Cap shuffling

[dchogs]

http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/archive?sport=nfl

from espn insider (quoting a Times article):

The Redskins are currently about $300,000 below the 2002 salary cap. In fact, with the release of quarterback Dameyune Craig, they'll actually be $500,000 in the black. Unfortunately for them, they'll need $3.701 million in cap space just to sign the 10 rookies they drafted in April.

In order to clear that space, the Redskins will either have to release or restructure the contracts of some players. Those being targeted are three -- defensive ends Marco Coleman and Bruce Smith and running back Stephen Davis. Unfortunately, there are significant disincentives to restructuring any of the deals.

Coleman is a strong candidate for a post-June 1 cut unless he drops his salary to around the minimum. Washington would save $3.5 million by releasing the 2000 Pro Bowl pick after June 1. That move, if it occurs, might be the only major one the club would have to make.

But the team would like to keep Coleman at a reduced salary, and if Coleman drops his salary to $750,000 and agrees to kill a $500,000 roster bonus due on June 5, the Redskins would save $2.75 million. Then they would still need more space.

Smith turns 39 on June 18 and since clubs prefer to restructure the contracts of young players who are expected to be around awhile, he doesn't fit the profile. If Smith, for example, re-works his deal and retires at season's end, all the base salary shifted to future years would come due in 2003 or 2004.

Davis has been told by the organization that he will be cut after the season if he does not sign a new contract. So Washington could get cap space from that deal, but it won't happen anytime soon.

The Redskins are expected to pick up a bit of cap space by cutting long snapper Ethan Albright and cornerback Donovan Greer. Those two moves would clear a total of $1.2 million -- a little more if they happen after June 1.

Looks like cutting albright and greer and restructuring coleman's contract, will get us our rookies. is a cut in the future for smith? would rather see smith go than coleman!

HTTR

[bulldog]

the devil's compromise

if only Snyder had said 'no' to Deion's $8 million bonus and given him something more manageable, say the $4 million that the Broncos were reportedly offering, none of this manuevering would have been necessary. :box:

[@DCGoldPants]

I think whenever a Newpaper reports on the status of the Cap during the offseason, by the time the article is printed, the information is out of date.

I have faith that Mendes will make the smart and tough choices in the upcoming weeks to get the max possible we can this year.

[gbear]

Arghh! I hate stuff like this.

He says we need over 3 million to sign the ten players. However, those 10 players would theoretically replace 10 players under the rule of 51. Let's assume we have 8 players making the rookie min of 200,000. The 8 players they replace account for 1.6mil. Cutting Albright and Greer gets us another 1.2 and accounts for all 10 spaces under the rule of 51. Thus, we have already accounted for 2.8 mil of the rookie pool. This assumes the worste case senario where everybody the rookies replace other than Albright and Greer is making the rookie min.

We wouldn't even have to restructure Coleman's contract as much as he says to clear the rest of the needed space.

[Charlie Murphaaay]

Sanders actually had a solid season the one year he played for the skins. But the thing is, he conned Snyder out of his money.

[The Sisko]

Rellim, you're right that Peon had a solid season.....well sort of, if you make one little correction. See, if Peon's name were Lloyd Harrison, or Donovan Greer then he did. That is, compared to what he had done in prior years and what we thought we were getting AS WELL AS what we were paying him---he was a bum. If he were paid as Harrison and Greer were and had expectations similar to what was expected of those guys, then yes he did have a solid year.

I guess it's all in how you look at it.

[BKhoo]

Snyder truely wants to spend as much money as he can. There were poeple in the organization against signing Trotter but Snyder made that call.

If it was not for Marty clearing space last year we would not have been able to make any moves this year. If it was not for the old GM (the current Texan GM) clearing space before Snyder took over the team, Danny would not have been able to go on his record spending spree in 2000.

I mean for goodness sakes.....you just gave Stephen Davis a big contract and now the rumor is they are going to release him if he does not renegotiate!!??

Daniel Snyder has no concept of a long-term view on the salary cap. I think this is really going to bite us in a year or two when we have to resign Champ and Jansen.

[The Evil Genius]

Well, if what was reported in the past is true about Davis's contract - BOTH PARTIES knew upon signing it that Davis would NEVER see the later years of the contract...

Davis will restructure - that I am sure of.

[The Evil Genius]

So...lemme expand on this...from what I understand, Davis signed a 9 yr 90 mil (or so) contract that included 6.5 mil signing bonus with this in NON GAURANTEED SALARIES.

2000 750000.00

2001 1000000.00

2002 3000000.00

2003 5000000.00

2004 6000000.00

2005 7000000.00

2006 8000000.00

2007 9000000.00

2008 11000000.00

That breaks down to $50.75 mil (non guaranteed), $6.5 mil guaranteed signing bonus, and about $33 mil in various bonuses that MIGHT count against the cap (some have - and thus the higher cap number than the salary + prorated signing bonus of $3.72 mil in 2002 - but not all the "other" bonuses may be attained).

Is that right?

So you tell me - you think Davis (or his agent) ever thought he would reasonably see this contract after 2003 or 2004 at the latest?

This contract was done for appearances only.

[W&M]

I'm sure both sides will agree that they never expected Davis to see the money in the twighlight years of his contract; however, I don't think they assumed the contract would come to an end after just three short seasons.

They did not orginially plan for Davis to have an $11 Mil salary in 2003 ... that happened as a result of incentives and escalators. Given how great he played in back-to-back years, I imagine he hit every single incentive.

As for our cap situation, someone earlier hit it right on the head. Just because all 10 of our rookies will add up to $3.7 Mil, doesn't mean we need to clear an extra $3.7mil to sign them.

The last 8 picks will surely be signed for less than what our 51st highest paid player makes. Heck, Ladell Bett's annual salary might not even make the top 51. I'll bet that when all is said in done, the net impact of this draft on our cap will be no more than Ramsey's salary. All the other rookie salaries will, on average, displace higher salaries.

Just think, if 10 players on the team only add up to $3.7mil, that would work out to a team roster of under $20 Million if we had 53 of these guys. These rookies are cap saviors if they all make the team.

[Die Hard]

Originally posted by W&M

I'm sure both sides will agree that they never expected Davis to see the money in the twighlight years of his contract; however, I don't think they assumed the contract would come to an end after just three short seasons.

W&M - Sure they did. We all have the benefit of hindsight now... but when Stephen Davis signed that contract 2 years ago... he was came out of nowhere and had a breakthrough season in his contract year.

By offering Davis a contract which essentially ran for 3 years and guaranteed Davis about $12 million.... both parties made out well. And given the uncertainty of Davis' career at the time... you wouldn't want to commit to a player any longer.

Now we've found out Davis is a consistent and proven elite player... and he's going to command the type of signing bonus and salary commensurate of a player of his stature. And if the Skins want to retain him... they're going to have to pony up. Or someone else will.

38 to go...

[W&M]

Yeah, I know we have to pony up to keep him; however, I hope three breaks fall our way to help us get a good deal:

1) I hope Shawn Barber goes crying to S.Davis "I should have signed the $16mil deal rather than hold out for $30 ... now look at me. One injury ruined my pay day. If I was the Skins, I'd line Davis's locker with Barber Posters, with a stock market overlay showing what happened to his value after injury. It makes sense for Davis to give us a BIG BREAK on price if we give him a nice contract now, before the season gets played. He can't do much better, and could do much worse.

2) I hope Mendes is able to convince Synder that RB is the one position you want to be cautious about committing to with a huge contract and huge bonus. Because power RB's break down quickly, and after this year, Davis will have 5 years of pounding on him (4 as RB and 1 as a FB). Emmett is probably the lone exception to the rule about not overpaying for RB's.

3) Assuming we don't chase Davis until next year, I hope we are able to keep him until after June 1st (when most of the FA money has dried up). I know it sounds like a lot to carry $11mil on the books for a while, but it will increase our leverage with him. Particuarly if Betts looks capable. We have about $14 mil of dead money coming back to us next year, hopefully much of that can be used to hold Davis until after June 1st.

[panel]

Davis is the most important player on the team, I hope we don't risk loosing him to save some cap space.

[Die Hard]

Originally posted by W&M

I'm sure both sides will agree that they never expected Davis to see the money in the twighlight years of his contract; however, I don't think they assumed the contract would come to an end after just three short seasons.

W&M - Sure they did. We all have the benefit of hindsight now... but when Stephen Davis signed that contract 2 years ago... he was came out of nowhere and had a breakthrough season in his contract year.

By offering Davis a contract which essentially ran for 3 years and guaranteed Davis about $12 million.... both parties made out well. And given the uncertainty of Davis' career at the time... you wouldn't want to commit to a player any longer.

Now we've found out Davis is a consistent and proven elite player... and he's going to command the type of signing bonus and salary commensurate of a player of his stature. And if the Skins want to retain him... they're going to have to pony up. Or someone else will.

38 to go...

[Art]

W&M, the contract was signed in such a way that allowed Davis to sign the largest contract in the NFL for a running back while allowing the Redskins to be protected against his inability to repeat his breakout year.

While neither side probably expected an end point after three years, the way the contract was worked out such that an end point was basically written in. If Davis failed, the Redskins had an easy, fairly inexpensive out and the contract wouldn't have broken the team. If he succeeded, and the team didn't want to commit the cash to the RB position required to keep an NFL elite runner, then Davis had a fail safe that forced the team to make him free.

Ultimately whether Davis remains with the team or not depends on how much money you will put into that position. With Marty as the coach, without question, I'd give Davis a $15 million signing bonus and a 7 year deal. But, with Spurrier, our speculation is he'll rely less on that spot perhaps. While Panel says Davis is our most important player, he's right. He is our most important player. But, only with Marty as the coach.

Steve Spurrier becomes our most important player now and he'll have to set the market worth of a top runner in his scheme. I hope that fits in line with keeping Davis, but, it may not.