League tentatively sets cap and tag numbers

[chasa]

Wow. Pretty amazing how relatively low the pay scale is for Tight Ends.

Tight ends are the flatiron steak of the NFL

 

[Deus Irae]

121 million???...that's only a million more than the 2011 cap...I did not realize this

I wonder if the players have figured out how bad a job Smith did with the CBA yet.

 

[mayoclinic]

I wonder if the players have figured out how bad a job Smith did with the CBA yet.

The flat cap is going to create a high disparate between players who got paid despite not being able to carry their weight, and players who are outperforming their contracts but who can't get paid because of all the dead money tied up in the first group. It's going to build some resentment at some point.

 

[BradyFTW!]

THe tackle they traded from St louis is a 12 million hit for next year. he's likely to be cut or renegotiated.

Scott and Pace are also looking like cap casualties too.

That pretty much gets them back below 120. Where they go for the rest is anyones guess.

That's kinda the problem, though. With a few cuts they can get back below the cap, which would basically mean they'd be putting a team on the field in 2013 that's marginally worse than this year's 6-10 iteration, with a lame duck QB. Cutting Sanchez, Harris, or Holmes doesn't become a real option until 2014, and Revis and Ferguson are pretty much locked in until 2015. Just imagine how much worse it would have been if they'd managed to convince Asomugha to come play for them for $11M per year, which is what they were apparently trying to do before throwing a bit less money at Cromartie.

Long story short, the Jets ****ed up badly by giving Sanchez that extension this past offseason. Not sure what they were thinking, pretty much everyone here saw it becoming exactly the disaster that it is.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Would the comp pick be affected by the fact that he didn't play 4 games this year?

It's about 95% a function of the average annual value of the new contract. Big $$ = higher pick.

Things like games played only matter in borderline cases (e.g., if a guy is right on the line between a 4th and a 5th, it might become a 4 if he's a Pro Bowler, or a 5 if he only plays two games before going on IR; if he's half a million over the line, it makes almost no difference).

 

[jason423]

That's part of the issue I had with investing heavily in both TE's this season. I get that doing them early allowed for earlier amortization and favorable cap management. But Gronk's deal averages $9M per in new money, although the protections they built in with the 4 year option structure made that deal a slam dunk. The Hernandez deal which averages $8M not so much. And his was a straight up deal with more bonus and guaranteed money. His market this off season would have been considerably less. And while you can't predict injury you can anticipate trends. Focus and consistency has been an issue with him moreso than Gronk. Should have slotted him closer to the tag or required some option clauses.

For the most part this is what they did though. His cap hits will be below or at the tag level from 2013 thru 2015. In 2016 it jumps to over 8 million but the dead money is next to nothing. The Patriots did give the better deal of the two tight ends to Hernandez but I dont think it really impacts them badly. The Patriots pretty much cleaned up the books this season its just not showing because they dont know what to do with Brady right now. I think its worth extending him and making the cap room to keep upgrading the roster before he finally begins to slow down in a few years.

 

[jason423]

I wonder if the players have figured out how bad a job Smith did with the CBA yet.

They need more guys to get tagged before that happens. For all his bluster this deal set the union back about 5 years. Just wait until insurance premiums begin to hit the cap. Those injury guarantees will quickly vanish.

 

[DaBruinz]

Would the comp pick be affected by the fact that he didn't play 4 games this year?

No. Comp picks are based, primarily, on the salary the player receives from the new team. However, this can be off-set by the Patriots signing a True Free Agent (vs. someone who was cut). Teams only get comp picks if they have lost more True Free Agents than they signed.