Redskins 2011 Salary Cap Status

I think people are misunderstanding. There is still deadcap. Where people are getting the notion of no deadcap is from the concept of the cash/salary floor amounting to 90% of the cap max, it forces a team to carry no more than 10% of it's cap as deadcap space.

Let's oversimplify the world and think about the math just to illustrate a point. If your cap max is $120 million, but you also have to spend a minimum of $108 million in cash, then the oversimplified conclusion is you can carry no more than $12 million in deadcap.

But that's not the way it works of course. You could sign a player like Asomugha for a $40 million signing bonus for 5 years. All $40 million of that bonus would count towards meeting your $108 million cash floor. However it would only count $8 million towards this year's cap ($40 million divided by 5 years).

The concept that there would be no deadcap money makes no sense. Whoever dreamed that up definitely misheard or misunderstood something. Dollars can't just disappear from the books, if you paid the money, you have to take the hit on your cap.What Schneed said.

The cash floor is only going to change the behavior of the non spenders...you know the team that has $75 million in salary and just signs rookies and UDFAs and builds through youth. That's been a pretty successful model, actually, but the new rules just ensure that they will have to pick at least one or two players a year and give out a hefty signing bonus so the owners aren't pocketing the money for use on say, the Manchester United football club. Not to name names or anything.

What Schneed said.

The cash floor is only going to change the behavior of the non spenders...you know the team that has $75 million in salary and just signs rookies and UDFAs and builds through youth. That's been a pretty successful model, actually, but the new rules just ensure that they will have to pick at least one or two players a year and give out a hefty signing bonus so the owners aren't pocketing the money for use on say, the Manchester United football club. Not to name names or anything.

I feel like an itiot trying to follow how this works. So basically they have tons of money to sign players they just have to watch how the contracts are structured to make sure that they wont be creating very much more dead cap space if any of the players get cut?

They dont have very much leeway there, I guess thats what John Clayton was getting at?

I feel like an itiot trying to follow how this works. So basically they have tons of money to sign players they just have to watch how the contracts are structured to make sure that they wont be creating very much more dead cap space if any of the players get cut?

They dont have very much leeway there, I guess thats what John Clayton was getting at?

Yeah you've basically got the gist. Eventually the cash floor is going to move even closer to the max cap. Over time that will make it difficult to cut players and remain under the cap while simultaneously meeting the cash floor.

But in certain years it may be easier than others. If you cut a big contract and take a big dead cap hit, you could still sign another giant free agent to a big signing bonus in order to meet the cash minimum.

But if you keep signing and cutting, signing and cutting like the Redskins have been doing, you'll eventually find it challenging to meet both the cap and cash floor simultaneously. Not that we have to worry about Vinny Cerrato's ways returning, but we'll have no choice but to be selective in the selection of our new stars, because cutting them to get away from the contracts won't be quite as easy.

This will be an odd year for us under this new system. We will be mandated to spend by the new rules, so we'll be very aggressive in free agency. But we better get these signings right, because once the cash floor moves closer to 99% of cap, it will be harder to rid ourselves of these guys we're about to sign.

This will be an odd year for us under this new system. We will be mandated to spend by the new rules, so we'll be very aggressive in free agency. But we better get these signings right, because once the cash floor moves closer to 99% of cap, it will be harder to rid ourselves of these guys we're about to sign.

The thought of our team trying to get it right on free agency is a scary thought given our history. Is it even possible for us to cut Fatassworth and McNabb if we wanted to? Seems like that would push us way over the dead cap limit we can have?

The thought of our team trying to get it right on free agency is a scary thought given our history. Is it even possible for us to cut Fatassworth and McNabb if we wanted to? Seems like that would push us way over the dead cap limit we can have?

Yes it's quite possible to cut them, mostly because their contracts are structured such that not much of the bonus money paid to them has yet to be allocated. In short, cutting them wouldn't hurt from a deadcap perspective.

But to be clear, there is no dead cap limit. At least none that has been mentioned in anything I've seen. If you're far below the cap and far below the cash floor as we currently are today, then you can afford to cut players and take the deadcap hit, and you can also afford to lay out cash to sign other studs.

For the Redskins it's a pivotal time. You won't see too many years where this situation exists, once we bring in a number of free agents we'll find ourselves closer to the cap in future years. Sure, we'll still be able to maneuver for a free agent here and there, but the spree we're bound to see this year probably will not be matched for some time. This free agency period is our opportunity to get the right guys in here now and reshape the roster.

Heres what I dont understand. It seems that no team can have more than 12 million dollars in dead cap this year. That just doesnt seem to make sense on so many levels.
For starters, the redskins seem to already have more than 12 million dollars in dead cap this year due to portis and carter being cut. It also seems that we want to get rid of significantly more players.
Also it doesnt make sense from the owners perspective to agree to. Players with signing bonuses large enough will be impossible to cut untill a certain year in their contract. I don't think the owners would agree to not being able to cut any of their larger contract players that don't pan out.
I'm not saying there is no dead cap, I'm just saying I think having a 12 million dollar dead cap doesn't seem to make sense on so many levels and I think there is more information out there that has not been presented to us (if dead cap still exists).

Heres what I dont understand. It seems that no team can have more than 12 million dollars in dead cap this year. That just doesnt seem to make sense on so many levels.
For starters, the redskins seem to already have more than 12 million dollars in dead cap this year due to portis and carter being cut. It also seems that we want to get rid of significantly more players.
Also it doesnt make sense from the owners perspective to agree to. Players with signing bonuses large enough will be impossible to cut untill a certain year in their contract. I don't think the owners would agree to not being able to cut any of their larger contract players that don't pan out.
I'm not saying there is no dead cap, I'm just saying I think having a 12 million dollar dead cap doesn't seem to make sense on so many levels and I think there is more information out there that has not been presented to us (if dead cap still exists).

Teams can have more than $12 million in dead cap.

I see where you got the $12 million, but it's a faulty assumption. Cash Paid + Dead Cap does not equal salary cap.

Salary Cap = Base Salary + Roster Bonus + Workout Bonus + Dead Cap + Likely To Be Earned Incentives + Allocated Portions of Guaranteed Bonuses Paid to Players Still On Roster

Found this little nugget which basically means the real salary cap is $123 million, once you account for this little "exemption". From John Clayton:

The salary cap is going to be at $120 million with a $3 million exemption. Here is how the exemption works: A team such as the Cowboys, who are $18 million over the cap, can designate one player this season and discount $3 million of his salary from the salary cap.

In 2012, teams will have three exemptions worth $1.5 million on three players.

In the meantime, teams are scrambling to find what the new rules are for the 2011 cap. It should be fun.

NFL -- Salary cap scramble will be interesting - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6775674/nfl-salary-cap-scramble-interesting)

Teams can have more than $12 million in dead cap.

I see where you got the $12 million, but it's a faulty assumption. Cash Paid + Dead Cap does not equal salary cap.

Salary Cap = Base Salary + Roster Bonus + Workout Bonus + Dead Cap + Likely To Be Earned Incentives + Allocated Portions of Guaranteed Bonuses Paid to Players Still On Roster

I wasn't talking about the cap, I was talking about the floor being so close to the cap. I thought I read somewhere that the floor was to be salary paid out to active players on the roster that year, but after doing some more research I couldnt find that anywhere. Must have confused an article I read.

I wasn't talking about the cap, I was talking about the floor being so close to the cap. I thought I read somewhere that the floor was to be salary paid out to active players on the roster that year, but after doing some more research I couldnt find that anywhere. Must have confused an article I read.

There is a floor, it will be salaries + cash bonuses (signing or otherwise).

But just because the floor is close to the cap doesn't mean deadcap is limited to the difference. Signing bonuses don't all hit the cap in the current year, they are allocated to future seasons.

It's entirely possible to pay out $140 million in cash in a given year, and at the same tiem have a cap number less than $120 million.