Sean Taylor's Death & Redskins Salary Cap

[Equinoox]

I was reading this and think this is the worst salary cap issue I have heard of. It deals with Sean Taylor's salary cap over the next years. It is pro-rated; but the Washington organization had no control of this situation. We did not trade, cut, nor did Sean retire. I believe that the Washington organization needs to honor his contract. But for it to count against our upcoming salary cap really sucks. I believe that a player's salary, due to a death, should not count against any team's salary cap for the upcoming years. I think the NFL needs to change this rule.

Here is the link

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=3130491

[fdarugar]

who cares about ST's cap number right now...pasquerelli doesnt seem to see what is most important right now, what a dumbass...

[E33Green]

I'm pretty sure this rule has to change. Seriously, if the salary of a DECEASED PLAYER hurts the Skins salary cap wise, I think Roger Goodell would have to tighten his personal security team for fear of attack by crazed Skins fans.

[Redskins Anonymous]

i refuse to read ESPN after Pasquerelli's article on replacing Taylor while the body wasn't even cold yet. If Al Quaeda were to mount an attack on ESPN, I'll book a flight to Bristol right now and start reading the Koran. Screw fatty P, Berman, their botched coverage of the shooting, and their childish hatred for the organzation that has lead to people NOT KNOWING THAT THEY LOST A HALL OF FAMER BEFORE HE COULD BE ONE. I hope ESPN burns in hell.

[PCRoughrider]

It is absurd that a player who has died is treated the same way that he would be if he were traded or released.

In the event of the death of a player or any event that occurs that's not of the team's doing, they should have the option of accelerating the cap or leaving the remaining cap hits as they are. In Sean's case that would be two more years of his prorated signing bonus.

There's no way the full hit of the signing bonus should happen after the death of a player.

[TheLongshot]

who cares about ST's cap number right now...pasquerelli doesnt seem to see what is most important right now, what a dumbass...

Personally, I think it is far better than the wild speculation that is going on about his death.

To be fair, there isn't much more to talk about on the subject of his death other than what comes out of the police investigation. So, there are other questions out there that do need answers. As tough as it is, there is a game that is going to happen on Sunday, and the team does need to figure out what are the ramifications of Taylor's death on the team and the future.

Personally, I think it does suck that there won't be much relief for something like this, but that seems to be the way of the NFL. It is no different if a player had a career-ending injury.

Jason

[Zguy28]

Personally, I think it is far better than the wild speculation that is going on about his death.

To be fair, there isn't much more to talk about on the subject of his death other than what comes out of the police investigation. So, there are other questions out there that do need answers. As tough as it is, there is a game that is going to happen on Sunday, and the team does need to figure out what are the ramifications of Taylor's death on the team and the future.

Personally, I think it does suck that there won't be much relief for something like this, but that seems to be the way of the NFL. It is no different if a player had a career-ending injury.

Jason

Agreed. Its been over 24 hours since he passed away now. I don't see a problem discussing this stuff or people writing about it.

[Redskins Anonymous]

To be fair, there isn't much more to talk about on the subject of his death other than what comes out of the police investigation. So, there are other questions out there that do need answers. As tough as it is, there is a game that is going to happen on Sunday, and the team does need to figure out what are the ramifications of Taylor's death on the team and the future.

Jason

see, the thing is that Fatty P. had an article out about the cap ramifications within HOURS of his death being announced to the world. Literally, Sean had just gone into rigormortis when he wrote it and published it. If it was today, maybe I could live with it. HOURS...

that would be like your dad dying and asking about his will while he's still flatlining.

[DjTj]

It is absurd that a player who has died is treated the same way that he would be if he were traded or released.

In the event of the death of a player or any event that occurs that's not of the team's doing, they should have the option of accelerating the cap or leaving the remaining cap hits as they are. In Sean's case that would be two more years of his prorated signing bonus.

There's no way the full hit of the signing bonus should happen after the death of a player.

I don't really know how else to do it though. The money was already paid, so it has to count against the cap somewhere.

In any case, a $2.48 million cap hit doesn't seem like a huge deal. The more important parts of the article were knowing that his daughter will get death benefits from the league.

[TheLongshot]

see, the thing is that Fatty P. had an article out about the cap ramifications within HOURS of his death being announced to the world. Literally, Sean had just gone into rigormortis when he wrote it and published it. If it was today, maybe I could live with it. HOURS...

that would be like your dad dying and asking about his will while he's still flatlining.

While it may be cold, there are still practical matters that need to be considered. Actually, what he first wrote was about the effect not having Taylor was going to have on the rest of the season, which was posted yesterday. Today he talks about the cap.

Personally, I got more emotional over that first article than any other, since it really hit me what the long-term effects to this francise are going to be. #21 is not going to be back there scaring the crap out of WRs anymore.

Jason

[S.T.real,lights,out]

Who Cares.

[erictheman10]

The cap implications according to the article don't seem too bad. He will count $2.5 mill against the cap next year. But, had he been alive, he would have counted $2.15, I think, so the difference is only $300k. Moreover, (Depending on what Snyder does), we get a credit for the portion of the contract that he hasn't played this year, which looks like roughly $300k. So it roughly balances out, *minus* the fact that he's not around

[PCRoughrider]

I don't really know how else to do it though. The money was already paid, so it has to count against the cap somewhere.

In any case, a $2.48 million cap hit doesn't seem like a huge deal. The more important parts of the article were knowing that his daughter will get death benefits from the league.

The way the the signing bonus is counting in the cap is just accounting. If he'd lived and the team, for some reason, didn't resign him, the final two years of the contract would have the prorated signing bonus on the cap for each year then he'd become a free agent. That's what the team should have the option to do, keep the prorated portions of the signing bonus over the remainder of the contract then when the contract ends, it ends.

There's no reason to accelerate the signing bonus up in the case of a dead player.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I care. It's interesting and frankly there is only so many times I can say that I feel bad. This is how I deal with grief in real life. By distracting myself with practical questions.

Anyway, the NBA has a rule regarding deceased players and the cap. I believe this emerged after the death of Reggie Lewis which hamstrung the Celtics for years. Red Auerbach went to his grave angry at the NBA over how they handled Lewis' death.

A player who dies or who suffers a career-ending injury or illness, and whose contract is terminated, may be excluded from his team's team salary. If the death, injury, or illness occurs between July 1 and December 31, the salary can be excluded beginning on the second July 1 following the death, injury, or illness. If the termination occurs between January 1 and June 30, the salary can be excluded beginning two years after the death, injury, or illness. However, a team may decide not to terminate the contract and continue to pay the player. For example, the Lakers continued to pay Magic Johnson after he was forced to retire because of his HIV status, so his salary was included in the Lakers' team salary.

Teams do not receive an exception to acquire a replacement player if a player's contract is terminated for medical reasons. However, a disabled player exception (see question number 17 ) may be granted by the league in the event of a player's death. For example, the league granted Charlotte a disabled player exception when Bobby Phills died, and Charotte used this exception to acquire Dale Ellis.

The NFL - from what I can tell - does not have such a rule. The reason is, no NFL contract is guaranteed. The Redskins can get away from their obligations to Taylor; NBA teams cannot.

Anyway, the cap hit from Taylor is fairly minor for the next few years. David Patton would count more in 2008.

[PCRoughrider]

And look at this way, what if a star just signs a new contract with $20 million in guaranteed money and then he dies? All of that $20 million will hit the salary cap at once.

It makes no sense to treat a dead player the same way you'd treat a player who was cut by the team.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

One of my best friends just lost his father. He was 60. Within three days, he and I were on the phone discussing wills, probate, 401ks, pensions, life insurance, savings accounts, car titles, car insurance, house insurance, property, and the like since I had just gone through this with my grandfather and he had never had any experience with the aftermath of a death. He told me that the academic exercise of doing this actually helped him a lot. It gave him a plan of action as opposed to just sitting at home crying.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

And look at this way, what if a star just signs a new contract with $20 million in guaranteed money and then he dies? All of that $20 million will hit the salary cap at once.

It makes no sense to treat a dead player the same way you'd treat a player who was cut by the team.

I guess you could carve out an exemption. However, what happens when the next team wants an exemption for a player who blows out their knee? Or gets arrested?

It was mentioned earlier this week that no team in NFL history was ever screwed as bad as the Patriots were over the injury to Robert Edwards. They lost a budding star to a stupid injury in a stupid league-sponsored event and had to eat his cap hit for years.

[hamburger55]

ESPN CAN GO TO HELL!!!!!!! Whogives a crap about the cap right now we need to band together and support our team through tough times. We need Need PORTIS To go off on Sunday and we need the defense to step up and score 21 points on turnovers to show their gratitude to their fallen teammate RIP SEAN

[Rufus T Firefly]

I guess you could carve out an exemption. However' date=' what happens when the next team wants an exemption for a player who blows out their knee? Or gets arrested?

It was mentioned earlier this week that no team in NFL history was ever screwed as bad as the Patriots were over the injury to Robert Edwards. They lost a budding star to a stupid injury in a stupid league-sponsored event and had to eat his cap hit for years.[/quote']

Well, this is a case where strict adherence to rules gets silly. The reason signing bonuses are so risky and teams don't give them out like halloween candy is becuase of the risk of injury. As callous as it sounds, you sign a guy to a big contract with a big bonus and he blows out his knee the next game, then you gambled and lost. A player dying should obviously be treated differently. It's not like Sean Taylor and the Redskins are faking his death to circumvent the salary cap.

There should absolutely be an exemption for a case like this, or a Reggie Lewis case. The fact is, now becuase of this terrible, tragic event, we will actually have LESS salary cap room while trying to replace possibly our best player, is cruel and ridiculous.

[dfbovey]

What the hell? I am glad they brought this information out because some people actually do wonder about this stuff between the uncontrollable crying fits.

I understand wanting to mourn, I'm doing it to. But it's also good to read about what the other ramifications are. That's why it's good that threads have titles and when you're on ESPN their links let you know what you're clicking on. If you don't want to read about stuff like this then don't. It's really that easy.

[DjTj]

I guess you could carve out an exemption. However' date=' what happens when the next team wants an exemption for a player who blows out their knee? Or gets arrested?[/quote']Yeah, maybe they could pass an exemption only in the event of death, but if the idea is to give teams the same flexibility they would have in a decision to cut a player, it would make sense to extend it to injuries or banned substances or jail time as well. Where do you draw the line? Life and death seem like clear distinctions, but what if someone is paralyzed for life - are you going to tell that team to eat the cap because their player didn't die? It's a complicated can of worms...

The whole point of guaranteed money is that the player gets the money up front while the team assumes the risk of all those things happening. If pro-rating were allowed to extend to the end of a contract in many more cases, all teams would start signing every player to really long contracts with salaries at the end they have no intention of paying (the Redskins already kind of do this). We really should be counting the entirety of bonuses in the year that they are paid, but I guess the pro-rating provides teams some flexibility and encourages teams to keep players in one place to some extent.

We're also looking at this from the perspective of a team that wants to spend over the cap, but the point of the cap is not just to limit rich teams but also to guarantee to lower revenue teams that they will not get stuck having to pay a lot more money than the cap requires. Some owners might not have the extra $20 million lying around after paying out a big bonus, so the cap reflects a financial reality rather than merely an accounting fiction.

It sounds like the NBA policy allows teams to stop paying contracts if the player dies ... I'm not sure that is a much friendlier policy than what the NFL has. At least Taylor's family will get to keep the bonus money.

[stevenaa]

How else should it be done. Prorating a salary bonus is risky to cap implications. If a player has a career ending injury, you still eat the cap. It's the only fair way to do it.

[dfbovey]

How else should it be done. Prorating a salary bonus is risky to cap implications. If a player has a career ending injury, you still eat the cap. It's the only fair way to do it.

I agree. The only cap hit is due to bonus money that the player already has. I think the only option that could be given to a team in a situation like this is to allow the money to continue to be spread out over what would have been the remaining years of the contract.

It's still not a very large hit. But couple that with the likely hit that we'll take from cutting Lloyd and it becomes a situation where there might not be a whole lot of wiggle room next year to improve the team.

And that sucks because we do have a lot of needs aside from now replacing Sean.

[CrazyZeb]

The rule should be all the money will disappear from the cap so long as the contract is paid in full. Teams get cap relief, the families of the deceased get the financial help.

[Redshu]

It is pretty stupid that the NFL doesn't have some sort of contingency for something like this. With Kory Stringer passing, Darrent Williams being murdered, and now Sean Taylor. It's insane.

There is a recognizable difference in someone being injured on the field of play. We recognize that this isn't checkers, it's football. But when someone is murdered? They treat it the same way as a career ending injury? Don't bring up Vick, because the Falcons get to go after that money, and he made his own bed. Sean was killed. Some people, and when I say people I mean *******s, will say that Sean somehow brought this on himself with past associations, but that's garbage. The team could give a rats ass about the money, but don't hamper the Redskins competitively because of some unforseeable tragedy.

It makes no sense, but neither does the leagues policies on retired players, the MLB players union, or the friggin' government. I guess this is the world we live in. Bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people.