The previous figure of $24,947 decreased $7,500 to being $17,447. I've been keeping track of the daily fluctuations from this website with respect to the Giants' available in-season cap room for most of the season. I saw that this figure of $17,447 was first listed in the NFLPA database on Monday, January 6th. I'm not sure what accounted for this decrease in $7,500 other than it possibly being some bonus money or Practice Squad cap costs that weren't previously updated. I can't say for certain, and would prefer to ask someone in the know (Joel Correy and Jason Fitzgerald would be guys who could probably explain this).
The Giants weren't the only team whose cap number decreased after the last regular season games of the 2013 season were played on December 29th. Including the Giants, 24 teams' available cap numbers/carryover figures have fluctuated since I last updated this information 15 days ago (click HERE to compare).
16 of teams have cap numbers that went down slightly, as in the case of the Giants:
- BUF (ranked #3)
- PHI (ranked #5)
- CAR (ranked #6)
- GB (ranked #7)
- DEN (ranked #11)
- NE (ranked #13)
- SEA (ranked #15)
- OAK (ranked #17)
- SD (ranked #18)
- SF (ranked #19)
- NY Jets (ranked #22)
- WASH (ranked #23)
- MIN (ranked #27)
- NO (ranked #29)
- IND (ranked #30)
- NYG (ranked #32; last in the NFL)
8 clubs have available cap numbers that went up slightly in that time span:
- MIA (ranked #4)
- CIN (ranked #8)
- AZ (ranked #12)
- KC (ranked #16)
- BAL (ranked #20)
- DET (ranked #21)
- DAL (ranked #25)
- STL (ranked #31)
2 clubs moved down a spot:
- OAK was ranked 16th 15 days ago, & are ranked 17th today (flip-flopping with KC).
- NY Jets were ranked 21st 15 days ago, & are ranked 22nd today (flip-flopping with DET).
2 clubs moved up a spot:
- KC was ranked 17th 15 days ago, & are ranked 16th today (flip-flopping with OAK).
- DET was ranked 2nd 15 days ago, & are ranked 21st today (flip-flopping with the NY Jets).
The 4 remaining playoff teams rank as follows compared to each other with respect to available cap space rankings in order of most available cap space to least available cap space. They range from 11th most available cap space in the entire NFL (Denver with $6,456,880) to 19th most available cap space in the league (San Francisco with $2,175,038):
- DENVER: #11 - $6,456,880 ......(down from $6,609,821 fifteen days ago)
- NEW ENGLAND: #13 - $4,024,801 .....(down from $4,089,488 fifteen days ago)
- SEATTLE: #15 - $2,845,003 .....(down from 2,963,336 fifteen days ago)
- SAN FRANCISCO: #19 - $2,175,038 .....(down from $2,232,538 fifteen days ago)
None of these final 4 remaining clubs will not have any issues getting through the last two games (today, and potentially the Super Bowl for the winners of today's Conference Championship games). Post-season play falls under the umbrella of benefits in the CBA---see Article 37 on Postseason Play. Joel Corry wrote an excellent article dated from January 3rd (16 days ago) about how the pay system in the NFL post-season works titled: "Agent's Take: A guide to NFL postseason pay."
I'll update these figures again in about another 10 to 14 days, and then probably one more time after that to see how they've changed before we move on completely to the projected 2014 figures for the Giants and all the other teams in the NFL. Check out this article by Jason Fitzgerald from OverTheCap.com that touches on the topic of cap space availability for the 2014 off-season & free agency (Free Agency starts in less than 2 months on March 11th):
I'll have to double check, but unless I'm mistaken, the carryover amounts for 28 of the teams below (save for the 4 clubs playing today) going into 2014 will be taken from the following figures. They are listed below in order of most cap space to least cap space and then in alphabetical order, for the sake of easier reference. As I wrote above, I'll list the cap numbers for all 32 clubs in approximately another 10 days to 2 weeks, after the Pro Bowl next Sunday, and the upcoming Super Bowl after the losers of today's Conference Championship games have been eliminated from the playoffs. Now, have a look at the figures below:
In order of most cap space to least cap space:
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Alphabetical Order:
