I love NFL football, but I don't like figuring out salary cap stuff and its effect on contracts. So, as a service to both you and me, I've enlisted Keith Weiland of HoustonProFootball.com to explain most everything Texans salary cap. The interview is even worth a read even if you are more interested in NFL salary cap issues in general and less about the Texans.
SS: What is the best information you have about the Texans salary cap situation?
KW: Unless you're someone who has direct access to league records, the best salary cap information available to anyone is quite often questionable. I have maintained a salary cap estimate for the Texans at HoustonProFootball.com for a few years and all I can guarantee anyone is that it's wrong somewhere on that page, and probably in more than one place.
Much of the data that doesn't come from the NFLPA comes from the media, and the data provided by the media is only as good as the data they've been given (and frankly, understand). The league and its teams are rather reluctant to release salary cap information, even to reputable media outlets, so often times the dollars reported come from the agents, and who can completely trust them, right?
That's not to say it's all bad. Once the team narrows down it's roster for the regular season, the unknown cap data seems to narrow itself down as well. I've received input into each year's cap estimate that comes from a variety of legit, semi-legit, and downright shady sources, but on the whole, if I'm within a million or two, which is to say less than 2 percent off, then it's a really good estimate.
The cap estimate is always the trickiest at the start of the new season.... which by the way the new season does NOT begin Week 1 of the regular season. As most hardcore NFL fans know, the new season starts with the onset of free agency, which this year will be on February 29.
What makes those early cap estimates tricky is a combination of a couple things, namely those unknown bonuses and incentives plus any new bonus information about major free agent signings (and re-signings, too).
For 2008, my best guess now is that the Texans have somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 million in salary cap space (give or take a few million) entering free agency.
So yeah, the Texans have shed the bulk of the dead money from the expansion regime, but while this sounds like a lot of space - and it is thanks to the ever-growing salary cap with the collective bargaining agreement of a couple years ago - it probably only just places the team in the top half of the league.
SS: Probably the biggest free agent disappointments the Texans have had are running back Ahman Green and defensive end Anthony Weaver. Green struggled with a knee issue since the first game of the season, and Weaver never performed well in the 4-3, and further struggled coming off of shoulder surgery.
What is remaining on their contracts, and what are the salary cap implications if the Texans wanted to release these players?
KW: I'll start with Green, since his situation is a bit more clear to me at the moment. He is entering just the second year of a four-year contract that paid him a $5 million signing bonus, plus a few other workout and roster bonuses which are not relevant to the cap if the Texans decide to part ways with him.
So his dead money figure if cut is a bit easier to figure, as his signing bonus prorate is ($5MM / 4 years * 3 years remaining = ) $3.75 million. If the Texans deems Green as a June 1 cut, then only $1.25 million hits the 2008 cap while the team saves $3.8 million in paying Green's base salary this year.
Weaver's situation is a bit more perplexing to me because of incomplete data. Weaver's contract with the Texans reportedly included about $12 million of "guaranteed" money.
Side note: "Guaranteed" is a tricky term when it comes to the lexicon of the salary cap largely because this can be agent-speak that the media prints not fully understanding the details.
The best infomation I have sourced indicates that Weaver's actual signing bonus was half of that reported guarantee at $6 million, so the other half of that guarantee is unconfirmed for me at the moment. I have it split across four seasons like an option bonus.
As Weaver is now entering the third year of his five-year contract, his unamortized signing bonus amounts to ($6MM / 5 years * 3 years remaining = ) $3.6 million, plus his (estimated) unamortized option bonus of ($6MM / 4 years * 3 years remaining = ) $4.5 million, for a combined total of $8.1 million. With a base salary of $3.5 million this season, cutting Weaver now becomes a rather expensive cap maneuver as the net ($8.1 million of dead money less $3.5 million of salary expense saved) is still a very high figure of $4.6 million.
As such, it seems very unlikely that, so long as Weaver is healthy, he will not be a cap casualty in 2008. If he were to be released though, he would almost certainly be classified as June 1st cut, meaning just the 2008 bonuses would hit this year ($2.7 million), thereby pushing the rest of the dead money onto the 2009 salary cap ($5.4 million).
SS: The Texans have made surprising moves each offseason since Gary Kubiak came on board. With the salary cap money that the Texans have available, and the needs they have as you see them, who do you think are realistic free agent targets for the team?
KW: Well, I won't waste valuable internet space in projecting who the Texans will pursue. I have no idea. I've had some pretty viable clues in previous years, and even then, they were often wrong.
I feel sorta safe though in saying, in spite of all their cap room available, that the Texans are unlikely to make a significant splash in free agency. That is not to say they won't be active - an 8-8 team from the previous season still has plenty of holes to fill on the roster - but I do not expect the team to bring in another mega-buxxx signing.
And that's probably a good thing. The Texans have failed spectacularly far too often when they opened Bob McNair's checkbook in the offseason, so a little fiscal responsibility is welcome. The Texans also won't shy away from veterans - their reported interest in Zach Thomas is just the latest stroll down memory lane - so expect them to welcome those guys who might only have one or two years left in them.
I do expect the Texans to take interest in several defensive backs though. There are expected to be a couple big names available at corner, and while it's nice to dream that one of them might be wearing Battle Red next season, the fact is those big names are not going to represent cap value.
With some optimism of a midseason return to form from Dunta Robinson and the continued emergence of Fred Bennett, the Texans don't necessarily need to spend the extra cash on a premium corner. They do, however, need to find a few players that can hold their own in case that optimism wanes by Week 2.
The Texans will probably bring in a new safety as well. They'll also need to consider needs at linebacker. On offense, the Texans have stated needs at offensive tackle and running back, and while many observers believer all of these positions will be addressed at some point during the draft, the Texans have shown to use free agency to try to shore up as many of their needs as they can before their first pick.
SS: Any other captastic questions I've failed to ask, but you think Texans fans would want to know about?
KW: Sure, a couple things to keep in mind as free agent dreams take flight... First, never expect the Texans to spend every dollar of available cap space. The team will need extra room to sign their rookies, and they'll want a rainy day fund in case they need to sign injury replacements, sign players already under contract to extensions, or make any trades before the deadline.
The "use it or lose it" risk of unused cap space each year is very low. Thanks to a well known salary loop hole involving incentives, it is fairly easy for teams to forward any unused cap space to the next year.
Second, don't forget that the salary cap is simply an accounting exercise, not a payroll exercise. Teams will take a hard look at the coming year's payroll when weighing decisions with a financial impact. That bonus money that one day becomes dead money on the cap only represents funds long gone.
Take Green's situation for example. The Texans would be wise of course to consider the salary cap implications of his release, but the question really ought to be whether Green is worth his base salary of $3.8 million (as well as other unpaid workout/roster bonuses, which specifically for Green might be worth at most another $700,000 in 2008). It's a tough call, and probably one the team want to wait to make until they know how healthy Green is entering offseason workouts and what other options they have on the roster.
Lastly, remember this is an inexact science for the fans and media, so take any specific number you read (even right here) with a little fudge room. There are, however, plenty of resources on the web to help answer cap-related questions.
One of the best I have read that puts these details into terms easy enough for most fans willing to understand was put together by the Falcons a few year ago: The Falcons Salary Cap 101 covers the basics like salaries and bonuses, but gets into some of the details of things like the rookie pool and the calculation used to define the salary cap each year.
SS: A big thanks to Keith for his fine NFL salary cap/contract tutorial. Any questions?
KW: I'll start with Green, since his situation is a bit more clear to me at the moment. He is entering just the second year of a four-year contract that paid him a $5 million signing bonus, plus a few other workout and roster bonuses which are not relevant to the cap if the Texans decide to part ways with him.
So his dead money figure if cut is a bit easier to figure, as his signing bonus prorate is ($5MM / 4 years * 3 years remaining = ) $3.75 million. If the Texans deems Green as a June 1 cut, then only $1.25 million hits the 2008 cap while the team saves $3.8 million in paying Green's base salary this year.
Weaver's situation is a bit more perplexing to me because of incomplete data. Weaver's contract with the Texans reportedly included about $12 million of "guaranteed" money.
Side note: "Guaranteed" is a tricky term when it comes to the lexicon of the salary cap largely because this can be agent-speak that the media prints not fully understanding the details.
The best infomation I have sourced indicates that Weaver's actual signing bonus was half of that reported guarantee at $6 million, so the other half of that guarantee is unconfirmed for me at the moment. I have it split across four seasons like an option bonus.
As Weaver is now entering the third year of his five-year contract, his unamortized signing bonus amounts to ($6MM / 5 years * 3 years remaining = ) $3.6 million, plus his (estimated) unamortized option bonus of ($6MM / 4 years * 3 years remaining = ) $4.5 million, for a combined total of $8.1 million. With a base salary of $3.5 million this season, cutting Weaver now becomes a rather expensive cap maneuver as the net ($8.1 million of dead money less $3.5 million of salary expense saved) is still a very high figure of $4.6 million.
As such, it seems very unlikely that, so long as Weaver is healthy, he will not be a cap casualty in 2008. If he were to be released though, he would almost certainly be classified as June 1st cut, meaning just the 2008 bonuses would hit this year ($2.7 million), thereby pushing the rest of the dead money onto the 2009 salary cap ($5.4 million).
SS: The Texans have made surprising moves each offseason since Gary Kubiak came on board. With the salary cap money that the Texans have available, and the needs they have as you see them, who do you think are realistic free agent targets for the team?
KW: Well, I won't waste valuable internet space in projecting who the Texans will pursue. I have no idea. I've had some pretty viable clues in previous years, and even then, they were often wrong.
I feel sorta safe though in saying, in spite of all their cap room available, that the Texans are unlikely to make a significant splash in free agency. That is not to say they won't be active - an 8-8 team from the previous season still has plenty of holes to fill on the roster - but I do not expect the team to bring in another mega-buxxx signing.
And that's probably a good thing. The Texans have failed spectacularly far too often when they opened Bob McNair's checkbook in the offseason, so a little fiscal responsibility is welcome. The Texans also won't shy away from veterans - their reported interest in Zach Thomas is just the latest stroll down memory lane - so expect them to welcome those guys who might only have one or two years left in them.
I do expect the Texans to take interest in several defensive backs though. There are expected to be a couple big names available at corner, and while it's nice to dream that one of them might be wearing Battle Red next season, the fact is those big names are not going to represent cap value.
With some optimism of a midseason return to form from Dunta Robinson and the continued emergence of Fred Bennett, the Texans don't necessarily need to spend the extra cash on a premium corner. They do, however, need to find a few players that can hold their own in case that optimism wanes by Week 2.
The Texans will probably bring in a new safety as well. They'll also need to consider needs at linebacker. On offense, the Texans have stated needs at offensive tackle and running back, and while many observers believer all of these positions will be addressed at some point during the draft, the Texans have shown to use free agency to try to shore up as many of their needs as they can before their first pick.
SS: Any other captastic questions I've failed to ask, but you think Texans fans would want to know about?
KW: Sure, a couple things to keep in mind as free agent dreams take flight... First, never expect the Texans to spend every dollar of available cap space. The team will need extra room to sign their rookies, and they'll want a rainy day fund in case they need to sign injury replacements, sign players already under contract to extensions, or make any trades before the deadline.
The "use it or lose it" risk of unused cap space each year is very low. Thanks to a well known salary loop hole involving incentives, it is fairly easy for teams to forward any unused cap space to the next year.
Second, don't forget that the salary cap is simply an accounting exercise, not a payroll exercise. Teams will take a hard look at the coming year's payroll when weighing decisions with a financial impact. That bonus money that one day becomes dead money on the cap only represents funds long gone.
Take Green's situation for example. The Texans would be wise of course to consider the salary cap implications of his release, but the question really ought to be whether Green is worth his base salary of $3.8 million (as well as other unpaid workout/roster bonuses, which specifically for Green might be worth at most another $700,000 in 2008). It's a tough call, and probably one the team want to wait to make until they know how healthy Green is entering offseason workouts and what other options they have on the roster.
Lastly, remember this is an inexact science for the fans and media, so take any specific number you read (even right here) with a little fudge room. There are, however, plenty of resources on the web to help answer cap-related questions.
One of the best I have read that puts these details into terms easy enough for most fans willing to understand was put together by the Falcons a few year ago: The Falcons Salary Cap 101 covers the basics like salaries and bonuses, but gets into some of the details of things like the rookie pool and the calculation used to define the salary cap each year.
SS: A big thanks to Keith for his fine NFL salary cap/contract tutorial. Any questions?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-20-2008 @ 4:35PM
Chris F. said...
A fine read. I remember being confused by this stuff way back in the early 1990's when free agency and the cap were just getting started. Indeed the biggest thing about the salary cap is dealing with misleading or incomplete details and trying to figure out the cap space for any given year.
Reply
2-22-2008 @ 7:59AM
threetoedpete said...
Thanks Keith. Very well done. I have neither the time nor desire to be a capologist. I depend on your annual reports alot.
Reply
2-22-2008 @ 11:38AM
Chris F. said...
Here's the latest news on the salary cap status for most teams:
Worst shape:
Arizona Cardinals $2.1 million over*
Indianapolis Colts $230,850 over*
Washington Redskins $103,000 over
Baltimore Ravens $961,000 under
St. Louis Rams $6.2 million under
Detroit Lions $6.8 million under
Carolina Panthers $7.8 million under
Dallas Cowboys $12.5 million under
Denver Broncos $16.7 million under
New England Patriots $17.4 million under
(The Cards released three guys - OT Oliver Ross, FS Terrence Holt and DE Chris Cooper - just after this came out so they likely are now under tha cap max. Indy's value was with Dallas Clark's franchise cap hit; they've since resigned him long-term with likely a lower 2008 cap value)
Best shape:
Miami Dolphins $44 million under
Jacksonville Jaguars $42 million under
Buffalo Bills $39.4 million under
Tennessee Titans $39.2 million under
New Orleans Saints $39.2 million under
San Francisco 49ers $37.4 million under
Tampa Bay Buccaneers $32.9 million under
Minnesota Vikings $32.7 million under
Cleveland Browns $32.5 million under
Chicago Bears $30 million under
Current Bengals cap: $24.3 million under
Most of the teams that have a lot of room used a loophole tool in the CBA that allows them to create phony bonuses that don't get paid and are then credited to next year's cap. For example, suppose we give Brad St. Louis a new $5,000,000 bonus during the season if he catches 2 TD passes. That $5mil would have counted directly against our 2007 cap. But since he didn't achieve it, we would have gotten an extra $5mil to spend in 2008 (i.e. our max cap is not the $116mil standard value, but $121mil). Of course, the Bengals were one of only 9 teams that didn't use this trick...
Minnesota $20,780,500
Jacksonville $16.5 million
Tampa Bay $14,572,039 (plus $606,912)
Philadelphia $13,615,833 (plus $90,833)
Buffalo $13 million
Kansas City $11.29 million
Cleveland $11.025 million (plus $3.025 million)
Green Bay $8.965 million
New Orleans $8,266,988 (plus $3,553,088)
Indianapolis $8 million (plus $4 million)
Seattle $7.4 million
Oakland $7,345,532
Carolina $6.67 million (plus $2.67 million)
Tennessee $6 million
New England $5,602,500 (plus $5,602,500)
Miami $4,876,323 (plus $873,677)
New York Jets $4.7 million
Atlanta $4 million
Dallas $3.5 million
St. Louis $3,174,300 (plus $3,174,300)
Baltimore $2.6 million
San Francisco $2,111,678
Washington $1,821,260
The "plus" values represent guys who have bonuses that were spread over two years.
Reply
2-23-2008 @ 10:12PM
Captain Caveman said...
I was very captivated by KW's explanation of the fogginess of salary cap figures. KW could be a regular captain of the corporate world at least a cfo, if he can understand the potential capitulation by fans of a team poorly handling it's salary cap. He's so captured my interest with his esteemed explanation that my cap is off to him.
Reply
3-27-2008 @ 6:37AM
Lazarus said...
2008 Team Standings as of Feb. 29, 2008
Projected 2008 NFL Salary Cap Space for Each Team
*NOTE:
The NFLPA says $123 M is cap figure for this year. Due to other current offical info this list uses a $116 M cap.
Rank Team $ Under the Cap
1 Jacksonville Jaguars $46270000
There are currently 43 players under contract.
2 Tennessee Titans $42730000
There are currently 39 players under contract.
3 Buffalo Bills $39610000
There are currently 49 players under contract.
4 Minnesota Vikings $35490500
There are currently 49 players under contract.
5 New Orleans Saints $35246988
There are currently 39 players under contract.
6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers $33412039
There are currently 48 players under contract.
7 San Francisco 49ers $32741678
There are currently 48 players under contract.
8 Philadelphia Eagles $31335833
There are currently 49 players under contract.
9 Cincinnati Bengals $31210000
There are currently 48 players under contract.
10 Oakland Raiders $30595532
There are currently 40 players under contract.
11 Kansas City Chiefs $28050000
There are currently 44 players under contract.
12 Cleveland Browns $27584552
There are currently 42 players under contract.
13 Miami Dolphins $25586323
There are currently 48 players under contract.
14 Green Bay Packers $24515000
There are currently 48 players under contract.
15 NY Giants $23500000
There are currently 49 players under contract.
16 San Diego Chargers $22610000
There are currently 44 players under contract.
17 NY Jets $21960000
There are currently 45 players under contract.
18 Seattle Seahawks $20270000
There are currently 44 players under contract.
19 Chicago Bears $20050000
There are currently 52 players under contract.
20 Houston Texans $19560000
There are currently 43 players under contract.
21 Detroit Lions $17840000
There are currently 42 players under contract.
22 Dallas Cowboys $16800000
There are currently 40 players under contract.
23 Pittsburgh Steelers $16630000
There are currently 43 players under contract.
24 Arizona Cardinals $14490000
There are currently 34 players under contract.
25 New England Patriots $10522500
There are currently 41 players under contract.
26 Denver Broncos $8290000
There are currently 49 players under contract.
27 Atlanta Falcons $8070000
There are currently 52 players under contract.
28 Baltimore Ravens $7410000
There are currently 42 players under contract.
29 St. Louis Rams $7024300
There are currently 45 players under contract.
30 Carolina Panthers $5730000
There are currently 35 players under contract.
31 Indianapolis Colts $2360000
There are currently 48 players under contract.
32 Washington Redskins $-22078740
There are currently 45 players under contract.
Reply
3-27-2008 @ 9:10AM
4blogs said...
2008 Team Standings as of Feb. 29, 2008
Projected 2008 NFL Salary Cap Space for Each Team
*NOTE:
The NFLPA says $123 M is cap figure for this year. Due to other current offical info this list uses a $116 M cap.
Rank Team $ Under the Cap
1 Jacksonville Jaguars $46270000
There are currently 43 players under contract.
2 Tennessee Titans $42730000
There are currently 39 players under contract.
3 Buffalo Bills $39610000
There are currently 49 players under contract.
4 Minnesota Vikings $35490500
There are currently 49 players under contract.
5 New Orleans Saints $35246988
There are currently 39 players under contract.
6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers $33412039
There are currently 48 players under contract.
7 San Francisco 49ers $32741678
There are currently 48 players under contract.
8 Philadelphia Eagles $31335833
There are currently 49 players under contract.
9 Cincinnati Bengals $31210000
There are currently 48 players under contract.
10 Oakland Raiders $30595532
There are currently 40 players under contract.
11 Kansas City Chiefs $28050000
There are currently 44 players under contract.
12 Cleveland Browns $27584552
There are currently 42 players under contract.
13 Miami Dolphins $25586323
There are currently 48 players under contract.
14 Green Bay Packers $24515000
There are currently 48 players under contract.
15 NY Giants $23500000
There are currently 49 players under contract.
16 San Diego Chargers $22610000
There are currently 44 players under contract.
17 NY Jets $21960000
There are currently 45 players under contract.
18 Seattle Seahawks $20270000
There are currently 44 players under contract.
19 Chicago Bears $20050000
There are currently 52 players under contract.
20 Houston Texans $19560000
There are currently 43 players under contract.
21 Detroit Lions $17840000
There are currently 42 players under contract.
22 Dallas Cowboys $16800000
There are currently 40 players under contract.
23 Pittsburgh Steelers $16630000
There are currently 43 players under contract.
24 Arizona Cardinals $14490000
There are currently 34 players under contract.
25 New England Patriots $10522500
There are currently 41 players under contract.
26 Denver Broncos $8290000
There are currently 49 players under contract.
27 Atlanta Falcons $8070000
There are currently 52 players under contract.
28 Baltimore Ravens $7410000
There are currently 42 players under contract.
29 St. Louis Rams $7024300
There are currently 45 players under contract.
30 Carolina Panthers $5730000
There are currently 35 players under contract.
31 Indianapolis Colts $2360000
There are currently 48 players under contract.
32 Washington Redskins $-22078740
There are currently 45 players under contract.
Reply