Apparently I Understand the NFL Salary Cap much better than Adam Schefter

TheOak · 09-17-2023, 02:26 PM

Originally Posted by BakoSaint

This is Saints related though tangential.

It really bugs me how many people act like the NFL salary cap is rocket science and don't take any time to understand it.

In the article below, Adam Schefter says it would be "incredibly challenging, if not impossible" for the Chiefs to clear the $32 million salary cap space to tag Chris Jones this offseason.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...ly-sources-say

Now lets look at Patrick Maholmes contract:

https://overthecap.com/player/patrick-mahomes/5594

Prorated bonus can't be restructured, but in 2024 Maholmes is due $2.5 million base salary, $34.9 million roster bonus, and $0.55 million workout bonus, for a total cap number of about $38 million. All of that except about $1 million base salary can be restructured as a signing bonus. Maholmes contract runs through 2031 so thats 8 years from 2024-2031 that the money would prorate over. So the Chiefs could restructure about $37 million of Maholmes 2024 money to a signing bonus prorated over 8 years from 2024-2031 at $4.625 million a year clearing $37 million - 4.6 million = $32.4 million.

So, a highly paid famous sports writer is saying it would be "incredibly challenging, if not impossible" for the Chiefs to clear $32 million off their salary cap when that is exactly how much they would clear by restructuring the most obvious contract to restructure on their salary cap.

I am not saying the Chiefs should do this, but its just amazing to me that almost nobody understands how this works. I just figured it out from my criticism of Loomis. But whether you agree with Loomis or not, none of this is rocket science. The media is ridiculous for acting like it is.

Personally if I were running the Chiefs I would clear the money, tag Jones, trade him for picks, and draft a receiver with a pick.

Schefter is an idiot but what he said is that a restructure or release of too many players would be required. He is not wrong, still an idiot, just a lucky idiot.

You may have looked at the wrong line. Mahomes 2023 Cap Hit is $38MM, 2024 is $46.6MM. What you may be missing is that Mahomes was restructured in March of this year and is due an additional $6.7M. Add to that Mahomes has one of the most convoluted clauses in his contract that I have seen where his 2023 salary and bonuses become guaranteed on the third day of the 2021 league year. On the third day of the 2022 league year, his 2024 salary and bonuses become guaranteed and his 2025 roster bonus of $38.9 million becomes guaranteed on the third day of the 2023 league year. The clause guarantees his bonuses 2 years only.

Some of these cap issues are easy, this is a cluster f*** to work with and he just restructured this year.

09-17-2023, 02:26 PM	#3
TheOak 10000 POST CLUB Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Cypress Tx. Posts: 19,039	Re: Apparently I Understand the NFL Salary Cap much better than Adam Schefter Originally Posted by BakoSaint This is Saints related though tangential. It really bugs me how many people act like the NFL salary cap is rocket science and don't take any time to understand it. In the article below, Adam Schefter says it would be "incredibly challenging, if not impossible" for the Chiefs to clear the $32 million salary cap space to tag Chris Jones this offseason. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...ly-sources-say Now lets look at Patrick Maholmes contract: https://overthecap.com/player/patrick-mahomes/5594 Prorated bonus can't be restructured, but in 2024 Maholmes is due $2.5 million base salary, $34.9 million roster bonus, and $0.55 million workout bonus, for a total cap number of about $38 million. All of that except about $1 million base salary can be restructured as a signing bonus. Maholmes contract runs through 2031 so thats 8 years from 2024-2031 that the money would prorate over. So the Chiefs could restructure about $37 million of Maholmes 2024 money to a signing bonus prorated over 8 years from 2024-2031 at $4.625 million a year clearing $37 million - 4.6 million = $32.4 million. So, a highly paid famous sports writer is saying it would be "incredibly challenging, if not impossible" for the Chiefs to clear $32 million off their salary cap when that is exactly how much they would clear by restructuring the most obvious contract to restructure on their salary cap. I am not saying the Chiefs should do this, but its just amazing to me that almost nobody understands how this works. I just figured it out from my criticism of Loomis. But whether you agree with Loomis or not, none of this is rocket science. The media is ridiculous for acting like it is. Personally if I were running the Chiefs I would clear the money, tag Jones, trade him for picks, and draft a receiver with a pick. Schefter is an idiot but what he said is that a restructure or release of too many players would be required. He is not wrong, still an idiot, just a lucky idiot. You may have looked at the wrong line. Mahomes 2023 Cap Hit is $38MM, 2024 is $46.6MM. What you may be missing is that Mahomes was restructured in March of this year and is due an additional $6.7M. Add to that Mahomes has one of the most convoluted clauses in his contract that I have seen where his 2023 salary and bonuses become guaranteed on the third day of the 2021 league year. On the third day of the 2022 league year, his 2024 salary and bonuses become guaranteed and his 2025 roster bonus of $38.9 million becomes guaranteed on the third day of the 2023 league year. The clause guarantees his bonuses 2 years only. Some of these cap issues are easy, this is a cluster f*** to work with and he just restructured this year.
	It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. ~ Henry David Thoreau