Post by GordonG on Nov 11, 2021 0:47:12 GMT -5
With the bye week coming up, I am thinking that this would be a good time to delve into Giants CAP Management.
1. First of all CAP management only applies to player compensation. The CAP is set as 47 percent of total NFL revenue.
2. Due to having been very aggressive in free agency, the Giants are currently in a very tight situation. They currently have about 3.2mm in CAP which is needed for in season moves such as moving players to IR and bringing players onto the 53 man roster. During the season the CAP applies to the 53 man roster. Off season it applies to the top 51 paid players. Any left over CAP space is carried over to the next year.
3. A player's CAP has several parts. His total CAP equals the current year's salary, any likely to be achieved bonuses and the amount of prorated bonus for the current year. The prorated bonus applies to any signing bonus received by the player divided by the number of years remaining on the contract.
4. The prorating of signing bonuses enables teams to sign free agents and first round draft choices to huge contracts while staying within the team CAP. Signing bonuses are not limited to the first year of a contract. Signing bonuses can be spread over multiple years and come into play as part of a contract extension.
5. Guaranteed salaries is largely about protecting the player from having his salary loaded up in the last year or two of a multi year contract and then being cut. Guaranteed salaries come into play in CAP management when a team is looking at cutting a player. Guaranteed salaries along with any bonuses that have not been prorated become dead money. For any cuts or retirements prior to June 1st, dead money reduces the current year team CAP. After June 1st, dead money reduces the team CAP the next year.
The Giants are in an extremely tight situation in 2022 with only 3.2mm in CAP space. That 3.2mm could be reduced further depending on how much is used during the current season. Once the offseason is here, the priority will be to gain enough CAP space to sign their draft choices. The first place to look is potential CAP cuts. This applies to a player that has no more guaranteed salary on their multi year contract and there is a player that on the roster that can replace him. With Toney on the roster, Sterling Shepard fits into this category. The advantage in making Shepard a CAP cut is that 9.5mm in 2022 CAP space would be saved and the Giants 2023 CAP space would be reduced by only 4mm to cover the remaining prorated bonus due in 2022 and 2023. To put the 4mm in context, the Giants total dead money for 2021 is 15mm. That 15mm dead money came as a result of cutting 19 players including Tate, Baker and Zeitler who together made up more than about 8mm of the 15mm in total 2021 dead money. The Giants currently have 93mm in 2023 CAP space. So the 4mm is less than a 5% reduction in 2023 CAP space.
The other potential CAP cuts are Bradbury, Martinez, Rudolph, and Gates. Due to a combination of dead money that would be generated and/or the negative impact on the roster, I doubt any of these players will be CAP cuts. It is a virtual guarantee that at a minimum the contracts for Bradbury and Martinez will be extended. I feel confident that the extensions of these two contracts will free up enough CAP space to cover the draft reserve needed to sign the Giants draft choices. Worse case scenario from a CAP management point of view, Bradbury and Martinez are cut generating about 20.5mm in 2022 CAP space and generating about 15mm in dead money in 2023. The Giants currently have about 93mm in 2023 CAP space. So the reduction of CAP space by 15mm (93mm to 78mm) represents a 16% reduction in total 2023 CAP space with no returned value. That is not good CAP management.
1. First of all CAP management only applies to player compensation. The CAP is set as 47 percent of total NFL revenue.
2. Due to having been very aggressive in free agency, the Giants are currently in a very tight situation. They currently have about 3.2mm in CAP which is needed for in season moves such as moving players to IR and bringing players onto the 53 man roster. During the season the CAP applies to the 53 man roster. Off season it applies to the top 51 paid players. Any left over CAP space is carried over to the next year.
3. A player's CAP has several parts. His total CAP equals the current year's salary, any likely to be achieved bonuses and the amount of prorated bonus for the current year. The prorated bonus applies to any signing bonus received by the player divided by the number of years remaining on the contract.
4. The prorating of signing bonuses enables teams to sign free agents and first round draft choices to huge contracts while staying within the team CAP. Signing bonuses are not limited to the first year of a contract. Signing bonuses can be spread over multiple years and come into play as part of a contract extension.
5. Guaranteed salaries is largely about protecting the player from having his salary loaded up in the last year or two of a multi year contract and then being cut. Guaranteed salaries come into play in CAP management when a team is looking at cutting a player. Guaranteed salaries along with any bonuses that have not been prorated become dead money. For any cuts or retirements prior to June 1st, dead money reduces the current year team CAP. After June 1st, dead money reduces the team CAP the next year.
The Giants are in an extremely tight situation in 2022 with only 3.2mm in CAP space. That 3.2mm could be reduced further depending on how much is used during the current season. Once the offseason is here, the priority will be to gain enough CAP space to sign their draft choices. The first place to look is potential CAP cuts. This applies to a player that has no more guaranteed salary on their multi year contract and there is a player that on the roster that can replace him. With Toney on the roster, Sterling Shepard fits into this category. The advantage in making Shepard a CAP cut is that 9.5mm in 2022 CAP space would be saved and the Giants 2023 CAP space would be reduced by only 4mm to cover the remaining prorated bonus due in 2022 and 2023. To put the 4mm in context, the Giants total dead money for 2021 is 15mm. That 15mm dead money came as a result of cutting 19 players including Tate, Baker and Zeitler who together made up more than about 8mm of the 15mm in total 2021 dead money. The Giants currently have 93mm in 2023 CAP space. So the 4mm is less than a 5% reduction in 2023 CAP space.
The other potential CAP cuts are Bradbury, Martinez, Rudolph, and Gates. Due to a combination of dead money that would be generated and/or the negative impact on the roster, I doubt any of these players will be CAP cuts. It is a virtual guarantee that at a minimum the contracts for Bradbury and Martinez will be extended. I feel confident that the extensions of these two contracts will free up enough CAP space to cover the draft reserve needed to sign the Giants draft choices. Worse case scenario from a CAP management point of view, Bradbury and Martinez are cut generating about 20.5mm in 2022 CAP space and generating about 15mm in dead money in 2023. The Giants currently have about 93mm in 2023 CAP space. So the reduction of CAP space by 15mm (93mm to 78mm) represents a 16% reduction in total 2023 CAP space with no returned value. That is not good CAP management.