Oct 122013
 
David Baas' Contract Details - Courtesy by OverTheCap.com

David Baas’s Contract Details – Courtesy of OverTheCap.com

Three Ways of Dealing with David Baas’s Contract: I’ve seen people ask me questions here on The Corner Forum about Center David Baas’s contract, and it’s impact on the team going forward. His contractual breakdown is pictured above, courtesy of Baas’s salary cap page from overthecap.com. Let me point out the three most likely ways how his contract can be dealt with (meaning ’86ed). Baas has two years left on his deal after this season. He restructured this past off-season, moving dead money further down into his last two years, making it more difficult to cut him. One way that the Giants could deal with his situation is to cut him after this season, and gain $1,775,000 in cap space this off-season. The second course of action that they can take is to wait until after 2014 to cut him, when they could gain significantly more cap space – $5,250,000 to be exact – and have less dead money on the books as well ($3,225,000 compared to exactly double that amount if the Giants cut him after this year).

This brings me to the third option…(somehow Heisenberg’s voice during his conversation with Gustavo Fring from Breaking Bad out in the desert is rattling around in my head as I type this).

If Baas continues to be a liability by not being able to stay healthy, or play well when healthy, then they might have to go with the first option – something which is becoming increasingly apparent. A third way that they could do this AND gain MORE THAN $1,775,000 in cap space would be by releasing him this off-season and designating him as a post-June 1st cut. Teams can do this with up to two players a year. The Dolphins did this with two of their own this past off-season when they designated Linebackers Kevin Burnett and Karlos Dansby as such; you can read about it by clicking HERE.

Teams that use this strategy won’t reap the cap benefits right away though. They have to wait until June 2nd to do so; however, the players who are released under this designation are free to sign elsewhere as free agency starts when more money is available, and teams are ready to flex their wallets, so to speak. This is advantageous to the player in that it gives them a much better opportunity to find a job elsewhere at a higher salary, instead of waiting until after June 1st when teams have shot their collective wads.

As of June 2nd, the team can then gain room from not only the regular cap savings (which after 2013 in Baas’s case would be $1,775,000), but they’d also be able to spread out the remaining dead money – provided the player has at least 2 years left on his deal and has not completed his 4th year with the club (as per the present CBA, NFL contracts can’t be prorated more than 5 years). If the Giants were to exercise this option with Baas this coming off-season, they’d be able to split up his Dead Money over the course of two seasons – 2014 and 2015.

That Dead Money amount, if he were to be released this off-season would be $6,450,000. The Giants would be able to evenly spread this amount out over those two years of 2014 and 2015. They would also GAIN an extra $3,225,000 in cap space in addition to the regular amount of cap savings mentioned above ($1,775,000) if they were to release him under normal non-post-June 1st standards. Their cap savings in this case would be $5,000,000 in 2014 with only $3,225,000 in Dead Money remaining on the books for 2014 – half the original amount. The other $3,225,000 will be added to the 2015 season’s Dead Money total.

This third option that I described in detail above will be seriously considered after the season, as the Giants evaluate Baas’s future on the team. Suffice it to say, due to a combination of his injuries and consequent sub-par performance in comparison to this contract, he won’t be here past 2014 at the LATEST. Hell, he’ll be lucky to be here next year the way things are going. To wrap this up, and paraphrase Heisenberg in the process, let me go on record as saying that as of this moment, I prefer option 3.

Sep 032013
 
Eli Manning, New York Giants (December 3, 2012)

Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports Images

New York Giants Will Need to Make More Room Under the Salary Cap: Before I explain what needs to be done, let me display the cap numbers for all 53 players on the roster:

CAP # RANKPLAYERPOSITION2013 CAP NUMBER
1Eli ManningQB $20,850,000.00
2Chris SneeOG $11,000,000.00
3Antrel RolleSS $9,250,000.00
4Justin TuckDE $6,150,000.00
5Corey WebsterCB $5,345,000.00
6David BaasC $4,725,000.00
7Mathias KiwanukaDE $4,125,000.00
8Hakeem NicksWR $3,755,000.00
9William BeattyOLT $3,550,000.00
10David DiehlOT/OG $3,125,000.00
11Jason Pierre-PaulDE $2,825,000.00
12Victor CruzWR $2,530,000.00
13Steve WeatherfordP $2,500,000.00
14Prince AmukamaraCB $2,231,154.00
15Andre BrownRB $2,023,000.00
16Cullen JenkinsDT $1,816,666.00
17David WilsonRB $1,519,205.00
18Justin PughOT/OG $1,517,436.00
19Terrell ThomasCB $1,450,000.00
20Brandon MyersTE/H-BACK $1,125,000.00
21Zak DeOssieLONG SNAPPER $1,049,000.00
22Linval JosephDT $1,012,000.00
23Bear PascoeTE/H-BACK $892,500.00
24Keith RiversOLB $800,000.00
25Rueben RandleWR $748,166.00
26Johnathan HankinsDT $732,852.00
27Jerrel JerniganWR $723,813.00
28James BrewerOG/OT $663,023.00
29-30Trumaine McBrideCB $630,000.00
29-30Curtis PainterQB $630,000.00
31-38Kevin BootheOG $620,000.00
31-38Josh BrownK $620,000.00
31-38Dan ConnorMLB $620,000.00
31-38Louis Murphy, Jr.WR $620,000.00
31-38Ryan MundyS $620,000.00
31-38Mike PattersonDT $620,000.00
31-38Shaun RogersDT $620,000.00
31-38Aaron RossCB $620,000.00
39Jayron HosleyCB $616,250.00
40Adrien RobinsonTE $576,413.00
41Jacquian WilliamsOLB $574,670.00
42Da'Rel ScottRB $568,988.00
43-44Mark HerzlichOLB/MLB $560,000.00
43-44Henry HynoskiFB $560,000.00
45Spencer PaysingerOLB $556,000.00
46Brandon MosleyOG/OT $555,146.00
47Jim CordleC/OG $555,000.00
48Damontre MooreDE $548,813.00
49Ryan NassibQB $518,400.00
50Justin TrattouDE $480,000.00
51Cooper TaylorS $451,813.00
52Michael CoxRB $416,474.00
53Larry DonnellTE $405,000.00
$112,196,782.00

The total for the Top 51 cap numbers, as indicated above, is $111,375,308.

  • The total for the Top 53 cap numbers is $112,196,782.
Teams are operating under the Top 51 Rule until 4 pm ET on Wednesday. At midnight ET on Thursday, September 5th, regular season salary cap rules will be in effect. Regular season cap rules will include the following cap expenses besides those which are already in effect that include a team’s top 51 cap numbers:
  • The entire 53-man roster will count on the cap instead of just the to 51 cap numbers.
    • at minimum this will take up an extra $810,000 in cap room.
  • The Practice Squad will count.
    • at minimum this will count an extra $816,000.
  • Players on the Reserve/PUP List
    • Markus Kuhn’s 2013 cap number is $491,474.
    • He very likely has a salary split though which reduces his cap hit $177,000 down to $314,474.
  • Players on Injured Reserve.
    • The Giants have two right now: Stevie Brown (his cap number is $2,023,000) & Ramses Barden (who has a cap number of $620,000).
    • Barden is probably going to receive an injury settlement in the coming weeks though instead.
    • Right now, the total amount for the Giants is $2,643,000.

Teams will need to be cap compliant with regular season salary cap rules though by 4 pm ET on Wednesday, when league business hours cease. The Giants will need to make some moves based on the numbers I have below. First here is the Salary Cap breakdown with respect to the Top 51 Rule:

Giants' Cap Hits from player 1 to 53 as of 9-3-2013 - 5 of 6

Now here are the Salary Cap Calculation projections with the Regular Season Salary Cap Rules in effect:

Giants' Cap Hits from player 1 to 53 as of 9-3-2013 - 6 of 6
  • As can be seen in the Regular Season Salary Cap Rule projections, the Giants are going to over the cap if they don’t make a move or two.
  • The negative figure if $1,803,236 does not include additional cap space due to Andre Brown being placed on Temporary IR; his cap number will still count in full, but another player’s cap number will be added that which will cost around $555,000 for the season.
  • If you add that to the figure then you get $2,358,236.
  • In addition to this there are the Injury Settlement amounts.
  • If you estimate each one to roughly $100,000 per player for 8 players, then you get another $800,000.
  • The overage total would then be $3,158,236.
  • If you add another $1,000,000 in emergency funds/fudge money, then that total comes out to $4,158,236.
  • This amount of $4,158,236 is pretty close to how much cap room that the Giants will need to create by no later than 4 pm tomorrow, which is roughly 24 hours from the time of this post.
  • They will have to restructure or extend the contract of a player or two in order to create this cap room; the question then inevitably becomes who can they agree to this with on the team now?
There are three prime candidates that can help the Giants out: Chris Snee, Antrel Rolle, & Eli Manning. The Giants could also turn to Justin Tuck & Steve Weatherford, but they are not as ideal. Here are the contractual breakdowns for each of these five players courtesy of the Giants’ salary cap page from overthecap.com (click HERE to see the Giants’ page with the list of each player’s contractual breakdown):
Chris Snee - contractual breakdown as of May 26, 2013 Antrel Rolle - contractual breakdown as of February 18, 2013Eli Manning - contractual breakdown as of September 3, 2013Justin Tuck salary - as of 4-7-2013Steve Weatherford contract - July 10, 2013
  • Justin Tuck is in the last year of his deal, so the Giants’ only option with him would be to tack on a voidable year and create some cap room that way (they gave Osi Umenyiora this kind of deal last year, only not for the puupose of creating cap room), but then that would create Dead Money for the team on it’s 2014 salary cap, so that option is not the best.
  • Steve Weatherford’s contract would up to $738,750 in cap room, which wouldn’t be enough for the Giants to get by. It would help, and could be a complimentary option in addition to restructuring another big money player, but is not a primary option to create the necessary $4,158,236 in cap room, although it would reduce the total to $3,419,486 making it easier to restructure the deal of a guy like Snee, Eli, or Rolle.
  • Eli Manning’s contract could be restructured or extended to help this year, but it is more likely that the Giants will wait to change his contract around by extending him next year, giving the Giants the much needed room that they will need then to attempt and re-sign players like JPP, Nicks, and Joseph. I wouldn’t be surprised if they turned to Eli for help this year, but I think it’s more likely that they wait until next ear to do so, and instead turn to Snee or Rolle.
  • Antrel Rolle is a guy who does not like to get his contract restructured; he hasn’t had it changed since he has signed here a little over 3 years ago, so while he would be an ideal candidate for a restructure, it may not be the most realistic. An extension is possible with him, but may not be optimal due to his age. This then leaves us with one more option: Snee.
  • Chris Snee has consistently helped the Giants out in recent years when it comes to restructuring his deal. He did it last year by agreeing to having his contract restructured on September 8th, just before the Top 51 Rule ceased and the Giants’ season opener against Dallas at MetLife Stadium. I think he’s the logical choice to help out again this year.

Teams are allowed to restructure the contracts of players as many times as they like during a season. The one year rule of not changing a player’s contract that people sometimes misunderstand has to do with salary increases only, as former NFL agent Joel Corry of the National Football Post wrote to me in an email. This makes Snee eligible to help the Giants out again this year.

Snee has two years left on his contract, including this season. His $6,700,000 base salary this year can be reduced to as little as $840,000. This is the veteran minimum for a player who has 9 accrued seasons, such as Snee. The difference of $5,860,000 would then be divided in two, creating $2,930,000 in added cap space. It would also increase his 2014 cap number by $2,930,000 from $9,000,000 to $11,930,000 and would also decrease his cap savings amount in 2014 by that amount from $7,000,000 to $4,070,000.

The odds are that there will be two restructures, in any of these two combinations:

  • Snee/Rolle + Weatherford/Tuck
  • Snee + Rolle

All these permutations and combinations are a moot point unless the Giants go to the Bank Eli tomorrow. They could simply restructure or extend his deal now, and gain the room they need as a result. Eli’s cap number of $20,850,00 is by far the highest on the team. He has 3 years left on his deal, including this season, so there’s room for them to work with if they go that route. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next 24 hours or so in this regard. During the season, the Giants can also go back to any of the same players that they restructured before (if they still have enough leeway in their contracts of course), and ask them for more cap help if the need should arise. One way or the other, we’ll see an announcement made about what happens with regards to these possible contractual restructures or extension(s) by Wednesday for sure.

Aug 182013
 
Tom Coughlin, New York Giants (November 11, 2012)

Tom Coughlin – © USA TODAY Sports Images

August 18, 2013 NFL Salary Cap Update: Here are the latest NFL salary cap space figures for all clubs throughout the league courtesy of the NFLPA’s Top 51 League Cap Report website.

Official Salary Cap Space – 8/18/2013

CAP SPACE RANKTEAMPREVIOUS YEAR CARRYOVERTOTAL CAP SPACE
17Arizona$3,600,110.00$6,603,058.00
14Atlanta$307,540.00$7,469,186.00
20Baltimore$1,182,377.00$5,529,459.00
3Buffalo$9,817,628.00$21,910,064.00
7Carolina$3,654,825.00$13,803,380.00
29Chicago$3,236,965.00$922,767.00
5Cincinnati$8,579,575.00$17,091,631.00
1Cleveland$14,339,575.00$26,645,339.00
12Dallas$2,335,379.00$8,480,326.00
11Denver$11,537,924.00$10,249,438.00
22Detroit$466,992.00$5,013,453.00
8Green Bay$7,010,832.00$13,416,330.00
30Houston$2,422,689.00$763,445.00
18Indianapolis$3,500,000.00$6,566,134.00
2Jacksonville$19,563,231.00$22,691,605.00
32Kansas City$14,079,650.00$7,492.00
6Miami$5,380,246.00$16,187,685.00
24Minnesota$8,004,734.00$4,292,090.00
10New England$5,607,914.00$10,394,769.00
21New Orleans$2,700,000.00$5,173,260.00
27NY Giants$1,000,000.00$2,650,728.00
16NY Jets$3,400,000.00$6,676,562.00
19Oakland$4,504,761.00$5,976,452.00
4Philadelphia$23,046,035.00$19,341,101.00
23Pittsburgh$758,811.00$4,352,684.00
25San Diego$995,893.00$3,110,725.00
15San Francisco$859,734.00$7,116,765.00
26Seattle$13,265,802.00$3,090,007.00
31St. Louis$247,347.00$113,676.00
9Tampa Bay$8,527,866.00$11,588,471.00
13Tennessee$12,867,893.00$8,338,238.00
28Washington$4,270,296.00$1,338,440.00

If you would like to compare the figures listed to today to those which I posted two weeks ago for each club on Sunday, August 4th, then simply click HERE to do so. After you do that, take a look at the teams in the NFC East. The Giants have $2,650,728 in cap room as of now, making them one of the “almost running on empty teams” that I listed below. The Eagles (ranking 4th in the league) and Cowboys (ranked 12th) are in solid shape to start the regular season, while the Giants (who are ranked 27th) are on the border of having to make some financial moves to be able to have some breathing room under the cap. The Redskins (who rank 28th) definitely have to make a move or two with respect to the restructuring a contract or two in order to be able to operate in the regular season as well once the Top 51 Rule expires 18 days from now on Thursday, September 5th at 12:00 am New York time.

To make an automotive parallel, generally speaking, teams with less than $3 million worth of cap room are basically almost running on empty. Right now, according to this list, there are six clubs who fit into this category: the Giants, Redskins, Bears, Texans, Rams, & Chiefs. These six clubs, and possibly two of the clubs slightly ahead of them (the Seahawks & Chargers), will have to make some extra room under the cap in order to cover regular season operational expenses which are not included now, but will be factored in to the salary cap equation once the Top 51 rule expires in slightly less than 18 days. These factors include the following:

  • cap room for players on Injured Reserve.
  • players who have received Injury Settlements.
  • additional dead money as the result of players who are cut to reach the 53-man roster limit.
  • the 8 players on the Practice Squad ($6,000 a week x 17 weeks x 8 players At MINIMUM).
  • and of course all 53 players on the 53-man roster; right now only the top 51 players on the roster count (this will add two extra salaries to the equation).

Keep in mind that the roster moves that teams make going forward when the upcoming rounds of player cuts take place – the cut-down to 75 on August 27th, and the final cut-down to the final 53 on August 31st – will also factor in each individual club’s cap situation. If say for example the Chiefs, who have the least amount of cap space in the league, have a player who has a higher cap number than a similarly ranked player, but is better than him, he’ll very likely be the one to get released due to the club’s tight cap situation. Keep your eyes out for situations like this around the league, particularly from the eight clubs mentioned above, as we near the end of training camps and preseason throughout the league in the coming two weeks.

Aug 042013
 
Jerry Reese, New York Giants (August 24, 2012)

Jerry Reese – © USA TODAY Sports Images

August 4, 2013 NFL Salary Cap Update: Before I list everything a quick FYI about the New York Giants’ cap number. They are not what the NFLPA Top 51 League Cap Report website says they are right now. I don’t want to repeat myself about what I wrote regarding this situation already on my Giants cap blog. You can read about it HERE.

The Giants are currently $2,656,846 under the NFL salary cap (disregard the $2,251,846 figure seen on their website). Here’s how they stand in comparison to the rest of the league (assuming their numbers are accurate, which I wouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t because of the simple errors that I’ve seen there this past week):

Click on a column to sort

NFL Team Cap Numbers - 8/4/2013

RANKTEAMCARRYOVERTOTAL CAP SPACE
19Arizona$3,600,110.00 $5,755,040.00
15Atlanta$307,540.00 $7,683,068.00
17Baltimore$1,182,377.00 $6,904,459.00
3Buffalo$9,817,628.00 $21,810,064.00
8Carolina$3,654,825.00 $12,808,380.00
28Chicago$3,236,965.00 $1,637,767.00
5Cincinnati$8,579,575.00 $17,017,219.00
1Cleveland$14,339,575.00 $27,070,339.00
14Dallas$2,335,379.00 $8,480,326.00
11Denver$11,537,924.00 $9,287,063.00
22Detroit$466,992.00 $5,113,453.00
6Green Bay$7,010,832.00 $14,564,348.00
29Houston$2,422,689.00 $1,446,769.00
18Indianapolis$3,500,000.00 $6,163,781.00
2Jacksonville$19,563,231.00 $22,916,605.00
32Kansas City$14,079,650.00 $82,492.00
7Miami$5,380,246.00 $14,374,685.00
24Minnesota$8,004,734.00 $4,400,972.00
10New England$5,607,914.00 $10,092,269.00
21New Orleans$2,700,000.00 $5,173,260.00
27NY Giants$1,000,000.00 $2,656,846.00
13NY Jets$3,400,000.00 $8,648,580.00
20Oakland$4,504,761.00 $5,558,452.00
4Philadelphia$23,046,035.00 $19,261,143.00
23Pittsburgh$758,811.00 $4,476,513.00
26San Diego$995,893.00 $3,127,666.00
16San Francisco$859,734.00 $7,436,766.00
25Seattle$13,265,802.00 $3,352,772.00
31St. Louis$247,347.00 $139,088.00
9Tampa Bay$8,527,866.00 $11,513,471.00
12Tennessee$12,867,893.00 $9,245,356.00
30Washington$4,270,296.00 $1,338,440.00
  • Keep in mind that the Giants probably still have to make a little bit more room under the cap before the Top 51 Rule expires in a little over a month.
  • In the Giants’ case, it may not be for much; as things stand now, it may only be for about $1 million, maybe even less.
  • Someone like Steve Weatherford could be an ideal restructure, since doing so could add as much as another $738,750 in salary cap space to the Giants’ present total without doing too much damage to their long-term salary cap structure (something that the Cowboys, to give a pertinent example, have become notorious at doing lately).
  • They have until midnight New York time on Thursday, September 5th to do so (this is when the Top 51 Rule expires).
  • Teams will have to include the cap numbers of the 52nd and 53rd players on their 53-man rosters at that point.
  • By that time, clubs will have reduced their rosters to a maximum of 53 players; this will have taken place no later than by 6:00 pm New York time on August 31st.
  • After the Top 51 rule ceases to be clubs will also have to count the players on IR, the 8-man Practice Squad, the PUP list, and those players who have received Injury Settlements in training camp/preseason as the result of any injuries that prevented them from continuing to play (this is the case for Antonio Dennard & Jeremy Horne at this point).
  • Any additional Dead Money that results from players being cut in training camp will also factor into this equation.
  • A conservative guess is that this will cost teams between 2 and 3 million dollars around the league depending on their specific situations; this is why teams with less than $2 million dollars could be swimming in dangerous cap waters as September 5th approaches.
  • This is why late summer cuts, especially to middling veteran players on teams who still need to make cap room – like the Bears, Texans, Redskins, Rams, & Chiefs – should not come as a surprise towards the end of August.
  • Check out an article from overthecap.com by Jason Fitzgerald regarding the subject of late Summer cuts.

“Pay Cut or Be Cut: The Reality of August Football” – August 2, 2013

Jul 082013
 
Jerry Reese, New York Giants (May 11, 2012)

Jerry Reese – © USA TODAY Sports Images

July 8, 2013 NFL Salary Cap Update: Here are the NFL salary cap space rankings for all 32 teams in the league as of Monday morning, July 8, 2013. The New York Giants are $3,308,682 under the NFL salary cap as of this date:

Click on column to sort

CAP SPACE RANKTEAMPREVIOUS YEAR CARRYOVERTOTAL CAP SPACE
10Arizona$3,600,110.00 $10,640,331.00
20Atlanta$307,540.00 $6,299,287.00
21Baltimore$1,182,377.00 $6,049,823.00
5Buffalo$9,817,628.00 $18,665,064.00
12Carolina$3,654,825.00 $9,716,115.00
30Chicago$3,236,965.00 $1,637,767.00
4Cincinnati$8,579,575.00 $19,967,981.00
1Cleveland$14,339,575.00 $31,739,610.00
15Dallas$2,335,379.00 $8,124,208.00
9Denver$11,537,924.00 $10,697,563.00
29Detroit$466,992.00 $1,894,653.00
8Green Bay$7,010,832.00 $16,327,631.00
28Houston$2,422,689.00 $2,808,949.00
18Indianapolis$3,500,000.00 $6,935,290.00
2Jacksonville$19,563,231.00 $23,035,816.00
25Kansas City$14,079,650.00 $3,562,128.00
7Miami$5,380,246.00 $17,635,103.00
17Minnesota$8,004,734.00 $7,011,654.00
14New England$5,607,914.00 $9,215,519.00
22New Orleans$2,700,000.00 $5,173,260.00
26NY Giants$1,000,000.00 $3,308,682.00
11NY Jets$3,400,000.00 $9,964,235.00
16Oakland$4,504,761.00 $7,628,004.00
3Philadelphia$23,046,035.00 $22,466,188.00
23Pittsburgh$758,811.00 $4,403,813.00
27San Diego$995,893.00 $3,127,666.00
19San Francisco$859,734.00 $6,423,721.00
24Seattle$13,265,802.00 $3,712,328.00
32St. Louis$247,347.00 $214,088.00
6Tampa Bay$8,527,866.00 $18,278,471.00
13Tennessee$12,867,893.00 $9,245,356.00
31Washington$4,270,296.00 $1,413,440.00

What can we look forward to between now and the start of training camp?

There are 18 days left until the start of training camp on July 26th, and there are exactly 59 days left until the Top 51 rule expires on Thursday, September 5th at 12:00 am New York time.

The Giants are reportedly thisclose to signing Victor Cruz before the start of training camp. The odds are that both sides will officially come to terms at the last minute on July 24th or 25th, so that Cruz’s agent (Tom Condon, also the agent for Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning) can get as much as he possibly can out of the Giants before the team  is allowed to fine Cruz $30,000 per day for missing training camp if he doesn’t report on time on July 26th. They’ll likely get it done by then, rendering the possibility of fines moot. Cruz is patiently playing this as expected so far, as are the Giants.

The Giants will also need to sign their remaining two unsigned draft picks (1st rounder Justin Pugh, and 4th rounder Ryan Nassib). Approximately 87% of the draft picks in the league have signed contracts as of June 30th, 8 days ago according to this tweet by Ralph Vacchiano:

Here are the contract figures for most of these players from overthecap.com.

These two rookie deals should be finalized before the start of training camp, with Pugh’s deal being the only one of the two to have an effect on the team’s salary cap now since we’re still in the Top 51 phase of salary cap accounting. Both will eventually count against the Giants’ cap though once the Top 51 rule expires on September 5th since Nassib is a shoe-in to make the team, pending an act of God, or a season-ending injury during the preseason thereby causing his salary to split.

I would also expect to see a move made by the club with respect to clearing more space under the salary cap before the Cruz signing is announced. I’d expect to see a restructure done to either punter Steve Weatherford’s contract (which ends after the 2016 season) and/or Eli Manning’s contract at some point within the next three weeks. This would allow more space for the Cruz signing and to give the Giants the added cap space that they need in order to cover regular season expenses. If Eli’s deal is restructured now, then you can bet your bottom dollar that his contract – which ends after the 2015 season – will be extended in 2014 in order to make more room for Cruz and Nicks, and in anticipation of JPP’s unrestricted free agency in 2016.

To keep informed of the latest salary cap news as it impacts the Giants, follow my Giants salary cap blog (nygcapcentral.com), or me on Twitter (@NYGCapCentral) as the offseason continues, and we head into training camp and the preseason. It is likely that we will see  more cap moves made, not only by the Giants, but the entire league. Some clubs that are approximately $5 million or less under the cap now still need to clear up more room in order to sign some of their remaining first round picks and prepare for additional regular season operational expenses starting on September 5th. These regular season operational expenses include the following:

  • 52nd and 53rd players on the 53-man roster
  • the Practice Squad
  • players on Injured Reserve
  • the PUP list
  • additional Dead money incurred in training camp as the result of cuts
  • grievances & injury settlements
  • extra money (“fudge money”) needed in case of emergencies during the regular season

Check out this YouTube video by Jason Fitzgerald from overthecap.com which gives an excellent synopsis of how the salary cap works, particularly this section (starting at the 33:06 mark to the 34:42 mark) which describes what I just mentioned above with respect to how the salary cap rules change once the Top 51 rule ceases:

We will also likely see the remaining free agents of note, like fullback Vonta Leach and defensive end John Abraham, sign with teams that have cap room to spare. Check out the following lists of remaining free agents:

You can keep an eye on the Salary Cap as it continues to change here (NFLPA Top 51 League Cap Report). We’re going to see more moves made to the Giants’ roster, as noted above (the signings of Pugh, Nassib; new deal for Cruz; & the very likely restructures for Eli and/or Weatherford). Here are the cap numbers for almost every player on the Giants’ roster as of this time, courtesy of overthecap.com:

The fact that Tom Condon is the agent for Victor Cruz and Eli Manning (as well Tom Coughlin incidentally) is an important factor to keep in consideration as contract negotiations take place and are then put in effect through the supposedly soon-to-be-made announcement with regard to Cruz’s new deal, and the probable contract restructuring of Eli’s contract that would be needed to help make more room for Cruz, and give the Giants the cap-breathing room they’ll need once the Top 51 Rule ceases on September 5th, heading into the regular season.

May 232013
 
Ryan Nassib, New York Giants (May 22, 2013)

QB Ryan Nassib – © USA TODAY Sports Images

Potential Signing Issues for Giants Remaining 2013 Draft Picks: As a precursor to this article, I recommend reading A Primer on Some Rookie Contract Negotiating Sticking Points, by Jason Fitzgerald at overthecap.com. Jason’s site is in my opinion the premier source for information on the salary cap.

*****

Now, on to New York Giants business. Five of the Giants’ seven 2013 draft picks from last month’s draft have signed contracts with the Giants. They are as follows:

  • 2nd round pick, Johnathan Hankins, DT (Ohio State)
  • 3rd round pick, Damontre Moore , DE (Texas A&M)
  • 5th round pick, Cooper Taylor, S (Richmond)
  • 7th round pick, Michael Cox, RB (Massachusetts)
  • 7th round pick, Eric Herman, OG (Ohio)

The New York Giants’ remaining unsigned 2013 NFL Draft picks are as follows:

  • 1st round pick, Justin Pugh, OT/OG (Syracuse)
  • 4th round pick, Ryan Nassib, QB (Syracuse)

What are the issues with the New York Giants?

We should see a relatively quick resolution for the remaining unsigned players since their salaries are basically slotted. Jason Fitzgerald points out in the article above that picks 17 to 22 will have only a partially guaranteed salary in the 4th year of their deals. This is applicable to Justin Pugh since he was the 19th overall pick in the first round.

The issue with 4th round pick Ryan Nassib will be salary splits. Salary splits are essentially protection for the club if the player in question winds up on Injured Reserve. What happens is that players get paid less than their base salary of $405,000 if they get hurt. It applies differently to players in rounds 3 through 7. The players drafted in round 3 will have less of an issue to deal with regarding splits than their counterparts drafted in round 7.

Continue reading »

May 202013
 
Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants (December 30, 2012)

Ahmad Bradshaw – © USA TODAY Sports Images

The NFL Salary Cap and the New York Giants: In today’s NFL, the salary cap rules all. The NFL salary cap is an opponent that many front offices have simply dealt with on an intermediate level, a few have mastered, and a few more have fallen to ruin against as a result of mismanagement. It has risen $88.392 million over the course of 19 years from $34.608 million back in 1994 to $123 million in 2013. Over that time, we’ve seen the New York Giants deal with it to varying degrees. George Young clearly had issues dealing with it, when a bloodletting took place in its first year, when in the Spring of 1994 Giants fans experienced their first casualty of the cap era: the release of Phil Simms, who incidentally was coming off of the second Pro Bowl year of his career in 1993, which turned out to be the final season in his distinguished career (This Day in Football: Giants cut Phil Simms). Reality quickly sunk in for Giants fans with respect to the cap: “if Phil Simms could get cut, then anybody can.” The cap’s influence on free agency was a reason why players like Dave Meggett, Myron Guyton, and Mark Collins walked in free agency as well despite the Giants still wanting to retain them.

Once Ernie Accorsi took over as GM, things started to clear up cap-wise. That then carried over to this regime headed by GM Jerry Reese and Assistant GM (formerly titled cap analyst) Kevin Abrams. We now see a team that is shrewdly managed, with solid drafting and wisely signed free agent additions. What we also see as a result of the cap is the know-how that is required to keep a team with a franchise QB in his prime years competitively balanced when it comes to knowing when to let certain veteran players walk in free agency. The New York Giants did that this offseason with Kenny Phillips and Osi Umenyiora. The ins and outs of navigating the NFL salary cap are numerous though. The best thing to keep in mind when it comes to understanding the underlying motivation for people in NFL front offices is younger and cheaper. That is why it is important to find talent via the draft, rookie free agency, and through prudent veteran free agent acquisitions (something which is often overlooked by many fans). Keeping track of these ins and outs is something that is also key. Following these moves as they are made is not difficult. However, what can be difficult at times is understanding how these decisions are arrived at. This brings us to mapping out roster distribution and cap numbers.

There are several rules that teams – specifically cap analysts – must adhere to when it comes to assisting in team building and roster management. They revolve around the Top 51 rule, when it is in effect during the off-season (which is 7 to 8 months of a calendar year), and the regular season salary cap rules from a team’s first regular season game to its last regular season or post-season game of a given year. Here is an article for it that explains it well, along with some other basics:  Explaining The NFL’s Salary Cap” by Dan Durkin.

What is also important to understand, but from a fan’s standpoint, is the fact that cap numbers are not the same as salary. A cap number is calculation of how the money that a player earns counts towards the salary cap, and includes within it a portion of any number of bonuses, along with whatever guaranteed base salary a given player receives (a.k.a. “cap spending dollars” as opposed to “cash spending dollars”). A player’s salary has nothing to do with the calculations that are taken into account to come up with a given player’s cap number. Instead it has to do with a player’s “Paragraph 5” salary. I refer readers to this excellently written article by Jason Fitzgerlad from overthecap.com regarding the matter: A Guide to the NFL Salary Cap.

I’ll also provide a direct link to the Collective Bargaining Agreement agreed upon by the players and owners: 2011 NFL CBA (agreed upon on August 4, 2011). This latest CBA has been the source of much discussion since its ratification almost two years ago, and there has been a lot analysis regarding what the players gained (mostly lost) since it has been in effect. I’ll table an article on that though for some time in the future. What needs to be mentioned regarding the understanding of the cap itself is that it is not covered enough in the mainstream media. What we see regarding its implications is only touched upon very briefly at best. There’s nothing sexy about it to those who cover the team. It is indeed a shame that this is the case because in actuality there is no single more important factor in play when it comes to understanding how a team is built both in the short-term as well as the long-term, and what factors go into determining a team’s decision making regarding its personnel. It is for this reason that you see specialized websites specifically for the discussion and analysis of the salary cap with respect to the league as a whole and for specific teams.

One such website that stands out for the overall discussion of the league as a whole is overthecap.com. It includes both quantitative as well as qualitative analysis of the salary cap as it pertains to the entire league. I have a personal salary cap blog that I started up this month titled New York Giants Salary Cap Central which is my recent attempt to replicate this quantitative and qualitative approach that Jason Fitzgerald has done with his website, except it’s for a specific team, the Giants. There is also spotrac.com, but it lacks in any kind of qualitative discussion (at the least the free part anyway). It also directly lifted the numbers from overthecap.com, as per this article: Site News: Explaining my issues with another website.

Hopefully, a cap section on BBI can function to serve the purpose of gathering information from different places that serve to facilitate the increased understanding of how the cap works and its effect on the Giants’ overall decision making with respect to putting together their roster as whole. It’s one thing to list the order of the cap numbers on the team in such a section – which I intend to do – but it’s another thing to qualitatively break down and analyze patterns that are related to each player’s overall cap situation with respect to the Giants and their long-term and short-term plans for each player. Each year situations change, but teams try their best to control how players fit into the overall scheme of their plans. Hopefully, a cap section on BBI can serve to accumulate a decent enough amount of information so Giants fans who frequent the website can understand how the Giants’ cap situation reflects and determines the moves they make.

Personally, I look forward to spearheading the creation of such a section here on BBI. Currently, there is no other website on the internet which focuses on such a specific topic. In the coming weeks and months that will change for the better. Websites that focus on the cap for the other teams in the NFC East will be linked here, so that fans understand how the inter-divisional competition fares with respect to their respective cap situations. I encourage people to read and ask questions about the information contained herein; questions will serve to help to drive the content that is put out in this section, and make it a truly interactive experience for readers, rather than one which driven by individual whims alone (that’s what my cap blog linked above is for). It will be fun to integrate this new section on the cap here on BBI. My hope is that readers will find it equally fun and interesting to read.