Skeletor The Invincible Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12565-2003May19.html The $86 Million Question Redskins' Projected Payroll Is in NFL's Upper Tier, but Will It Pull In More Wins? By Mark Maske Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, May 20, 2003; Page D02 The Washington Redskins are poised to return to the upper tier of NFL player payrolls next season but won't threaten the spending record they set three years ago. The Redskins project they will spend about $86 million on players' salaries and bonuses in the 2003 season, which likely will place them among the league's five highest-spending clubs, according to sources. But the Redskins don't intend to break the $90 million barrier that the Denver Broncos and a few other teams are headed toward, sources said. This will be owner Daniel Snyder's most expensive team since the Redskins fell a few million dollars shy of becoming the league's first $100 million club in 2000. It is difficult to make direct comparisons, however. The team's player payroll in 2000, which was approximately $95 million, was derived by the formula for calculating teams' payrolls used by the NFL Players Association. That formula does not recognize deferred payments of players' signing bonuses. And since paying bonuses in several installments is one of Snyder's preferred tactics, the union's payroll-calculation formula does not provide an exact method for calculating Snyder's out-of-pocket expenses for a season. The $86 million is what the Redskins project that their players will cost Snyder, sources said. The Redskins' payroll figure probably will be slightly lower when calculated by the union. The Redskins were one of the league's most active teams this offseason, acquiring 17 players. The club traded for St. Louis Rams tailback Trung Canidate and signed 16 free agents. The free agents' contracts included signing bonuses totaling about $32 million, including $13 million in a seven-year, $35 million deal for wide receiver Laveranues Coles and $7 million in a seven-year, $27.63 million contract for guard Randy Thomas. Right tackle Jon Jansen received an $8 million bonus when he signed a six-year, $25 million contract extension in December. The Redskins took advantage of the league's salary cap accounting procedures to squeeze all their additions beneath the NFL's 2003 salary cap of $75.007 million per club. Coles, for example, counts a relatively modest $2.38 million against the salary cap next season. Under salary cap rules, his $13 million bonus is prorated over the duration of his seven-year contract, meaning that his bonus counts $1.857 million against the Redskins' cap each season. That is added to his 2003 salary of $525,000 -- the league minimum for a player of his experience level -- to produce his salary cap figure. Annual salaries generally are not guaranteed in the NFL, meaning that the player collects his salary only if he is on the team's roster. New York Jets General Manager Terry Bradway accused Snyder of overspending when Snyder raided the Jets to sign Coles, Thomas, kicker John Hall and kick returner Chad Morton via free agency. That view is shared by some executives around the league who believe the Redskins' aggressive spending will create salary cap problems in the future that will lead to the team's roster being dismantled. Redskins officials deny that, saying they have structured their players' contracts to be able to keep their team intact for the next three seasons. According to sources, the Redskins project that they can afford to keep linebacker LaVar Arrington and cornerback Champ Bailey over the next few seasons even if they're unable to work out new contracts with the two Pro Bowl defenders. Arrington restructured his contract this offseason, lowering his salary cap figure for the upcoming season but increasing his salary cap figures in future seasons. The Redskins released former Pro Bowl tailback Stephen Davis this offseason in part because he would have counted about $11 million against next season's salary cap. Club officials felt he didn't fit into Coach Steve Spurrier's offense and wasn't worth the salary cap damage. Team officials believe Arrington will be worth it even if his salary cap figures become cumbersome, sources said. Bailey is entering the final season of his contract and is eligible for unrestricted free agency in March. The Redskins apparently would like to work out a contract extension with him, and Bailey said he is receptive to an offer. But even if the sides can't work out a deal, the Redskins would have the right to limit Bailey's mobility on the free agent market by using their franchise player tag on him. As a franchise player, Bailey still would be able to test the market, but the Redskins would have the right to keep him by matching any contract offer from another club and they would receive two first-round draft choices from another team if it acquired Bailey. Having Bailey as their franchise player probably would eat up about $6 million of salary cap space in 2004, so the Redskins probably would prefer to work out a deal that would include a hefty signing bonus but a lower cap figure. The Redskins have about $78 million of salaries committed to players in 2004. But there will be trims in the meantime. That figure, for instance, includes a $6.5 million salary for defensive end Bruce Smith, who is likely to retire following the upcoming season and erase that salary commitment. Coles's and Thomas's contracts illustrate Snyder's negotiating approach. Both players agreed to have their signing bonuses paid in installments, enabling Snyder to ease the financial burden. And both players will receive league-minimum salaries this season. Nearly two-thirds of Coles's $13 million signing bonus is deferred. The Redskins have to pay about $5 million of it this year, according to sources. But the entire $13 million will count toward the Redskins' cash payroll total this year under the calculation method used by the NFLPA. Such deferrals would be difficult to track league-wide. The $86 million payroll figure includes only the portions of the signing bonuses to Coles, Thomas and other players that the Redskins actually will pay this year. But it also includes signing-bonus installments that will be paid this year to players signed in previous offseasons. Middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, for example, agreed last offseason to defer $6 million of his $7 million signing bonus. Most Redskins players will receive salaries at or near the minimum this season. Defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson has a team-high salary of $3.5 million, but he could agree to a restructured contract before the season with a lower salary. Arrington, left tackle Chris Samuels and Trotter already have restructured their contracts this offseason, lowering their salaries in exchange for having portions of their incomes guaranteed -- in effect, receiving new signing bonuses that the Redskins could prorate over the remainders of their contracts for salary cap accounting purposes. Snyder has the advantage, at least temporarily, of having a low-paid quarterback. Starter Patrick Ramsey, entering his second season, has a $430,000 salary this year -- modest by league standards for a first-string quarterback. The Redskins' heavy spending for this offseason is done, barring a new contract with Arrington or Bailey. The club had only three picks in last month's draft and didn't have a first-round selection, having traded one choice to the Rams for Canidate and used four others as compensation for acquiring restricted free agents Coles, Morton, safety Matt Bowen and defensive tackle Jermaine Haley. The Redskins plummeted to near the bottom of the league's payroll rankings in 2001 after taking a conservative approach to spending under Marty Schottenheimer, formerly the team's head coach and director of football operations. They were in the middle of the payroll pack last season. The question is whether Snyder's expenditures will pay off. Snyder has made the Redskins into one of the league's most profitable franchises and has demonstrated a willingness to pump money back into the team, but his spending usually has not produced winning records. The Redskins went 8-8 in 2000 and are 23-25 in three seasons since going 10-6 and winning the NFC East in 1999, Snyder's first season as the club's owner. They went 7-9 last season after Snyder made Spurrier the NFL's highest-paid coach with a five-year contract worth about $25 million. "We still have to go play," Spurrier said. "Every coach thinks they have a better team at this time of the year. No one says, 'We think we're worse.' But there's no question we think that Mr. Snyder has given us better players this year. We think we have good players. We just have to go out and play better and play smarter, and coach better and coach smarter." © 2003 The Washington Post Company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeletor The Invincible Posted May 20, 2003 Author Share Posted May 20, 2003 *cough* Nevermind, I didn't see the other post. /ignore. mods feel free to delete this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phat Hog Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 Hey, I aint mad... we are so "NFL News" starved around here - I'll read anything twice; and have, for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Die Hard Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 That's the right attitude Phat Hog. No worries Skeletor. But for the record... we will delete double posts on occasion. We just hope no one takes it personally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.