Cap Status

[PatsFanInVa]

the "incentive" issue raised here about giving Seymour a 'front-loaded' deal is a really a non-starter because siginging bonuses are given to the player as a lump sum the moment the contract is inked. the team may spread the dollar value of the signing bonus out over a few years (up to 5, I think) but the player already has all that money so the idea that the money will be an incentive is moot.

BBB, either I wrote unclearly or you're misreading. I agree that a signing bonus is NOT an incentive. What I'm citing is the tension between incentive (good for making players play better) and front-loading (arguably good for cap management.)

Small signing bonus, high (and always getting higher salaries), little guaranteed money, lots of LTBE (and NLTBEs): Lots of incentive. Team assumes little risk. Player assumes risk. HOWEVER, team is in cap hell if the guy succeeds and they want to keep him.

Big signing bonus, ROSTER bonus (which is NOT prorated,) lower salaries, lots of guaranteed money, fewer LTBEs/NLTBEs: Team assumes risk. Player has money in his pocket, and therefore little incentive to play his best; if the team cuts him, they are in dead-money hell.

You can remove and add these various features, and some mix will be necessary in Sey's case, for both him and the team to make out.

I don't know why it seems so impossible to some of you to give Sey a front loaded contract. I mean I dont see the difference between giving him a big signing bonus or a huge salary in his first year. Just try it like this (numbers for example only - not necessarily my preference for a contract)

2006: $9M in salary and no signing bonus = all cap hit
2007: $2M in salary and $4M Bonus = cap hit 3.33
2008: $3M in salary and $2M bonus = cap hit 5.33
2009: $4M in salary and no bonus = cap hit 6.33 and dead money 2.33 if cut

He earns a total of $24M over a 4 year contract ($6M per year).

Gumby, it seems like Sey is going to cost more than this, and Miguel got you on the salary issue. However, you can just call the extra money a roster bonus in the first year. The problem, as stated above, is that he's got a ton of guaranteed money at this point, with nothing left on the table. That's the incentive issue.

But I think your heart's in the right place. Some of us theorize (for instance, you and me,) that it would be great for the Pats to skip the cap inflation year in free agency, and use a lot of that money on their Seymour problem. The cap will still be inflated next year, but people will have made their moves, and there will be fewer teams with money burning a hole in their pockets. (in theory... though I'd like to see this year compared to last, in terms of how many big deals are going through.)

So what you would do is give Sey a roster bonus this year, to spend your "now" money, give him a decent salary and a relatively modest signing bonus, and go from there. So Sey still has lots in his pocket on the big payday, and you get modest salaries in the following years. How about:

2006
6M roster bonus + 2.5M signing bonus + 6M salary = 14.5 M to Sey, 12.5 against the cap. Current cap hit = 4M (4.5? would have to check... but we'll say 4.) So you're taking a cap hit of 8.5M this year, taking Pats' remaining avail. pot to about 9M.

2007
.5M sb proration +6M salary +up to .5M LTBE* +up to .5M NLTBE

2008
.5M sb proration +6M salary +up to .5M LTBE* +up to .5M NLTBE

2009
.5M sb proration +6.5M salary +up to 1M LTBE* +up to 1M NLTBE

2010
.5M sb proration +8.5M salary +up to 1M LTBE* +up to 1M NLTBE

* would go heavier on incentives, but evidently Sey has been burned by them in the past badly enough that this might be a deal-killer.

You end up paying him 14.5M in 2006 + 27M Salary +(up to) 6 in incentives. That's a possible 47.5M over 5 years, minimum 41.5, assuming he plays well enough to be worth the salary. If he makes his incentives, that would be about $9.5M per year on average, with the Pats on the hook initially for $14.5M. If he makes no incentives, he's getting a little over 8M/year. If he plays a season then has a career ending injury, you're out that year's pay plus 2M dead money - so less risk there. If he royally stinks up the joint, same deal.

But the beauty is, Sey still has incentive to play well. He's costing a minimum of 6.5 every year, the kind of money the Pats don't throw away on a low-performing player. The Pats have incentive to keep him, so there's some security there, because Seymour on a down year is worth a perfectly good [some other lineman,] and this deal reflects that. The incentives are nothing to sneeze at either, so it makes a lot of sense for Sey to make sure he collects the money still on the table, after that first big payday.

Also notice that the worst cap hit we take after this year is 9M in 2010 (plus hits from incentives.) It's a lot, but it's less than the cost of franchising him for one year in 2006 dollars. NFL dollars inflate way faster than USA dollars. Next year, he costs us 7M and it goes from there. I don't think you get Seymour for a lower cap hit than that.

Okay, all that said, I know a little about contracts but am a self-confessed dabbler in cap matters. I just wanted to put an idea out there of how to use the various mechanisms I know about to give every party a good reason to deal in good faith, get past the negotiating, and play some super bowl level football.

Thoughts?

PFnV

 

[dolphan117]

Let's see... how many vet min contracts would that buy?

$400,000 exclusion, right? That means each vet contract would be $400,000 or so. So we can sign 47 guys.






Kraft's gonna start a new team!!! LMAO!!!

Wasnt the vet min last year 540k?