Broncos could still make a few moves and have money left over for a rainy day. Any unused cap from this season will roll over and be added to the team’s 2021 cap total.

Denver might consider making a few more bargain signings. One possible candidate could be cornerback Prince Amukamara, who played with Vic Fangio in Chicago. If he is still available after the draft, Amukarama could make sense as an experienced depth player for the Broncos’ secondary.

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Colts’ updated salary cap space after early free agency

Indy is looking at just under $30 million in salary cap.

As the first week of free agency has come and gone, the Indianapolis Colts have made drastic changes to their roster by making big trades and big signings, both of which have had an impact on the team’s salary cap space.

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Opening the offseason with the second-most salary-cap space in the league, the Colts made some big moves. They traded for and signed defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, they signed Anthony Castonzo to a contract extension and they brought in quarterback Philip Rivers on a one-year deal.

All of this—plus some smaller moves—has had a massive impact on the salary cap. Depending on which site you use, the Colts have somewhere between $28–29 million in salary-cap space.

Over The Cap has the Colts sitting with $28.1 million while Spotrac has Indy looking at $29.3 million. The difference likely comes from the discrepancy in how much dead-cap the Colts owe to Brian Hoyer. Over The Cap has it listed at $4 million while Spotrac has it listed at $2.95 million.

Just know that the Colts have a little bit under $30 million in salary-cap space following the deals of Buckner, Castonzo and Rivers.

With no plans to move on from Jacoby Brissett, which would save them a pretty penny, the Colts still have enough room to make a move or two. It wouldn’t be splashy, especially with the draft pool taking up a chunk of the cap space.

However, there are still some viable options on the market at positions of need. Maybe they come to terms with Jadeveon Clowney on a short-term deal. They could possibly target veteran cornerback Logan Ryan to replace the recently released Pierre Desir. Perhaps they bring in Devin Funchess or another depth-worthy wide receiver to a needy room.

Regardless, the Colts have made big moves and have room for more if they feel like it. It seems they are going all-in now so another signing wouldn’t be surprising.

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Broncos have more cap space after cutting QB Joe Flacco

After waiving quarterback Joe Flacco, the Broncos still have some salary cap space available to make a few more moves.

The Denver Broncos have informed quarterback Joe Flacco that he will be waived with a failed physical designation. After making the move official, Broncos general manager John Elway will have more salary cap space available.

Denver will eat $13.6 million in “dead money” — money that was already paid to Flacco that will count against the team’s cap this year, according to Spotrac.com. Because the QB’s $20.25 million salary will no longer be accounted for though, the Broncos will have a net savings of $10.05 million in cap space.

That brings the team’s total salary cap space available to $33,456,437, according to Spotrac, not including Graham Glasgow’s cap hit.

That total of more than $33.4 million does account for QB Jeff Driskel ($1.75 million), cornerback A.J. Bouye (over $13.4 million) and defensive lineman Jurrell Casey (close to $11.8 million).

That estimate does not include Glasgow’s cap charge because the details of the offensive lineman’s contract are not yet known. Glasgow will earn an average of $11 million per season but that doesn’t necessarily mean he will have a salary cap hit of $11 million in 2019.

For the sake of simplicity, though, we can subtract $11 million from Spotrac’s estimate and calculate that the Broncos have over $22.45 million in remaining cap space. Elway’s probably not done making moves yet. We are tracking all of Denver’s free agency transactions here.

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