2009 Cap

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

does the eonomic pinch come into salary concerns for next year for sports or is it just a concern for us working folks. what if nfl revenue is down? even uncapped, may not be a salary boom.

The split of teams considered "haves" and "have nots" should only widen in a recession. Houston is a "have" though, so locally it shouldn't be a big concern. The effects of lower-than-anticipated NFL revenues ought to translate into a lower cap figure for each of the teams. And maybe that has already happened...? The 2009 cap was originally projected at $124 million for each team and now the estimate is at $123 million. I've not heard anyone say that is a reflection of the economy though, at least not yet.

Originally Posted by dalemurphy

Keith, NFL.com published a story that 7 of this year's franchised players will become RFAs and only get a 10% raise next season if it's uncapped. It included Dunta as one of those players. However, it was quoting the rule that those are the players with less than 6 years of service. Unfortunately, next season will be Dunta's 7th. So, my question is:

If 2010 is uncapped can teams still use a franchise tag. If they can, then the Texans could still threaten it next season and use it as incentive for a long term contract. However, if there is no 2010 cap, then Dunta can look at this season as earning a quick $10 million, increasing his market value with good play, and then have the opportunity as a UFA to make a ton of money in the first uncapped season in 18 years....

So, what's the story, Keith?

Wow, good catch. I should fix the 2010 cap page for that. I think Schefter made a mistake with including Dunta on that list. I wondered if Dunta's IR/PUP seasons might have had an effect, but I think both seasons are still considered accrued. His IR and PUP (for football injuries) seasons should still be included.

As for this year's RFAs not being listed on the 2010 page, that was a purposeful omission... I don't list any free agents for more than one season as free agents. Once the tenders are known, I'll update the 2010 page in addition to the 2009 cap page.

And yes, teams can still use the tags in the uncapped year. The change in 2010 is that a team can have two transition tags plus the one franchise tag.

There is a ton of helpful info on the last capped and uncapped years in this blog entry from Chris Pika, a former media relations guy from the Falcons who now blogs for Baltimore radio station's site. Lots of weird stuff... like try reading up on the Final Eight Plan, also in gory detail in the CBA and try to keep your head from spinning.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Keith

The 2009 cap was originally projected at $124 million for each team and now the estimate is at $123 million. I've not heard anyone say that is a reflection of the economy though, at least not yet.

More cap room than anticipated, and an interesting explanation as to why:

Because teams didn’t spend as much as they were supposed to under the collective bargaining agreement the past three years, teams were notified Wednesday that the salary cap will increase over $4 million to $127 million for this coming year, according to sources with two NFL teams. The collective bargaining agreement calls for cap adjustment down if teams spend over the cap in cash and adjustment up if they don’t spend up to the cap.

It defies the recession and logic, but just before free agency, teams actually will have more flexibility and salary-cap room. ...

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/02/25/sala...ding-for-2009/

ItB's cap pages have been updated to reflect this and the three cuts announced. I'll update the Rosenfels trade once it becomes official on Friday.

[Keith]

Some info on the cap floor on the front page of the site I wrote.

It's going to be interesting to see how a team like Tampa with their $60 million or so in cap room are going to reach the floor.

So, yeah, the Texans have lots of cap room. But consider that the CBA requires teams to spend to a cap floor. For 2009, that percentage is 87.6% of the salary cap, or $111.25 million.

Translation: in order to just to get to the salary cap floor, the Texans need another $12 million or so to clear the minimum. Wow, right?

http://www.inthebullseye.com/archive/2009/20090226.html

[jppaul]

THey almost have to sign Haynesworth just to get there.

[papabear]

I think some of the players are going to be in for a surprise when some of the small market teams start spending well bellow what would have been the minimum.