Salary Cap Implications of Branch Trade

[Urgent]

Anyone understand the details here?

Do the Pats recoup any signing bonus due to this situation? Presumably not. But, given the holdout and the not-yet-completed details of the new CBA, I wondered.

Does the Branch fine have any impact on the salary cap? Where does that money go?

Obviously replacing Branch's 'slot' with Bam Childress saves even more salary cap space - space that the Patriots just don't need.

Hopefully the Patriots quietly accelerate the Seymour bonus into a roster bonus. Maybe offer Cassel a couple million for leading the team in special teams tackles, things like that.

 

[Patriotic Fervor]

Anyone understand the details here?

Do the Pats recoup any signing bonus due to this situation? Presumably not. But, given the holdout and the not-yet-completed details of the new CBA, I wondered.

Does the Branch fine have any impact on the salary cap? Where does that money go?

Obviously replacing Branch's 'slot' with Bam Childress saves even more salary cap space - space that the Patriots just don't need.

Hopefully the Patriots quietly accelerate the Seymour bonus into a roster bonus. Maybe offer Cassel a couple million for leading the team in special teams tackles, things like that.

Cassel has led the team in special team tackles? I wasn't aware of that!

Then yes, by all means, throw a couple of million at the guy!

 

[JoeSixPat]

Anyone understand the details here?

Do the Pats recoup any signing bonus due to this situation? Presumably not. But, given the holdout and the not-yet-completed details of the new CBA, I wondered.

Does the Branch fine have any impact on the salary cap? Where does that money go?

Obviously replacing Branch's 'slot' with Bam Childress saves even more salary cap space - space that the Patriots just don't need.

Hopefully the Patriots quietly accelerate the Seymour bonus into a roster bonus. Maybe offer Cassel a couple million for leading the team in special teams tackles, things like that.

All fines go into a penalty pool held by the NFL and don't affect the salary cap.

My understanding is that Branch's salary comes off the books but this year's bonus money stays on... neither of which is very significant.

The Patriots did not pay Branch his salary for this week either - its a bit of a moot point but I think that was still on the cap, but now all of this year's salary is off the cap - again we're not talking a lot of money.

The real cap impact is in that available money that was being held with the possibility of being used to re-sign Branch is now available.

 

[Digger44]

Cassel has led the team in special team tackles? I wasn't aware of that!

Then yes, by all means, throw a couple of million at the guy!

yes what the heck is the cassel thing?

 

[MoLewisrocks]

yes what the heck is the cassel thing?

I believe he is referring to creating some LTBE incentives (which are in effect not likely to be earned and therefore pushed forward to 2007). As I understand it those must be added to the contracts of players in the final year of a deal in order to work.

The team will now absorb $205K in dead cap on the one-fifth remaining on Deion's signing bonus that was amortized over 5 years. His 2006 salary of $1.045M (that included the $500K incentive he earned for exceeding 900 receiving yards minimum escalator once in his 4 year deal) comes off the books and here and is added to Seattle's cap pending whatever deal he actually signs today with them.

The real cap implication of the Branch trade is we will not have a lot of money committed to any WR, which is the way we have operated during the entire superbowl run. There is always the possibility we trade for an expensive and productive #1 before the trade deadline in October, or trade for or sign one in FA going forward. We will at least have the room should we choose to. Or perhaps we will allocate that money to signing an elite player at another position like say LB or CB OR LT down the road. Had we given Deion the extra $6M or so on top of the already lucrative offer we made him we would have been far less likely to be able to to that.

 

[Urgent]

yes what the heck is the cassel thing?

The classic way to push current year cap space into future years is with in-season incentive bonuses.

As I understand it, when you offer an incentive bonus within the season to a player, it is accounted for as a likely-to-be-earned bonus (LTBE) and charged against the current year cap. That is, it is charged before it is paid, and further, charged before it is known whether it will be paid.

There are two types of incentive bonuses - LTBE and UTBE (unlikely). If Andrew Genic made 165 tackles last year, and you give him an incentive bonus for making 150 tackles next year, that's LTBE - it's something that is defined as likely because he would have achieved it last year. If Al Igatorums made 30 receptions last year, and you give him an incentive bonus for 50 receptions next year, it's defined as UTBE.

LTBE bonuses are accounted for in the current season. The following season you gain credits against the salary cap for any bonuses not made.

UTBE bonuses are accounted for in the following season. You add up all the bonuses achieved, and that counts as a penalty against your cap. This year the Pats have around a $1.9mm 'penalty' for last year's incentive bonuses. Recall that Antoine Smith had a fairly significant one a few years ago.

The little trick is that any incentive bonus counts as LTBE if it's negotiated in-season.

So, if you give Matt Cassell an incentive bonus of $2mm for leading the team in special teams tackles, that $2mm is charged against the cap and eats up $2mm of the $13-14mm extra cap space. Then, at the end of the season, when Cassell disappointingly fails to make a single special teams tackle, he gets no bonus. And the Patriots receive a $2mm cap credit. So if the cap next year is $120mm, the Patriots cap jumps to $122mm.

The Patriots could easily roll $10mm into the 2007 season with this practice.

I wasn't aware of any restriction on whether it is the last year of your contract. I know the Pats did this two years ago with a back-up OL, maybe Hochstein? Not sure if it was the last year of his deal.

 

[braveht]

All fines go into a penalty pool held by the NFL and don't affect the salary cap.

My understanding is that Branch's salary comes off the books but this year's bonus money stays on... neither of which is very significant.

The Patriots did not pay Branch his salary for this week either - its a bit of a moot point but I think that was still on the cap, but now all of this year's salary is off the cap - again we're not talking a lot of money.

The real cap impact is in that available money that was being held with the possibility of being used to re-sign Branch is now available.

That's clear as far as $500k salary; what is uncertain is the 545k he was to get as earned incentives. Does this play as a salary increase due to performance or as guaranteed $$. If the later his failure to report may cede this money.

 

[Patriotic Fervor]

The classic way to push current year cap space into future years is with in-season incentive bonuses.

As I understand it, when you offer an incentive bonus within the season to a player, it is accounted for as a likely-to-be-earned bonus (LTBE) and charged against the current year cap. That is, it is charged before it is paid, and further, charged before it is known whether it will be paid.

There are two types of incentive bonuses - LTBE and UTBE (unlikely). If Andrew Genic made 165 tackles last year, and you give him an incentive bonus for making 150 tackles next year, that's LTBE - it's something that is defined as likely because he would have achieved it last year. If Al Igatorums made 30 receptions last year, and you give him an incentive bonus for 50 receptions next year, it's defined as UTBE.

LTBE bonuses are accounted for in the current season. The following season you gain credits against the salary cap for any bonuses not made.

UTBE bonuses are accounted for in the following season. You add up all the bonuses achieved, and that counts as a penalty against your cap. This year the Pats have around a $1.9mm 'penalty' for last year's incentive bonuses. Recall that Antoine Smith had a fairly significant one a few years ago.

The little trick is that any incentive bonus counts as LTBE if it's negotiated in-season.

So, if you give Matt Cassell an incentive bonus of $2mm for leading the team in special teams tackles, that $2mm is charged against the cap and eats up $2mm of the $13-14mm extra cap space. Then, at the end of the season, when Cassell disappointingly fails to make a single special teams tackle, he gets no bonus. And the Patriots receive a $2mm cap credit. So if the cap next year is $120mm, the Patriots cap jumps to $122mm.

The Patriots could easily roll $10mm into the 2007 season with this practice.

I wasn't aware of any restriction on whether it is the last year of your contract. I know the Pats did this two years ago with a back-up OL, maybe Hochstein? Not sure if it was the last year of his deal.

Thanks, Box - I am enlightened!

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Thanks, Box - I am enlightened!

Huh?

 

[arrellbee]

Urgent
Minor relatively unimportant detail.
They are not UTBE incentives
They are NLTBE incentives (Not Likely To Be Earned)

cheers