Currently 18.6 mil cap space??? Still?

[GreenBaySlacker]

Either Ted Thompson wants to pass the franchise over with tons of rookie contracts and tons of free cap? Or we have some more to spend in fa?

Or are we saving up to keep Rodgers here through the end... he is grossly underpaid imo. If I remember right, he was influential in a couple players futures. And possibly negotiated with his own contract . Back then... but that was then, and he has proven he is everything to this team right now.

What's he worth to you all? If he said $30....? What would you do?

I think it's obvious we have to keep him.

 

[Dantés]

Oh this thread is destined for greatness.

 

[Poppa San]

Let's get this ball rolling.
Aaron is signed through Ted's expected departure date. Why should unca teddy give a rat's *** to what Aaron wants. Aaron can't do diddly squat about it except sulk.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Here are a few ideas:

- Thompson currently has $157 mil in cap already on the books for 2018. That's a lot. He might be saving up to pay Rodgers that $30 mil you suggest and several FAs next year (Clinton-Dix, Burnett, Adams, Linsley). He might actually be thinking of keeping Matthews and Cobb, unlike like many forum posters, if they return to previous glories.

- The TV ratings were not good last year. It did not show up in this year's cap bump. It's gotta show up sooner or later if the trend continues. Perhaps Thompson knows something about next year's cap we do not.

- Maybe Thompson has maxed out his cash budget for the year. Buying gas stations and motels requires some kind of down payment.

 

[Mike McCarthy]

Possibly extend Matthews

 

[HardRightEdge]

Aaron can't do diddly squat about it except sulk.

That would be a problem. It doesn't even have to be sulking. I would not expect that in any case. Thompson would not want his bread, butter, jam, and the whole damn refrigerator for that matter to be not consciously and unconsciously 100% into what he's doing.

You wouldn't want him mumbling and weeping over possible retirement, not showing up to OTAs, being late for camp while wrangling for a raise. That would be unthinkable!

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Either Ted Thompson wants to pass the franchise over with tons of rookie contracts and tons of free cap? Or we have some more to spend in fa?

Or are we saving up to keep Rodgers here through the end... he is grossly underpaid imo. If I remember right, he was influential in a couple players futures. And possibly negotiated with his own contract . Back then... but that was then, and he has proven he is everything to this team right now.

What's he worth to you all? If he said $30....? What would you do?

I think it's obvious we have to keep him.

It's obvious the Packers have to keep Rodgers but $30 million a season is too much but it would be fair to make him the highest paid player in the league.

Let's get this ball rolling.
Aaron is signed through Ted's expected departure date. Why should unca teddy give a rat's *** to what Aaron wants. Aaron can't do diddly squat about it except sulk.

The Packers don't want their franchise quarterback to be pissed off though.

Thompson currently has $157 mil in cap already on the books for 2018. That's a lot. He might be saving up to pay Rodgers that $30 mil you suggest and several FAs next year (Clinton-Dix, Burnett, Adams, Linsley). He might actually be thinking of keeping Matthews and Cobb, unlike like many forum posters, if they return to previous glories.

Maybe Thompson has maxed out his cash budget for the year. Buying gas stations and motels requires some kind of down payment.

The Packers exercised the fifth year option on Clinton-Dix, meaning he's under contract for the 2018 season and his salary is already included in the numbers you posted.

The Packers have a reserve fund of approximately $275 million, I don't think a lack of cash is the reason for Thompson not having signed another free agent or two.

 

[PikeBadger]

Let's get this ball rolling.
Aaron is signed through Ted's expected departure date. Why should unca teddy give a rat's *** to what Aaron wants. Aaron can't do diddly squat about it except sulk.

Lol, You sir are a pot stirring instigator.

 

[Poppa San]

Lol, You sir are a pot stirring instigator.

Thank you. Just doing what I can to increase page views and post counts. Like a good corporate stooge.

 

[PikeBadger]

Here are a few ideas:

- Thompson currently has $157 mil in cap already on the books for 2018. That's a lot. He might be saving up to pay Rodgers that $30 mil you suggest and several FAs next year (Clinton-Dix, Burnett, Adams, Linsley). He might actually be thinking of keeping Matthews and Cobb, unlike like many forum posters, if they return to previous glories.

- The TV ratings were not good last year. It did not show up in this year's cap bump. It's gotta show up sooner or later if the trend continues. Perhaps Thompson knows something about next year's cap we do not.

- Maybe Thompson has maxed out his cash budget for the year. Buying gas stations and motels requires some kind of down payment.

Agree that he may be anticipating a flattening of future caps. Also it could be that he's fine with the current 90 man roster, and is holding some back for the inevitable training camp injuries to fill in any gaps laterif needed.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Agree that he may be anticipating a flattening of future caps.

I don't believe the Packers still having $18.6 million of cap space in an issue by any means as there are currently 11 teams with more money available to spend for next season (including the Patriots) but in my opinion Thompson anticipating the cap won't increase over the next few years isn't the reason for it.

 

[Mondio]

I think it's most likely that he's had everything planned for years. Of course there's some fluctuations and change, but the driving tenets are the same. Sign guys you think can help, don't overspend on guys you don't know everything about, and keep discipline to the plan.

This offseason was no different. he had to let a bunch of guys go that he would have had to overspend for. He signed some other guys, all to pretty good contracts I think, very fair to player and team. I don't necessarily think he did it because he "had" to, I think they did it because it made sense and just happened to coincide with this type of offseason. Evans may have been one of those signings where he "had to", but again, they waited till it made sense and stuck to their plan and as of yet he has things prioritized as he and his team probably always have. Right now, sure there are guys that can be signed and one of 2 things is true, they don't believe they have anything more to help this team, or they want more money than they think they're worth. That being true, keeping the money makes the most sense because they can use it for other things or not use it at all.

As mentioned before, there are other guys that will be getting good contracts coming up. There is the leagues best QB to think about, and there is a lot of time left in the offseason for other players to become available. If they spend the money now to spend it on guys that don't think can help much for the money, what happens when a player does become available they think can and they've already spent it?

 

[Poppa San]

I'm sure the Bears were OK with having a spare $7m laying around in unused cap last season when Sitton became available.

EDIT: Sitton was $5.7m cap hit last season.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I am going to say the obvious (in summary of most of the posts).....eventually it gets spent. Whether it's on 1 or more FA's currently available or made available by other teams. If not there, it will be used to make AR a Packer for the rest of his career and the highest paid player (currently) in the NFL and/or to resign a player(s) with a contract that expires at the end of this year. I don't have any doubt that the money will be spent, but knowing Russ Ball, TT and the Packers, in a very wise way.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I am going to say the obvious (in summary of most of the posts).....eventually it gets spent. Whether it's on 1 or more FA's currently available or made available by other teams. If not there, it will be used to make AR a Packer for the rest of his career and the highest paid player (currently) in the NFL and/or to resign a player(s) with a contract that expires at the end of this year. I don't have any doubt that the money will be spent, but knowing Russ Ball, TT and the Packers, in a very wise way.

Once again, there's a smart way to structure Rodgers' contract, making him the highest paid player in the league without increasing his cap hit over the next three seasons.

 

[gbgary]

as usual, money is the least of our problems. the caps goes up every year. nothing to see here.

 

[Zartan]

Im going to assume hes keeping the money to resign guys for the next off season?

 

[Deleted member 6794]

as usual, money is the least of our problems. the caps goes up every year. nothing to see here.

The Packers should use some of the cap space to add some quality depth at outside linebacker though.

 

[sschind]

A lot of times when players ask for huge contracts they say its not the money its the respect. They feel if they are the best they should be paid like the best and if they are not they are being disrespected. What would make you respect a player more? A player demanding to be paid like the best player in the league (assuming he is or at least has a valid argument) or taking less money to allow the team to be able to field a competitive team around him.

For me its a no brainer. If your ego is so big that you need to make so much money it hampers your team I do not have very much respect for you. On the flip side if you are willing to take less so the team won't be faced with cutting other star players my respect for you just went up.

Like WIMM says, there are ways to do it but the bottom line is it all eventually counts unless the player is willing to sign a huge backloaded deal that he knows is just numbers on a page that he will never see. He could sign a 5 year extension that pays him 150 million in year five but we all know he wouldn't see it. It would still make him the highest paid player in the league though when looking at average salary. Would that be enough or would the player want to sign a contract for money he would actually have a chance of receiving.

 

[Dantés]

Personally, I have zero issues with players asking for market value for their services. It seems to me that's what almost everyone does in every other field.

 

[Mondio]

Personally, I have zero issues with players asking for market value for their services. It seems to me that's what almost everyone does in every other field.

kind of yes and kind of no. I think most fans, well at least me, are drawn to football because it is truly a team sport. Basketball can easily win a championship with 2 guys, football will never win you a championship with 2 or even 4 guys. The success or failure of every play is dependent on the execution of every guy on that field. One misstep and your stretch play that is blocked perfectly for a 30 yards down field gets blow up 6 yards deep in the backfield.

I think a lot of fans view it as a team sport and would when players make it too much about themselves and not as much about the team, it ruffles some feathers. I don't blame the players, but I also don't blame fans who want their "team" to be successful for recognizing their beloved "teammate" might not care as much about the team as you do. it surprises a lot of them

Myself, I only really pay attention if someone is holding out or something. I hear about new signings, but i forget just as quickly because I don't really care. Unless I looked it up, I'd have no idea how much Rodgers is making per year, or any other player, and long ago i've learned not to even pay attention to the signings because of inflated money etc and most of them were just media fluff because half the contract would never even be paid.

But there's a lot to be made by being successful too. it opens a lot of doors outside of football, during and after the playing days are over. There are more ways to get money than a fat contract, though that is the quickest and most sure, i think a superstar could realize what his star power will bring him in the future by playing to the fans just a little bit too

 

[Deleted member 6794]

A lot of times when players ask for huge contracts they say its not the money its the respect. They feel if they are the best they should be paid like the best and if they are not they are being disrespected. What would make you respect a player more? A player demanding to be paid like the best player in the league (assuming he is or at least has a valid argument) or taking less money to allow the team to be able to field a competitive team around him.

For me its a no brainer. If your ego is so big that you need to make so much money it hampers your team I do not have very much respect for you. On the flip side if you are willing to take less so the team won't be faced with cutting other star players my respect for you just went up.

Like WIMM says, there are ways to do it but the bottom line is it all eventually counts unless the player is willing to sign a huge backloaded deal that he knows is just numbers on a page that he will never see. He could sign a 5 year extension that pays him 150 million in year five but we all know he wouldn't see it. It would still make him the highest paid player in the league though when looking at average salary. Would that be enough or would the player want to sign a contract for money he would actually have a chance of receiving.

Absolutely agreed that my respect for a player signing for less than market value to allow the team to assemble a more talented roster would increase but realistically I don't expect anyone to actually sign a deal like that.

I would prefer the Packers to include a huge signing bonus in an extension for Rodgers to keep his base salary and cap hits at a reasonable number for several years. Ideally the team is capable of doing business that way until #12 retires and is fine with massive dead money counting against their cap in the season after he decides to walk away.

 

[Dantés]

kind of yes and kind of no. I think most fans, well at least me, are drawn to football because it is truly a team sport. Basketball can easily win a championship with 2 guys, football will never win you a championship with 2 or even 4 guys. The success or failure of every play is dependent on the execution of every guy on that field. One misstep and your stretch play that is blocked perfectly for a 30 yards down field gets blow up 6 yards deep in the backfield.

I think a lot of fans view it as a team sport and would when players make it too much about themselves and not as much about the team, it ruffles some feathers. I don't blame the players, but I also don't blame fans who want their "team" to be successful for recognizing their beloved "teammate" might not care as much about the team as you do. it surprises a lot of them

Myself, I only really pay attention if someone is holding out or something. I hear about new signings, but i forget just as quickly because I don't really care. Unless I looked it up, I'd have no idea how much Rodgers is making per year, or any other player, and long ago i've learned not to even pay attention to the signings because of inflated money etc and most of them were just media fluff because half the contract would never even be paid.

But there's a lot to be made by being successful too. it opens a lot of doors outside of football, during and after the playing days are over. There are more ways to get money than a fat contract, though that is the quickest and most sure, i think a superstar could realize what his star power will bring him in the future by playing to the fans just a little bit too

Yeah, I mean... I think it's great when guys want to give a discount to give the team a competitive advantage, but I'm not going to fault anyone for not doing that.

Say you have a CPA who works for an accounting firm. The going rate for a CPA is, say, 85K/year. The firm comes to him and says "hey, if we pay you 75K, we could charge customers less and gain a competitive advantage on competition. What do you say?" If they say yes, then cool! But are they not being team players if they say no? I don't think so.

But I do think you're right that fans are often surprised to find that players don't view the game/team like fans.

 

[Mondio]

Both my wife and I have taken less at various points in our careers, both professional (just not in sports) for other reasons. So i know what it's like to look at money on the table and walk away. I don't think football is like being a CPA though because i can make 85K anywhere, or I can take less, so they can give me more work, so they can make more money is a no brainer to walk away from. Now if they said take 75K and we'll gain an advantage and an push out competition and gain marketshare, of which you'll be compensated in ownership % or bonuses, that could work

Rodgers making 25 million or 30 million per could be the difference between no more championships or 3 more, or none at all anyway, but the fans would perceive one favorably and one not so much. This way they can still blame Ted for not doing more, but if Rodgers held out for more and we were unable to sign guys and didn't win again, people would start pointing the finger back at him. Maybe none of it matters

Each situation is unique, but I don't think football is all that different than a lot of other things in that short term 'sacrifice" could easily pay itself back 100 fold over the coming years. Just in endorsements, speaking engagements, business opportunities etc. I bet John Elway has made more from his car dealerships than he ever did from football in terms of real money and that's because he endeared himself to the fans. I think guys like Rodgers are in a unique position and he could easily still make big fat dollars like he's doing from football and give up a few million and gain the confidence and trust of the fans even more in the long term that would pay itself back many times over. I think a guy like Rodgers is smart enough to have a plan after football that would keep him relative and lucrative in a lot of walks, especially those that involve concentrations of packer fans

 

[PikeBadger]

I am going to say the obvious (in summary of most of the posts).....eventually it gets spent. Whether it's on 1 or more FA's currently available or made available by other teams. If not there, it will be used to make AR a Packer for the rest of his career and the highest paid player (currently) in the NFL and/or to resign a player(s) with a contract that expires at the end of this year. I don't have any doubt that the money will be spent, but knowing Russ Ball, TT and the Packers, in a very wise way.

Agree, patience and fiscal discipline is the way they operate. Signing and re-signing and extending contracts is a 12 month season in itself. That philosophy doesn't play well though with people who crave the adrenaline rush of waking up to a new "name player" added to the roster.