QUESTION: The Ravens reportedly have only $5M in salary cap space for 2008 – is that going to be enough?
ANSWER: No. Reports of late December had them with approximately $5M in available Cap space, but with only 42 players under contract. Since then they have signed 4 players to contracts, reducing that Cap space by approximately $1.5M.
Their next order of business will be to tender their 3 Restricted Free Agents (“RFAsâ€) and 11 Exclusive Rights Free Agents (“EFAsâ€). Of the 3 RFAs, Jason Brown will likely receive the 1st round RFA tender of $2.017M, while the other two will likely only receive the lowest tender. By themselves, those tenders will eat up the remaining Cap space.
The team will also need Cap space to re-sign/franchise Terrell Suggs and to make some other minor Free Agent moves. Come July, they will need additional Cap space to sign their rookies. The team will also need to carry some Cap space into the season to sign injury replacements.
So, the Ravens are going to have to find some ways of creating some Cap space between now and February 29 (the first day of the Free Agent period).
QUESTION: How many players count against the Salary Cap? Do players on IR or on the Practice Squad count against the Cap?
ANSWER: During the offseason, the “Rule of 51†applies. This means that only the top 51 Cap numbers count against the Cap. This Rule is in place because during the offseason a team’s roster can number into the 80s, so it would be impossible for teams to stay under the Cap.
Once the season starts, the team must fit all players who are under contract under the Cap. That means that all players – players on the 53-man roster, players on IR or PUP and players on the Practice Squad – all must be fit under the Cap.
QUESTION: If the Ravens don’t have enough Cap space, how can they create salary cap room?
ANSWER: There are generally 4 ways for a team to create Cap space:
1. Asking a player to take a paycut: This reduces the player’s base salary and Cap number creating more Cap space for the team. This reduction in base salary is often offset by incentives that will allow the player to recoup some of the money that he has given up if he plays well.If the team decides to retain him, Steve McNair is likely the only potential candidate who may be asked to take a paycut.2. The release, retirement or trade of a player. (See answers below for additional explanation.)3. Restructuring a player’s contract by turning the bulk of his base salary into a signing bonus that is then, for Cap purposes, pro-rated over the remaining years of the player’s contract.4. Extending a player’s contract to reduce his present Cap number. This is accomplished by reducing his base salary in favor of new signing bonus. The new bonus then counts against the Cap in equal pro-rated portions over the length of the new contract (up to certain league mandated limits).
QUESTION: Who are the likely targets for release?
ANSWER: The follow chart delineates the Cap implications of the release, retirement or trade of the listed players. Regardless of whether a player retires, is released or is traded, the Salary Cap treatment is the same.
|
NAME
|
Contract
Expires
After
|
2008
Base
Salary
|
2008
Cap Number
|
Pre-June 1
Release
Savings
|
2008
Dead Money
|
Post-June 1
Release
Savings
|
2008
Dead
Money
|
2009
Dead Money
|
|
Jon Ogden
|
2010
|
$7.515M
|
$11.518M
|
$2.189M
|
$9.329M
|
$7.515M
|
$4.003M
|
$5.326M
|
|
Ray Lewis
|
2008
|
6.5M
|
9.429M
|
6.5M
|
2.929M
|
same
|
same
|
0
|
|
Steve McNair
|
2010
|
4.0M
|
6.45M
|
(900K)
|
7.35M
|
4.0M
|
2.45M
|
4.9M
|
|
Samari Rolle
|
2010
|
3.9M
|
6.1M
|
1.7M
|
4.4M
|
3.9M
|
2.2M
|
2.2M
|
|
Mike Flynn
|
2008
|
2.0M
|
2.8M
|
2.0M
|
800K
|
same
|
same
|
0
|
|
Derrick Mason
|
2009
|
3.0M
|
4.4M
|
1.6M
|
2.8M
|
3.0M
|
1.4M
|
1.4M
|
|
Trevor Pryce
|
2010
|
3.0M
|
5.25M
|
(1.5M)
|
6.75M
|
3.0M
|
2.25M
|
4.5M
|
|
Mike Anderson
|
2009
|
1.8M
|
2.3M
|
1.3M
|
1.0M
|
1.8M
|
500K
|
500K
|
|
Kyle Boller
|
2008
|
2.0M
|
3.25M
|
2M
|
1.25M
|
same
|
same
|
0
|
The release/trade/retirement of a player prior to June 1 provides the team with the least amount of Salary Cap relief, but it does allow the team to take the entire hit in 2008 thereby leaving no lasting Cap implications for that player going into the future.
Releasing a player after June 1 allows the team to spread the bonus acceleration over this year and next. While it does cause “dead money†(Cap space charged against the Cap due to players no longer on the team), it provides the team with more extensive Cap relief than a pre-June 1 release.
Teams also have the ability to designate two (2) pre-June 1 releases as post-June 1 releases in order to receive post-June 1 release Cap treatment. This “exemptionâ€, which was created by the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement, is really of no advantage to the team because the team still carries the released player’s Cap number until June 1. The “exemption†was put into place, not to help teams create Cap space, but to allow players, who would otherwise not be released until after June 1, to hit the Free Agent market earlier when there are still plenty of free agent dollars to go around (which isn’t often the case after June 1).
QUESTION: Who are the best candidates for having their contracts restructured?
ANSWER: The two best candidates are Todd Heap and Chris McAlister. Ed Reed and Willis McGahee are not good candidates since they are both only making $605K in base salary. Basically, for each of them, there is nothing to restructure.
A simple restructuring of Heap’s contract will create around $1.7M in cap space.
A simple restructuring of McAlister’s contract will create around $4.85M in cap space.
Most other players – JO (if he remains), Rolle, Mason, McNair, Pryce – are not good candidates because of their ages and the likelihood that they will not be with the team for many more years. Restructuring contracts for those guys would only cost the team more Cap space in the future when those guys are released or retire.
QUESTION: Who are the best candidates for contract extensions?
ANSWER: Jason Brown is certainly a candidate for a contract extension, but not for Cap purposes. An extension for Brown will actually likely cost the Ravens more Cap space than the $2.017M RFA tender that he is likely to receive.
From a Cap perspective, the best candidate for a contract extension that would create Cap space for the team is ………Ray Lewis. Ray is in the final year of his contract and a contract extension could reduce his 2008 Cap number by as much as $3-4M depending on the terms of the extension. It remains to be seen whether the Front Office would be interested in extending Ray’s deal. Assuming Ray is interested in remaining in Baltimore beyond this coming season and the club feels the same, the two sides would need to reach common ground on new contractual terms on an extension. That said, an extension could, at least for 2008, be of great benefit.
Bart Scott will also be in the last year of his contract in 2008 and a contract extension for Scott, depending on the terms, could create around $1-1.5M or so in Cap space.
QUESTION: Can the Ravens afford to sign Jason Brown to a long term extension?
ANSWER: Yes, they can – if they want to. The question is whether they want to commit $15-20M in bonus money to a Guard? This past offseason saw record deals given to Guards like Eric Steinbach in Cleveland ($17M guaranteed), Kris Dielman in San Diego ($18M guaranteed), Leonard Davis in Dallas ($18.75M guaranteed) and Derrick Dockery in Buffalo ($18.5 guaranteed).
Brown may not yet be in their class, but given his youth and potential, he’ll likely get a sizable deal.
QUESTION: Can the Ravens use the Franchise Tag on Terrell Suggs?
Yes. But, to do so, they will have to find the Cap space to accommodate the Franchise Tender. It will take roughly $8M in Cap space to apply the tag. The question then is – how far are they willing to go to create that Cap space? They would have to use a combination of the above methods to create the necessary Cap space, however, more extensive restructuring of contracts will have an impact on available Cap space in the future.
If possible, the best scenario from a Cap perspective – assuming they truly want to retain Suggs – is to reach a long-term deal with T-Sizzle. This will likely mean a signing bonus (or combination of split bonuses) in the $20-30M range. If he is re-signed, they will likely need around $2.5-3.5M in cap space to get it done since the first year of a contract usually carries the veteran minimum for a base salary.
Obviously, at least for 2008, that is a much more Cap-friendly outcome than having to allocate $8M for the Franchise Tag.
QUESTION: How about a Suggs’ Tag and Trade scenario with Arizona for Larry Fitzgerald?
ANSWER: Assuming that Arizona is interested in moving Fitzgerald, assuming that Fitzgerald would want to come here and assuming that Suggs wants to play in Arizona (and is able to reach contract terms with the Cardinals), then it is a workable scenario. In fact, a new long term deal for Fitzgerald would likely be a little cheaper than what the Ravens would likely have to pay Suggs since DE/LBs usually get bigger deals than WRs. Fitzgerald’s present contract would have to be restructured and extended, since he is presently set to make close to $15M in base salary in 2008 (what a horrible contract that was – what was Arizona thinking?), but would still likely not cost as much in bonus money as a new deal for Suggs. Still, it won’t be a small deal by any stretch of the imagination.
QUESTION: Do the Ravens need to trade down from the 8th overall pick because of the lack of Salary Cap space?
ANSWER: No. They may very well trade out of that spot, but it won’t be because of Salary Cap concerns.
The first year Cap numbers for rookies – even those taken as high as No. 8 – are generally not that much, so their impact on the Cap are relatively minor. Last year’s 8th overall pick, Atlanta’s Jamal Anderson, had a first year Cap number of just under $2M. The Ravens will have no problems fitting that in. The 8th overall pick will undoubtedly get a sizeable deal – with a ton of guaranteed money – but rookie deals rarely contain the sizeable, escalating yearly salaries that veteran contracts usually do. The largest base salary in Anderson’s deal is the final year of his deal at a little less than $2M. As such, a contract for the 8th overall pick won’t be a problem for the team in the future either.
QUESTION: What is the Ravens’ Cap outlook for 2009 and beyond?
ANSWER: The Ravens’ Cap picture will brighten considerably over the next couple of years. This year is tight. Next year will be better and 2010 will clear up even more. The team has a ton of Cap space tied up in JO, Ray, McNair, McAlister, Rolle, Flynn, Anderson, Mason, and Pryce. Those nine players are taking up over 50% of the team’s Cap space for this coming season. However, most of those guys won’t be around by 2010, and as they depart over the next couple of years, a good portion of Cap issues will also go. But while that is good for the team’s Salary Cap, that’s a lot of talent that will need to be replaced over the next few years ahead.
Photos by Sabina Moran
