Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New resources
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Resources
Latest reviews
Search resources
Members
Current visitors
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Open Football Discussion
Green Bay Packers Fan Forum
Projecting the 53 Man Roster
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="HardRightEdge" data-source="post: 840345"><p>Thompson was not cheap.</p><p></p><p>Thompson left Gutekunst with $9 mil of unused cap going into 2018 after 7 years of cap carryover starting with 2011, the first year of the current CBA year when cap carryover was first instituted. So, he underspent the cap by about $1.3 mil per year on average over that period.</p><p></p><p>In 2010, an uncapped year as dictated by the prior CBA once the deadline for CBA renewal had passed, Thompson's cap spend was $134.5 mil according to spotrac:</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/cap/2010/" target="_blank">https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/cap/2010/</a></p><p></p><p>The 2009 league cap number was $124 mil, in 2011 it was $120 mil. The league cap number did not exceed Thompson's 2010 spend until 2015. He went well over the theoretical cap in the 2010 Super Bowl year.</p><p></p><p>Thompson's habit of having $5 - $10 mil in cap carryover every season when all was said and done might have been influenced by his 2010 experience when he had $12 mil in cap sitting on IR (Barnett, Popinga, Chillar). Regardless, if you carry over those amounts year after year, then every year you are spending close to the league cap number for that year.</p><p></p><p>Thompson's problem wasn't cheapness; it was the gradual erosion of roster quality, not getting enough bang for the buck out of veteran players and not drafting well enough to reload with enough good players on cheap rookie deals. There is a stark contrast between his outstanding earlier years of team building and his later years. The draft is where maximizing value primarily lies. Less dramatically and less frequently, value can be gained in signing good players to second contracts who perform better than good. There was clearly not enough of that in Thompson's later years.</p><p></p><p>To take an extreme example of the point I'm making, the Bears signed Mack to All Pro money and gave up two first round picks in the bargain. He played like an All Pro. Eddie Jackson also played like an an All Pro last season while counting $721,000 against the cap. He's got two years left on a four year rookie contract paying a grand total of $3 mil. Who's the better value? Jackson is the better value by a wide margin. It would not be crazy to say that Jackson playing the way he does for what he is paid allows the Bears to pay Mack what he is paid in a zero sum hard cap league.</p><p></p><p>Now, I'm not so foolish to think that a player's value is to be measured simply by stats vs. pay. That's fantasy foolishness. There are an array of intangibles that go into a single player's contribution to "the whole greater than the sum of the parts." There's leadership, contribution to team chemistry, an anchor that helps define team identity, opponents' particular attention to that player making other players better, clutch performance if there is such a thing. But these cap realtiies, getting to a critical mass of players playing above contract, simply cannot be under appreciated in getting to a winning formulation.</p><p></p><p>What Murphy/Gutekunst/Ball do with the $15 mil currently in the cap space bucket remains to be seen. But as the Thompson record shows, how "cheap" the current configuration of decision makers might or might not be can't be evaluated on one or two years of behavior. An eye must be kept on the future, and cap spend already committed to players under contract for 2020 is pretty substantial. If they sit on that $15 mil this season, even that can't be called "cheap" until we know what comes next.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="HardRightEdge, post: 840345"] Thompson was not cheap. Thompson left Gutekunst with $9 mil of unused cap going into 2018 after 7 years of cap carryover starting with 2011, the first year of the current CBA year when cap carryover was first instituted. So, he underspent the cap by about $1.3 mil per year on average over that period. In 2010, an uncapped year as dictated by the prior CBA once the deadline for CBA renewal had passed, Thompson's cap spend was $134.5 mil according to spotrac: [URL]https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/cap/2010/[/URL] The 2009 league cap number was $124 mil, in 2011 it was $120 mil. The league cap number did not exceed Thompson's 2010 spend until 2015. He went well over the theoretical cap in the 2010 Super Bowl year. Thompson's habit of having $5 - $10 mil in cap carryover every season when all was said and done might have been influenced by his 2010 experience when he had $12 mil in cap sitting on IR (Barnett, Popinga, Chillar). Regardless, if you carry over those amounts year after year, then every year you are spending close to the league cap number for that year. Thompson's problem wasn't cheapness; it was the gradual erosion of roster quality, not getting enough bang for the buck out of veteran players and not drafting well enough to reload with enough good players on cheap rookie deals. There is a stark contrast between his outstanding earlier years of team building and his later years. The draft is where maximizing value primarily lies. Less dramatically and less frequently, value can be gained in signing good players to second contracts who perform better than good. There was clearly not enough of that in Thompson's later years. To take an extreme example of the point I'm making, the Bears signed Mack to All Pro money and gave up two first round picks in the bargain. He played like an All Pro. Eddie Jackson also played like an an All Pro last season while counting $721,000 against the cap. He's got two years left on a four year rookie contract paying a grand total of $3 mil. Who's the better value? Jackson is the better value by a wide margin. It would not be crazy to say that Jackson playing the way he does for what he is paid allows the Bears to pay Mack what he is paid in a zero sum hard cap league. Now, I'm not so foolish to think that a player's value is to be measured simply by stats vs. pay. That's fantasy foolishness. There are an array of intangibles that go into a single player's contribution to "the whole greater than the sum of the parts." There's leadership, contribution to team chemistry, an anchor that helps define team identity, opponents' particular attention to that player making other players better, clutch performance if there is such a thing. But these cap realtiies, getting to a critical mass of players playing above contract, simply cannot be under appreciated in getting to a winning formulation. What Murphy/Gutekunst/Ball do with the $15 mil currently in the cap space bucket remains to be seen. But as the Thompson record shows, how "cheap" the current configuration of decision makers might or might not be can't be evaluated on one or two years of behavior. An eye must be kept on the future, and cap spend already committed to players under contract for 2020 is pretty substantial. If they sit on that $15 mil this season, even that can't be called "cheap" until we know what comes next. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Members online
gopkrs
Emur
Latest posts
M
Christian Watson signs a 4 year 110m extension
Latest: mradtke66
44 minutes ago
Green Bay Packers Fan Forum
Badgers Football 2025-2026
Latest: Voyageur
Today at 2:15 PM
Wisconsin Badgers Forum
Movies and TV shows Thread
Latest: Voyageur
Today at 1:29 PM
Movies and Entertainment
Why I Love The 2026-2027 Green Bay Packers
Latest: CarryTheG14
Today at 11:42 AM
Green Bay Packers Fan Forum
2026 Roster Thread - Semi-Live
Latest: Pokerbrat2000
Today at 9:48 AM
Green Bay Packers Fan Forum
Forums
Open Football Discussion
Green Bay Packers Fan Forum
Projecting the 53 Man Roster
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top
