New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - Only minor details left on Brees contract

Quote:

Originally Posted by lee909 (Post 410923)

I could be new as a newbie to cap space etc,but am i correct in thinking we look like screwed in the next few years with some big jumps in salaries over the next two seasons?
New Orleans Saints - NFL Team Contracts - Rotoworld.com
I am wondering if this is what is causing a hold up in the contract,could be Brees knows we need to rebuild or that Loomis knows it as is reluctant to pay out on one starwhile not having enough talent around him.

Or it is most likely i dont undertsand how the offseason works.

It's true that there'll will be some hikes in a couple of contracts, like with Jahri Evans, but that is really nothing out of the ordinary and I believe that Loomis has a complete handle on pay raises versus contracts leaving the books.

For example, Ellis' $6M cap hit won't be there next season, and that alone will make up for the pay increase in Evans' contract. After Ellis, the only DT making any serious money will be Bunkley, but the rest of them will be very affordable, pending of course the details of Hicks' contract, but he shouldn't be that expensive either as a late 3rd rounder.

As for the 2013 free agents - only 4 (3) starters will be unrestricted FAs next offseason: Bushrod, Henderson, Morstead, and Shanle (hence the 3 starters ;-) ). All of those guys are expendable, but Morstead will probably be back and I wouldn't be that surprised if the Saints announce his contract extension during this coming season. Bushrod will probably be asking for more money than he is worth and, therefore, the Saints would be better off drafting a LT or signing another FA to take his spot, like the swap with Nicks and Grubbs. Henderson is also expendable, especially if the likes of Toon and Morgan have good years this coming season. And well, I think that it's finally time to see the fan favorite #58 move along.

All the other meaningful/key free agents are restricted FAs, so those will not open the Saints up to a bidding war over the rights of those players, if they indeed want to re-sign them.

The same does go for the 2014 offseason, but the key there is whether of not the Saints are able to work out a contract extension with Graham before he becomes an UFA, if he does, well then the Saints might not be able to re-sign him because of all the other monetary commitments they have already. But that is nothing out of the ordinary, that is how the modern day salary cap regulated NFL is supposed to work - when a team is successful and has many star players, it can't hold on to all of them and then other "star deprived" teams have the chance to sign those players to make their teams more competitive and provide their fans with better entertainment.

Naturally this all factors in to Brees' contract negotiations, and that is what I've been trying to say to all of those "pay the man" idiots. Of course they could give Brees whatever he wants, but that might mean that they'll handcuff themselves in regards to what they can do with the rest of the team and what type of FAs they can hope to sign in the coming years. So, they'll try to find a balance between making Brees happy and making sure they have enough money left in the salary cap to spend on other positions on the team.

Luckily, the Saints have one of the best GMs in the league - if not the best - when it comes to contracts and salary cap manipulation, so as long as Mickey Loomis continues to be the Saints' GM, I'm confident they won't "paint themselves in a corner" with the contracts they sign with players.

BTW, I stumbled upon this site the other day, and I wasn't sure if you guys were familiar with it:

The Official Web Site of Scott Shanle

http://www.scottshanle.com/