2013 season Salary Cap/Carryover update for all NFL teams as of Feb. 8th, 2014

Two changes have occurred to this list since I last updated team carryover status from 2013 into 2014 ten days ago on January 29th (click HERE to see that previous post). These figures are taken from the NFLPA's public League Cap Report. The two teams whose numbers changed since the last update I made were Detroit and New Orleans.

Detroit went from being $1,474,552 under the cap on January 29th to being $1,468,952 under the cap today. They lost $5,600 in available cap space in that time, and went from being ranked 21st in the NFL in available cap space ten days ago, to being ranked 22nd today (the Lions switched places with the Jets, who are now ranked 21st ahead of Detroit). The Saints went from being $623,917 under the cap ten days ago, to being $629,917 under it today. The Saints gained $6,000 in cap room between January 29th and today. They are still ranked 29th at .

The figures for the 30 other teams in the league have remained constant since January 29th. The Giants are ranked last in the NFL with only $17,447 in remaining cap space to end the 2013 season. The Super Bowl runners-up, the Denver Broncos, finished the season ranked 11th in the NFL in this category with $6,456,880 in remaining cap space to end the season (the post-season doesn't count towards the cap for those who are wondering). The newly crowned Super Bowl champions for the 2013 season, the Seattle Seahawks, finished the season ranked 15th in the league with $2,845,003 in available cap space to end the regular season. These numbers for the two Super Bowl participants tell us two things:

1. High quality teams like the Seahawks--and 49ers for that matter--with young QBs playing under their rookie contracts have a distinct advantage with respect to being able to develop depth. Of course, once Russell Wilson's rookie contract expires after the 2015 season, their cap paradigm will change significantly.
2. Teams with veteran Franchise QBs with a past history as a champion and former Super Bowl MVP and multiple League MVP take up a significant amount of cap space. As a result, the draft becomes doubly important to make up for not only depth, but quality young and cheap labor to fill out the rest of the roster, something which is clearly lacking with the Giants' roster at this point in time, as evidenced by the second half of the 2012 season, and the entire 2013 season.

As of now, I'm 99% sure that I'll only do one or two more of these updates for the 2013 season. If I only do one more, then I'll aim to make next weekend the last week that I update these figures for 2013, and then turn the page to 2014. If I do two more, then I'll do one next week, and the last one the week after. Without further ado, here are the 2013 cap figures for all 32 teams in the NFL as of today, February 8th, 2014:

In order of most cap space to least cap space:

*****

Alphabetical Order:

2013 season Salary Cap/Carryover update for all NFL teams as of Jan. 29, 2014

Here are the figures for all 32 teams in the league for the 2013 season, as per the NFLPA's League-wide public Cap Report website (these are not the 2014 season salary cap projections). The Giants finished the 2013 season with $17,447 in available cap space---dead last in the NFL. This amount will be carried over into the Giants' 2014 adjusted salary cap.

These figures didn't change at all from the last update I made ten days ago (click HERE to read it), unlike the previous post where 24 of the 32 teams had changes in their respective cap numbers to end the 2013 season. I'll post it anyway though, just for the sake of reference and in an effort to point out that the numbers that we're seeing now are starting to solidify, which means that I'll only do one or two more of these after I see for sure that the numbers cease to fluctuate, before going on to the 2014 figures, which will only be estimates of course.

Starting at 4 pm EST, on March 11th, the Top 51 Salary Cap Accounting Rule will be in effect, coinciding with the official start of the 2014 NFL league year. This will be in effect until the day before the first regular season game, which is typically on Thursday night in the first week of September. What does the Top 51 Rule being in effect mean? It means that the League-wide League Cap Report website will no longer use the 2013 cap figures from March 11th onward, but will instead use the 2014 figures (if they update correctly that is, which is a whole other story). For now though, I'll just continue to update the final figures for 2013 a couple of more times after this post.

The Super Bowl participants, Denver and Seattle, finished the season with the 11th and 15th most amount of leftover cap space in the league for the 2013 season. Their cap numbers are as follows:

• DENVER: 11th most leftover cap space in the NFL - $6,456,880
• SEATTLE: 15th most leftover cap space in the NFL - $2,845,003

As per Joel Corry, postseason games do not have any effect on a team's cap leftover cap space. I tweeted Joel Corry, asking him this question, and he responded that they did not. This is something that I was unsure of before, but know about now thanks to Joel. Try tweeting him (@corryjoel) or e-mailing him (jccorry@gmail.com) with any of your salary cap questions. He'll be happy to answer your questions, and is a big favorite of mine when it comes to salary cap knowledge. Without further ado, here are the cap figures for all 32 teams in the NFL for the 2013 season:

In order of most cap space to least cap space:

*****

Alphabetical Order:

On a sidenote, players on the winning team of the Super Bowl this season will receive $92,000. Those on the losing team this season will receive $46,000. Next season, the winners will receive $97,000 while the losers will receive $49,000, as per Article 37 (Postseason Pay), Section 2 (Compensation) of the CBA:

Also as per Article 38 (Pro Bowl Game), Section 1 (Compensation) of the CBA, players in this past Sunday's Pro Bowl, which was played only 3 days ago, earned $26,000 to play in the game if they lost (Team Sanders), and $53,000 in the game if they were on the winning side (Team Rice):

2014 Cap numbers & Salaries for all 53 players presently under contract to the Giants

Here are the updated cap numbers & salaries for all 53 players under contract to the Giants at the moment, as per OverTheCap.com's 2014 Giants Team Salary Cap page:

**NOTE(S):

I. Jacquian Williams's & JPP's 2014 cash & cap numbers went up after they earned escalators on their contracts for next season. Williams earned a $744,000 cash & cap raise due to proven performance escalators given to players drafted in 2011 who played in at least 35% of the snaps for two years between 2011 and 2013.


II. JPP earned a $1,050,000 cash & cap raise as per Jason Fitzgerlad of OverTheCap.com. As per Joel Corry's tweet, JPP's escalator was based on playing time, sacks, and Pro Bowls in previous years.


III. However, Chris Snee's 2014 contract de-escalated. This lowered his base salary $450K. It was $7.2M before the de-escalator was triggered, and then went down to $$6.75M afterwards. If Snee retires, or is cut---either of which is likely---his cap savings have decreased as a result too. They went from being $7.25M to $6.8M, reflecting the $450K decrease in base salary.



IV. Cap Numbers & Salaries shaded in gray for the same player are the same:

• 23 of the 53 players under contract to the Giants for 2014 at this point fit into this category.

V.14 of the 53 players under contract are RESERVE/FUTURES signings. They are as follows:

1. Spencer Adkins
2. Troy Kropog
3. Daniel Fells
4. Preston Parker
5. Kendrick Adams
6. Steven Baker
7. Kendall Gaskins
8. Jordan Gay
9. Marcus Harris
10. Travis Howard
11. Brandon McManus
12. Junior Mertile
13. Chaz Powell
14. Ross Weaver

VI. COLOR CODE:
RED = likely to be cut
YELLOW = likely to be extended
ORANGE = voidable year
LIGHT PURPLE = strong post June 1st cut possibility

As can be seen above, the Top 51 Cap numbers as of today total out out to $116,718,676. The cash salaries add up to $86,176,597. The total for the Top 51 Active Cap numbers for the Giants in 2014 ($116,718,676) is added to the 2014 Dead Money total of $389,298 so far to come up with the up-to-date Cap spending total for 2014 of $117,107,974. The reason this is calculated this way is in anticipation of the Top 51 accounting rules taking effect on the first day of Free Agency and the new league year on March 11th at 4 pm EST.



Listed below are the cap & cash totals for players 52 & 53 on the Giants roster who won't count against the cap once Free Agency starts on March 11th at 4pm EST (I listed players who have a cap number of $420,000 in alphabetical order by last name, so the names aren't what's important, rather it's the cap number itself that is):

• The overall cap number total for all 53 players signed by the Giants now in 2014 comes out to $117,558,676.
• The cash total for all 53 players comes out to $86,176,597.
• Keep in mind that the Giants' projected unadjusted salary cap will be just about $126,300,000 + their carryover amount of leftover cap space from 2013 ($17,447).
• This comes out to $126,317,447.
• Subtract $117,107,974 from the unadjusted amount of $126,317,447 and you'll get $9,209,473 in projected available cap space.
• This figure will change of course, and are likely to do so a few days after the Super Bowl, since it is the day after the Super Bowl (Feb. 3rd), when teams can begin to release players off of their rosters to gain cap space for 2014---this is only 10 days from now, so that magic date is rapidly approaching. Last year, the Giants released 3 players only 2 & 3 days after the Super Bowl: Michael Boley first, and then Ahmad Bradshaw & Chris Canty. Chris Snee is a guy who fits into this category this year. Even if he retires (the Giants will probably fail him in his physical based on the end-of-year physical that he took), the effect will be the same with respect to the cap. The Giants would stand to gain $6.8 million in cap savings from the release/retirement of Snee in 2014.
• Voidable contracts, like that of TE Brandon Myers & CB Corey Webster are going to tack on another $4.25 million in additional cap savings to the Giants' available spending total---$3.25 million for Myers, & $1 million for Webster---bringing it to $20,259,473.
• Add another likely $1.7 million to this total since the unadjusted salary cap will probably go up from $126.3 million in 2014 to $128 million. This would bring our estimated total amount of cap room to $21,959,473.
• Add to this total of $21,959,473 to any additional cap savings that result from the possible extensions of QB Eli Manning & S Antrel Rolle, and you could potentially gain roughly another $10 million in cap savings from both put together, bringing you available total to roughly $32 million. Subtract from this other future expenditures that extend out to the end of training camp and the start of the regular season, and the Giants will have roughly $25 million to spend in Free Agency this off-season, give or take a couple of million..
• This total includes possible Restricted Free Agent tenders (about $4 to $5 million), the draft pool (roughly $2 million), and the likely post-June 1st cut of Center David Baas (resulting in $5 million in cap savings that get added on to the books on June 2nd; this will help the Giants sign their draft picks who fit into the Top 51 rule and help them take care of any cushion needed to enter the regular season with after accounting for training camp expenses like Injury Settlements and then Injured Reserve, Practice Squad, and 53-man roster expenditures that start counting a few days before the start of the regular season once the Top 51 accounting Rules cease).
• Mathias Kiwanuka is also a possibility to be a post-June 1st cut, or receive a pay cut a la David Diehl and Corey Webster last year, especially if UFA DE Justin Tuck re-signs with the Giants at their price. Kiwanuka's 2014 cap number must go down from it's currently scheduled $7,050,000 figure (the 7th highest on the team) either way. This price tag is unacceptable for a 4th DE who doesn't even contribute greatly on Special Teams. Something must change in this regard.

2013 season Salary Cap/Carryover update for all NFL teams as of Jan. 19, 2014

Here are the figures for all 32 teams in the league for the 2013 season (NOT the 2014 season projections), as per the NFLPA's Leaguewide public Cap Report website. Notice that the Giants went down from the figure of $24,947 that I wrote about previously 15 days ago in this post to having $17,447 in available cap space---still dead last in the NFL---to end the 2013 season that will carryover into the Giants' 2014 adjusted salary cap.

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):

1. DENVER: #11 - $6,456,880   ......(down from $6,609,821 fifteen days ago)
2. NEW ENGLAND: #13 - $4,024,801   .....(down from $4,089,488 fifteen days ago)
3. SEATTLE: #15 - $2,845,003   .....(down from 2,963,336 fifteen days ago)
4. 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):

• 2014 NFL Free Agency and Salary Cap Overview - January 14, 2014

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:

*****

Alphabetical Order: