Before we start talking about specific offseason moves...

[ALP]

we need to figure out weather or not the patriots will change the way they normally pay players b/c of no cap...

for this well assume that there is no cba next season

how will contracts which are signed this offseason be counted after a new CBA comes into play?

will we be able to go to with a one yr spending frenzy?

or will it be same old same old even without a cap?

 

[Rob0729]

My guess that most teams other than the teams that will be looking to shed some of their payroll will approach this offseason similiar to a capped year. The Pats will be congnisent of the fact a CBA could be struck at any time and a retroactive cap could be put in place at any time. The good news is that the Pats over the next two years would be well under the cap if there was one.

According to Miguel, the Pats have taken up $94.2 million in cap space. Their adjusted cap in 2009 was $129.8 million. Conservative estimates if there is a new cap in 2010 gotta be in the $132-135 million range. That means the Pats will roughly have about $40 million in cap space. A tag for Wilforlk will take $7 million in cap space. So the Pats will still have about $30-35 million of cap space to play with. My guess is that will be the number they work with when approaching free agency with an uncapped year.

One other thing, I expect the Pats to approach bonuses like they did in the past. They will pay out large signing bonuses over two years. I think they will do this so that if there is a work stoppage in 2011, they minimize the loss. They might have to give more in bonus money the first year, but they will probably entice players with larger signing bonuses spread out over two years rather than a ton of cash this year. I expect other teams to do this too.

 

[bradyovermanning]

I think every team will at least try and take advantage of the uncapped year.

 

[mgteich]

The actual contracts will definitely be affected. Take a 3 year $11M contract including a $3M bonus.

SALARIES IN ANY CASE
Year 1 $2.0M
Year 2 $2.5M
Year 3 $3.5M

HOWEVER
Under the old system, there would be a $3M bonus with a $1M additional cap hit. If there is no cap, this $3M would be added to 2009 salary, saving $1M a year in the 2011 and 2012 caps.

BOTTOM LINE
Team do need to know the rules before they start signing extensions or new contracts, even with their own free agents.