Salary cap set at $143.28 million

[Deleted member 6794]

Ian Rapoport reporting this according to team sources. This means the Packers will have roughly $33.4 million in cap space available.

 

[Ace]

Ian Rapoport reporting this according to team sources. This means the Packers will have roughly $33.4 million in cap space available.

Plenty to sign who we need to sign as well as be small players in free agency if need be, much like last year.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I am no expert on Cap, but why do bonuses get deferred over the life of a contract, do they have to be? Couldn't a team like the Packers, who have plenty of cap space this year figure out a way to pay more on contracts this year, so they have more to spend against the cap in following years? Just curious, I would think a team that had the money, would structure their contracts to basically hit the cap each year and not leave any unspent. Doing this by front loading contracts (either bonuses and/or salaries) of players like Rodgers and Matthews (players they intend on keeping in GB for the life of their contracts). I am guessing they can't carry unused cap space forward from year to year.

 

[TJV]

I am no expert on Cap, but why do bonuses get deferred over the life of a contract, do they have to be? Couldn't a team like the Packers, who have plenty of cap space this year figure out a way to pay more on contracts this year, so they have more to spend against the cap in following years?

I think you may be overestimating the amount of cap room the Packers have (they will want to have some available during the season, they have to sign draftees, Cobb, Bulaga, and Williams or House. Plus some of Raji, Guion(?) Flynn, Tolzein, Kuhn, Barclay, Boykin, Bush, Lattimore, and/or Richardson), the Packers could sign Cobb (for example) to a contract which guarantees his first year salary of $15M and have it all count on the 2015 cap.

And they can carry unused cap space from one year to the next.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I get that TJV, but you read about teams that go the whole season way under the cap. I guess I haven't looked at where the Packers generally are year to year, but it seems to me, that you would try and hit that cap mark each year (if you have the space) by front loading your core players contracts to count now, instead of later? Maybe I am not wording this right. but for example; if the Packers end the season with $6 million of un-used cap space, that can't be carried over to 2016 (right?) so wouldn't it have been prudent to use that $6 million to pay someone like Rodgers off of the $6 million that he would be paid in a coming year and counting against that years cap #?

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

ok....just found this article to be pretty helpful.....I get it now (sort of) lol

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...etty-on-salary-cap-b99359877z1-277295741.html

 

[Deleted member 6794]

League adds another $400K in other adjustments to Packers cap for 2015, team will have close to $34 million in cap space.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

and I have all the faith in the world in Russ Ball......just was a process of me understanding it

 

[TJV]

I get that TJV, but you read about teams that go the whole season way under the cap. I guess I haven't looked at where the Packers generally are year to year, but it seems to me, that you would try and hit that cap mark each year (if you have the space) by front loading your core players contracts to count now, instead of later? Maybe I am not wording this right. but for example; if the Packers end the season with $6 million of un-used cap space, that can't be carried over to 2016 (right?) so wouldn't it have been prudent to use that $6 million to pay someone like Rodgers off of the $6 million that he would be paid in a coming year and counting against that years cap #?

First, thanks for using TJV. Second, with respect, I don't think you did "get it" since you didn't know contracts could be front loaded and because you are still guessing unused cap space can't be carried forward. It can be.

Here's an article on the Packers cap situation: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...-signing-their-own-b99446688z1-292308221.html It includes this bullet point:

Add $7,791,106 of unused cap space from 2014 that the Packers are allowed to carry over into this year.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

League adds another $400K in other adjustments to Packers cap for 2015, team will have close to $34 million in cap space.

Captain, that would be just enough to employ you and I as "media specialists"

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

First, thanks for using TJV. Second, with respect, I don't think you did "get it" since you didn't know contracts could be front loaded and because you are still guessing unused cap space can't be carried forward. It can be.

I realized that after reading the article I linked. Also forgot about leaving cap space for having to sign players during the season due to injuries. Was a very informative article concerning the nuances of the cap and the way the Packers/Ball have mastered the process.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I get that TJV, but you read about teams that go the whole season way under the cap. I guess I haven't looked at where the Packers generally are year to year, but it seems to me, that you would try and hit that cap mark each year (if you have the space) by front loading your core players contracts to count now, instead of later? Maybe I am not wording this right. but for example; if the Packers end the season with $6 million of un-used cap space, that can't be carried over to 2016 (right?) so wouldn't it have been prudent to use that $6 million to pay someone like Rodgers off of the $6 million that he would be paid in a coming year and counting against that years cap #?

That's not right. With the CBA signed in 2011, unused cap space is carried over from year to year. There is no longer an incentive to front load contracts to use up cap space. Further, having a cushion to handle the unexpected in-season is prudent now that unused space can be carried over.

Guys put on PUP or IR, injury settlements, vested veterans released from the 53 man roster after opening day all count against the cap...replacement players eat away at the cap cushion.

Thompson has been spending under the cap the last few years...around $8 - $10 mil, give or take, at final cut downs. This number declines somewhat throughout the season. As an example, if memory serves, Thompson started 2014 with about $8 mil in cap space and ended with around $5 mil in cap space, with 2014 being about as injury-free as one can expect.

I'd consider a $5 mil cap cushion to be the least I'd expect.

Edit: I stand corrected on the cap cushion declining throughout in 2014...it looks like it started at $8 mil and ended at $8 mil. The consideration is still important...in a less injury free season.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Thanks TJV and HRE I know more now then I did an hour ago when I tossed out what now looks like a stupid question and observation.....

 

[adambr2]

Thanks TJV and HRE I know more now then I did an hour ago when I tossed out what now looks like a stupid question and observation.....

It's a lot to digest especially when you're dealing with only partially guaranteed contracts. I always found MLB payroll and contracts, which are generally fully guaranteed, to be much more straightforward.

To my knowledge, cap space has only been allowed to be carried over since 2011 under the new CBA. I remember an instance or two previously of Thompson somehow adding several million LTBE (likely to be earned) bonuses to contracts that were in fact not going to be earned and therefore getting a cap credit for it the next year.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Thank god we don't have the system that MLB has or competing in the NFL would be extremely difficult from GB

 

[sschind]

I am no expert on Cap, but why do bonuses get deferred over the life of a contract, do they have to be? Couldn't a team like the Packers, who have plenty of cap space this year figure out a way to pay more on contracts this year, so they have more to spend against the cap in following years? Just curious, I would think a team that had the money, would structure their contracts to basically hit the cap each year and not leave any unspent. Doing this by front loading contracts (either bonuses and/or salaries) of players like Rodgers and Matthews (players they intend on keeping in GB for the life of their contracts). I am guessing they can't carry unused cap space forward from year to year.

The Packers did something like what you are talking about with Charles Woodson. I'm going off memory here but if I am not mistaken we signed him originally to a three year deal with no signing bonus and a rather large 1st year salary and rather small 2nd and 3rd year salaries. We had the cap space and at the time unused space couldn't be rolled over so it was use it or lose it. Woodson was fine with no SB because it was pretty obvious that he was going to make the team thus his entire first year salary was going to be paid. If it hadn't worked out after the first year we could have cut him with little or no dead money. Now that cap space can be rolled over the incentive to do that isn't as big. The Packers could have given Peppers a couple million more last season as a salary and made the cap hit (or dead money if he were to be cut) a little less this year but since the extra 2 or 3 million that went unused from last year could be used to pay his salary this year it really didn't matter.

Now what you see a lot of time is players taking relatively small first and even second year salaries because they are getting a large signing bonus up front so they don't need all that money in the first couple of years. This allows teams to keep cap hits relatively low in the first couple of years. By the third year however players have spent that 10 -15 million they got up front and are in need of a real salary and the cap numbers can start to escalate pretty quickly.

One thing it seems the Packers do pretty well is keep their contracts to a point where it isn't obvious a guy signing a 5 year deal is only going to see 3 years of it. For a while it was the big thing to have deals relatively cheap for the first few years but the last 2 balloon with outrageous salaries that almost ensure the players will be cap casualties and dead money hit hard. Players got the ego boost of a 60 million dollar deal but they only saw half of it if that. Limiting the signing bonus pro rating time to 5 years I think helped with that. No more 6 or 7 year deals to stretch out the SB money.

All in all the I like the way the Packers approach their contracts and their salary cap management. Not spending huge in free agency certainly helps.

Aaron Rodgers contract is particularly interesting to me. Did you know he only made a 900,000 salary last year. Not only that but his salary this year is only 1 million dollars. Of course 9.5 and 10.1 million roster bonuses in 2014 and 2015 made his cap hit 17.5 and 18.2 million respectively. On the bright side, if we can handle that 18 million in 2015 we get to know that over the next 4 years his cap number only goes up to about 21 million in the last two years of his deal. The advantage to this is that it is stable. 21 million is not that much more than 18 million and it is likely the cap will go up at least that much so it doesn't look like Rodgers will be a cap casualty. if we are able to fit the 18 million in we should be able to do the 21 million. Its when cap numbers jump by 10 million per year that you get a lot of cap casualties.

 

[Packerlifer]

http://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/insidersblog/2015/03/02/packers-33-million-under-finalized-2015-cap/24277829/