New Orleans Saints salary cap: Bloated budget will start to ease this month
 

The New Orleans Saints have five weeks to bring the most bloated payroll in the NFL under the still-undetermined 2015 salary cap.

That's the easy part.

The Saints will be able to carry over an estimated $1.71 million from the 2014 salary cap, according to the NFLPA.

Then they will be able to extract as much as $22.38 million from automatic or nearly automatic contract adjustments, turning roster bonuses into signing bonus that can be spread out over several years.

The result? A new cap number, by our estimate, of $142,457,032 -- a mere $42,968 under that $142.5 million cap estimate.


Byrd's contract includes a $6 million roster bonus that will be converted to a signing bonus at some point in the next month. It won't affect Byrd's income, but the accounting maneuver will reduce the Saints' salary cap burden by $4.8 million in 2015. Rather than take the full hit in 2015, the Saints will get to spread out the cost of the bonus over five years at only $1.2 million annually.

Other contracts have the same built-in savings mechanism:

Junior Galette

His $12.5 million roster bonus can be converted to signing bonus, prorated at $2.5 million annually for next five years. The salary cap hit in 2015 drops from $15.45 million to $5.45 million. Total savings in 2015: $10 million

Jimmy Graham

His $5 million roster bonus can be converted to signing bonus, prorated at $1.67 million annually for next three years. The salary cap hit in 2015 drops from $11 million to $7.67 million. Total savings in 2015: $3.33 million.

Curtis Lofton

His $4.5 million roster bonus can be converted to signing bonus, prorated at $1.5 million annually for next three years. The salary cap hit in 2015 drops from $9.25 million to $6.25 million. Total savings in 2015: $3 million.

David Hawthorne

The $2.5 million roster bonus can be converted to signing bonus, prorated at $1.25 million annually for next two years. His salary cap hit in 2015 drops from $6.010 million to $4.76 million. Total savings: $1.25 million

The Saints will have to find the rest of their savings by releasing players or renegotiating contracts.


New Orleans Saints salary cap: Bloated budget will start to ease this month | NOLA.com

Re: New Orleans Saints salary cap: Bloated budget will start to ease this month
 

Sounds like they have a few million to sign me.

Re: New Orleans Saints salary cap: Bloated budget will start to ease this month
 

Get in line homie.

Re: New Orleans Saints salary cap: Bloated budget will start to ease this month
 

Enough savings to upgrade CB#2, the O line and D line.

Maybe even acquire a good YOUNG linebacker!

Re: New Orleans Saints salary cap: Bloated budget will start to ease this month
 

So I just saw this tweet:

Re: New Orleans Saints salary cap: Bloated budget will start to ease this month
 

Seems there are plenty of options other than Brees.

2016 may be the year he restructures.

Re: New Orleans Saints salary cap: Bloated budget will start to ease this month
 

The cap is also supposed to increase dramatically both this year and next due to TV contracts. Restructuring ALWAYS favors the player. That's why other measures such as transferring roster bonuses to signing bonuses are preferred. And I agree and Loomis has even stated that this year's cap is even more manageable that last year's. If he can easily absorb this year's cap hit of the Brees contract why not wait until next year when a much lower total would be in play for restructure?