General NFL discussion thread

[kinetic]

Hillis to the Chiefs - Charles/Hillis double team. It's one way to make sure Cassel feels the need to hand it off rather than try and pass and blow it

[valance_the_hunter]

Shit? Did I will this? Bogut and Capt. Jack!? Sigh...

Heh.

I was gonna say you jinxed us, but why add insult to injury.   

[Wood]

The money is CRAZY out there, and what's funny is that the cap didn't even go up this year (only negligibly higher).  Last offseason the Eagles were the surprise winners of the Nnamdi Asomugha sweepstakes, by paying him a 5-year, $60mm deal with $26mm in guarantees. It was a coup for a guy that was universally regarded as the top FA on the market and the 2nd best CB in the league.

An offseason later the Cowboys signed a midget CB2 (Brandon Carr) to a 5-year, $50mm deal and the Rams signed Finnegan -- a good but not great cover CB -- to a similar deal.

Crazy.

[thefreakytiki]

Hey Wood,

I hear your boys are working out an extension with ex Pitt grad Shady McCoy.  Considering how much many big name running backs have signed for in the last year... I would expect big $$$ for the RB.   


The Tiki

[valance_the_hunter]

2 years ago I would've been stoked that it was taking this long for Alex Smith to sign a contract with the Niners…now I'm starting to get worried considering how aggressive teams have been in adding back up qbs, for instance Orton in Dallas or Cambell in Chicago.

[kinetic]

2 years ago I would've been stoked that it was taking this long for Alex Smith to sign a contract with the Niners…now I'm starting to get worried considering how aggressive teams have been in adding back up qbs, for instance Orton in Dallas or Cambell in Chicago.

Maybe the Niners are in the Manning sweepstakes, thats why they haven't signed Smith yet

[Jeff B.]

Calvin Johnson got PAID!  Damn, that is a lot of guaranteed money. 

[thefreakytiki]

Is it just me or does there seem to be a higher volume of big money signings than in years past? 

I am curious how this is going to play out with the future of certain team's salary caps. 


The Tiki

[ValorPhoeniX]

salary cap gets a huge bump in 2014 when the new tv contract kicks in

[thefreakytiki]

salary cap gets a huge bump in 2014 when the new tv contract kicks in

Do you think that is why so many big $ contracts are being done?


The Tiki

[ValorPhoeniX]

You front load the contracts so when the cap goes up you get high priced talent now and in 2014. But most likely it's a market correction from last years short free agency. Also teams hadn't had long to crunch cap numbers on the new cba last free agency

[thefreakytiki]

You front load the contracts so when the cap goes up you get high priced talent now and in 2014. But most likely it's a market correction from last years short free agency. Also teams hadn't had long to crunch cap numbers on the new cba last free agency

This stuff always makes my head spin... But, to my understanding, even if a contract is front loaded OR has a generous garaunteed $/signing bonus it is all averaged out over the length of the contract?  Am I wrong or confused?


The Tiki

[Wood]

Couple of things re: contracts.

1) Under the new CBA, teams now not only have a salary cap, but they have a salary FLOOR

2) Teams are able to bring cap from one year to the next now, so teams are going to have years where they have a ton to spent

3) A lot of the headline numbers are meaningless. It's ALL about the guaranteed money and the structure. For example, lots of people's heads spun when they saw the Eagles signed DJax to a 5-year, $51mm contract. But it's actually a 2-year, $18mm contract. Nothing beyond that is guaranteed.

[aelfinn]

as I understand it even the guaranteed is misleading, as in if its guaranteed x-mil over 5 years, but the contract is structured to allow the team an out after 2 years, or or it may be guaranteed thru injury and not performance, etc...

bottom line is, these contracts keep getting more and more complex.  Pretty much to the point where I've stopped paying attention to who's getting what and more on who's going where.

[Wood]

as I understand it even the guaranteed is misleading, as in if its guaranteed x-mil over 5 years, but the contract is structured to allow the team an out after 2 years, or or it may be guaranteed thru injury and not performance, etc...

bottom line is, these contracts keep getting more and more complex.  Pretty much to the point where I've stopped paying attention to who's getting what and more on who's going where.

That's really the way you should think of things 

[elemental]

Found the way the bucs have structured their new signings contracts interesting. The headline figures are high but there is no signing bonus and the contract is front loaded which they can do because they had 44 mill in cap space. For example Vincent Jackson over half of his money is in the first two years as salary and then he is either playing on a low cap value for the last 3 years or if he doesn't work out he can be cut with virtually no cap hit.

The cynic in me thinks that they have structured deals like this because the glazers don't have the money to pay large signing bonus' because of the debt they have to service in regards to Manchester united and therefore they are paying these contract values as the cash arrives through tv money and ticket sales. However for a team with a lot cap space this makes sense, they can sign a premium free agent or two, if they continue to play at a high level that's great if they don't, the financial hit is in years 1 & 2 and the team hasn't mortgaged it's future and won't be struggling with dead cap space if hey player has been cut

[thefreakytiki]

As a Pittsburgh Steeler Fan I want to give a hearty THANK YOU to the New England Patriots.  Thank you for signing Brandon Lloyd and Anthony Gonzalez... This helps in retaining Mike Wallace.   


The Tiki

[valance_the_hunter]

The Niners sign Mario Manningham and Alex Smith hasn't signed yet and is now thinking about dropping Tom Condon (his agent) who is also Peyton Mannings agent….  

[kinetic]

Maybe the Niners are in the Manning sweepstakes, thats why they haven't signed Smith yet

I'm just sayin'. Well I was sayin it before it was reported but everything the Niners have done is for one purpose - enticing Peyton. If Peytons top priority is winning the Super Bowl, then the Niners are his obvious choice.

Intersting times

[Robert]

As a Pittsburgh Steeler Fan . . .


The Tiki

I never knew you were a Pittsburgh Steelers fan?   


You know I kid.