Von Miller cap question

[Jsteve01]

So I guess this is probably an obvious answer to my question, but is Miller already on the books for whatever the face value is of the franchise tag? I would assume he has to be or else we would really be in cap Hell

[TXBRONC]

So I guess this is probably an obvious answer to my question, but is Miller already on the books for whatever the face value is of the franchise tag? I would assume he has to be or else we would really be in cap Hell

I don't think he's on the books until he signs his tender.

[VonDoom]

His tag number counts towards our cap as soon as it happened. If he signs long term, that number will change

[Jsteve01]

Yeah at this point He and DT are neck and neck for highest-paid players on the team

[GEM]

One makes absolute sense for top paid player, one doesn't. DT had a decent year with a case of the dropsies, Von had a monster year dominating the league.

[Dapper Dan]

It's a good question. Hopefully we pay him well in a cap friendly way. That way we can clear some space.

[MOtorboat]

I could be wrong, but I don't think the cap number counts until the beginning of the season and then applies to the top 51 contracts on the team.

[VonDoom]

I could be wrong, but I don't think the cap number counts until the beginning of the season and then applies to the top 51 contracts on the team.

I honestly don't think so. Cameron Wolfe reported yesterday that the NFLPA listed the Broncos at $320,000 in cap space before the Clady deal - that includes the tag number for Miller. That basically lines up with OTC (give or take) here:

http://overthecap.com/salary-cap/denver-broncos/

... and Spotrac has something similar, though they have Clady gone already where OTC still has him listed. All teams have to be in cap compliance at 4:00 ET every day, meaning any deals they do can't leave them over the cap on any day of the league year. Miller's number is in there, or as the OP said, we'd be in real trouble.

[Cugel]

Here you go:


So, how is the Salary Cap calculated during the offseason, when team rosters can total up to a maximum of 90 players?

Obviously, it would be impossible for teams to fit all 90 players under the Salary Cap, so the CBA contains provisions that limit the Salary Cap calculation to the highest 51 Salary Cap numbers on the team and all signing (and option) bonus pro-rations and all rosters bonuses. This rule – the Rule of 51 – is in effect from the beginning of the league year in March until the first game of the regular season.

[Obviously, Von Miller at the franchise contract amount of $14.4M for 2016 is among the 51 highest paid players.]

The impact of the Rule of 51 is felt when a teams signs a new player and the former 51st player drops off the team’s Rule of 51 Cap number. For example, this means that if the new player has a Cap number of $1M, his signing doesn’t actually reduce the team’s Cap by $1M, but by the net of the $1M less the base salary of the former 51st player. Any bonus proration for that former 51st player remains.

Do unsigned Free Agents count against the Salary Cap? (http://russellstreetreport.com/salarycap/nfl-salary-cap-faqs/)

There are several types of Free Agents and whether they count or not depends on what category they fall into.

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFAs) – players whose contracts have expired – and players who become Free Agents by virtue of being released by the team do not count against the team’s Salary Cap.

Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) – players who have less than 4 years of accrued service time, who have received a RFA contract tender from their team – do count against the Salary Cap, at the amount of the RFA tender.

Exclusive Rights Free Agents (ERFAs) – players with less than 4 years of accrued service time, who have received a ERFA contract tender from their team – also count against the Salary Cap, again, at the amount of their ERFA tender.

Franchise or Transition Tag – any player who receives the Franchise or Transition Tag (other than the Exclusive Franchise Tag) is still technically a Free Agent, but is restricted by the Tag. A player under the Tag does count against the Salary Cap, at the amount of the Franchise or Transition Tag tender amount.

So, Von Miller right now counts $14.4 M against the cap which is a major reason why Denver is right up against the cap.

To give you an idea how signing him to a long term deal will create cap relief look at Justin Houston's contract with the Chiefs:

Last year Justin Houston signed a 6 year, $101,000,000 contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, including a $20,500,000 signing bonus, $52,500,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $16,833,333.

But, he only cost the Chiefs $5.1 M against the cap in 2015: $4.1M in pro-rated signing bonus, and $1M salary. (http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/justin-houston/)

In 2016 his cap figure is $19.1M. But, he gave the team cap relief in 2015.

If the Chiefs want more cap relief in 2015, they can convert some more of his salary into a signing bonus and re-do the deal, thus spreading out the cap hit over the 4 remaining years of his contract.

The risk to this is if the team wants to get rid of the player in year 4 or 5 of the deal, then the dead cap space cap hit would be larger. The other problem is that the team has to have enough cash from operating revenues to pay the bonus now, or else borrow the money somewhere else.