The Money Clip: Baltimore Ravens Salary Cap Analysis

RAVENS SALARY CAP: Tagging Flacco could mean goodbye for some

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Brian McFarland

Last week, our 2013 offseason preview was posted and it has raised questions about how exactly the Ravens are going to create enough Salary Cap space to use the franchise tag on QB Joe Flacco and/or do what is going to be necessary to address other areas of need. One of the chief avenues for creating Cap space is the release or retirement of players. The chart below will help answer some of those questions. If the Ravens intend to, or are forced to, use the Franchise Tag on QB … Continue reading →

Ravens 2013 Free Agency Preview

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Brian McFarland

NOTE: This is an early preview of the Ravens’ 2013 roster and offseason preview. Once the 2013 offseason begins, a more thorough preview and Salary Cap projection will be published. PLAYERS UNDER CONTRACT: The Ravens presently have the following 37 players under contract for 2013 (with base salaries indicated): QBs (1): Tyrod Taylor ($555K) RBs (3): Ray Rice ($1M), Bernard Pierce ($480K), Vonta Leach ($3M) WRs (7): Anquan Boldin ($6M), Torrey Smith ($683K), Jacoby Jones ($3M + $1M Roster Bonus), Tandon Doss ($555K), LaQuan Williams ($555K), Deonte Thompson ($480K), Tommy … Continue reading →

SALARY CAP ANALYSIS: Signs point to franchise tag for Flacco

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Brian McFarland

Finding a value for a new contract for Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco has always been a problem. Unfortunately, for Flacco and the Ravens, there’s not a really appropriate comparison contract in existence. Flacco certainly deserves to be paid more than guys like Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (7 years/$62M/$24M guaranteed) and Cardinals’ QB Kevin Kolb (6 years/$63M/$12M guaranteed), but it’s questionable whether he deserves to be part of the $100M club, which includes QBs like Michael Vick (6 years/$100M/32M guaranteed), Philip Rivers (7 years/$98.5M/$38M guaranteed) and Eli Manning (7 years/$107M/$35M guaranteed). … Continue reading →

Is Jason Babin a fit for the Baltimore Ravens?

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Brian McFarland

When the Philadelphia Eagles unexpectedly released DE Jason Babin yesterday, rumors immediately began to swirl around Baltimore that the Ravens might possibly be interested in acquiring the pass rusher who has tallied the 3rd most sacks in the NFL since 2010 (including 18 in 2011). While Babin is more of a 4-3 DE and while the Ravens’ pass rush has seemed to rebound with the return of LB Terrell Suggs, the team could still probably use a guy like Babin, even if just as a situational pass rusher. Since the … Continue reading →

Could Ray Lewis be a salary cap casualty in 2013?

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Brian McFarland

Ray Lewis’ Cap Impact Clouds his Future with Club With this week’s news that Ravens’ linebacker Ray Lewis is lost for the season with a triceps injury, the immediate question that comes to mind is whether or not Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys was not only Lewis’ last game of the year, but also possibly the last game of his career. Or, perhaps, it’s just the last game of Lewis’ career as a Raven? In 2013, Lewis will be in the 5th year of a 7-year contract he signed … Continue reading →

How Does The NFL’s Waiver System Work?

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Brian McFarland

As the third week of the NFL preseason comes to a close, the time has come for teams to make their first round of roster cuts. Teams have until 4:00 p.m. on Monday to reduce their present rosters of 90 players down to 75. When viewing the NFL waiver wire, there are 4 designations that come into play, each with different ramifications. Often, these designations are confused when reported in the press or simply labeled with the generic moniker “cut”, but there are different ramifications of each designation. 1. Players … Continue reading →

McKinnie’s pay cut – more than meets the eye?

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Brian McFarland

I’ve been trying to track down some more info on this, but if Bryant McKinnie’s $1M incentive is truly based on 50% playing time only (i.e. there’s not some other qualifier), then that $1M would still count against the Cap this year. So, if the reported information is correct, this move was not done for Salary Cap purposes. Basically, incentives are either “likely to be earned” or “not likely to be earned”. If they are LTBE, they count against the present Cap (and if unearned, are credited against the following … Continue reading →

Practice Squad Rules: Who’s Eligible?

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Brian McFarland

With the final cutdown date looming for every team around the NFL, over 700 players are facing the prospects of being unemployed by tonight. However, for 256 of them, that unemployment will be replaced by tenuous, and often temporary, existence that is an NFL’s Practice Squad. The first step, though, is that the player must be released. Teams must have their active rosters reduced to 53 players by 9:00 p.m. tonight. Other teams may claim a player, in which case that player is added to his new team’s 53-man roster. … Continue reading →

Ravens likely to be very tight to the cap on Opening Night

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Brian McFarland

At this time of year, everyone is trying to guess at who is going to make their favorite team’s final roster. For the Ravens, the roster looks pretty set, but there are always a couple of surprises. For this article, we’ll propose a likely roster the intent of which is to gauge where the Ravens’ Salary Cap can be expected to be rather than as a true forecast of the final 53 man roster. During the regular season, all players – no matter whether they are on the 53-man roster, … Continue reading →

Ravens to receive 4 Compensatory Picks in 2013

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Brian McFarland

The Ravens are expected to receive four Compensatory Draft Picks for the 2013 draft given their free agent losses. This would push the team’s total number of draft picks to 11 come April, 2013 Under NFL rules four is the maximum number of Compensatory Draft Picks permitted. This offseason six of the Ravens’ unrestricted free agents signed by other clubs qualified. Those six players matched up against two unrestricted free agent signings by the Ravens (CB Corey Graham ~ Bears and Sean Considine ~ Arizona) net out to … Continue reading →

How the McBean injury will impact Ravens cap

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Brian McFarland

Anyone who watched Thursday’s Ravens’ Preseason Opener against Atlanta likely saw the ankle injury suffered by DT Ryan McBean. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to see and the resulting injury was a dislocated fracture which will require surgery. More than likely McBean will be place on Injured Reserve (IR), thus ending his season. Presently, the Ravens are $3,123,858 under the Salary Cap, but under the Rule of 51 that applies during the offseason, that number only includes the top 51 Cap numbers on the team. Once the season starts, however, … Continue reading →

Will Cundiff’s contract save or cost him his job?

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Brian McFarland

With each daily training camp report, the legend of Justin Tucker continues to grow. By all accounts, the rookie placekicker appears to be having a great camp and has outshined incumbent PK Billy Cundiff. While Cundiff has apparently also had a good camp, the memory of his last kick in New England will forever taint fan perception of him and does raise legitimate questions about his ability to make clutch kicks. The Ravens’ brass is obviously less swayed by emotion, but the camp performance of Tucker likely has gotten their … Continue reading →

An Explanation of how the Rookie Salary Cap Really Works

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Brian McFarland

Every year, during the weeks follow the NFL draft, the league announces each team’s “Year One Rookie Allocation” (formerly known as the “Rookie Pool” or “Rookie Salary Cap”). This is an oft misunderstood number, because while it is part of the team’s Salary Cap, it does not have a dollar-for-dollar impact on the team’s overall Salary Cap. The Rookie Salary Cap is often referred to as “a cap within a cap” because it limits the amount that teams can allocate to their rookies in the year they were drafted and … Continue reading →

Rice’s new deal could handcuff Ravens in the future

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Brian McFarland

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So, they got it done! There’s nothing like a deadline to spur action and get the parties to be serious about getting a deal done. Following the pattern set with Haloti Ngata last year and Terrell Suggs in 2009, the Ravens again waited until the late in the 11th hour to get a deal done with star RB Ray Rice. Rice’s base deal is reported to be 5 years, $35M, with a Signing Bonus of $15M. Another $5M is available via a one-time escalator. The deal breaks down as … Continue reading →

Can the Ravens and Ray Rice agree on market value by Monday?

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Brian McFarland

By now, everyone knows that the Ravens need to reach a long-term deal with their Franchise Player, RB Ray Rice, by 4:00 EST on Monday. If they fail to do so, the league’s CBA prohibits them from signing him to a long-term before the end of the league year (which is next March). That would mean that they would either have to again use their Franchise Tag on him next year or allow him to become an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) before possibly re-signing him. There have been a lot … Continue reading →

NFL SALARY CAP FAQ

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Brian McFarland

NFL SALARY CAP FAQ How is the Salary Cap calculated? The Salary Cap is based on a complicated calculation that measures the league’s revenue (or certain revenues) and then apportions around 48% of that revenue to player costs. That player cost number is comprised of two components – (1) player benefits and (2) player salaries. The player salaries portion is what we are talking about when we refer to the Salary Cap. In 2011, the overall Player Cost number was $142M, while the Salary Cap was $120.375M. The difference between … Continue reading →

Details of Ravensâ€™ Rookie Contracts

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Brian McFarland

Under the CBA of 2011, all rookies receive 4-year contracts, generally with a signing bonus and often with minimum base salaries set for each year of the deal. While 1st and 2nd round picks may have base salaries of more than the minimum in years 2 through 4 of their deals, even those players will almost always receive the rookie minimum base salary during their first year. For 2012, the minimum base salary for a rookie is $390K. For Salary Cap purposes, the bonus received by the player is prorated … Continue reading →

SALARY CAP: Rogue owners prove costly for Ravens

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Brian McFarland

Earlier today, Special Arbitrator Stephen Burbank dismissed the appeal filed by the Redskins and Cowboys regarding the Cap penalties imposed by the league for their violation of the spirit of the Uncapped Year rules. It has now been announced, via a joint statement from the Redskins and Cowboys that the teams are conceding the issue and will not pursue any other remedies that they may have. So, that ends it. The Redskins were docked $36M for restructuring the contracts of DT Albert Haynesworth and CB DeAngelo Hall and basically accelerating … Continue reading →

SALARY CAP UPDATE: The impact of the Ravens’ rookie signings

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Brian McFarland

The Ravens are the first NFL team to sign all of their draft picks prior to today’s opening of rookie camp – and that’s something that is a bit out of the norm for the club. None of the picks is a first round selection and clearly that helps. There’s usually not as much haggling with drafted players beyond the first round. More than likely there was a greater sense of urgency with signing their first pick, Courtney Upshaw. Getting the former Crimson Tide linebacker in camp and taking as … Continue reading →