The CBA is a revenue-sharing deal, and new media contracts, 17th game, etc., are all contributing to a rise that should continue.

The league anticipates it will will provide more info concerning total projected costs, including player benefits, in early March. https://t.co/kW7SxD2Cm0

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2023

(01-30-2023, 02:55 PM)pally Wrote:

The CBA is a revenue-sharing deal, and new media contracts, 17th game, etc., are all contributing to a rise that should continue.

The league anticipates it will will provide more info concerning total projected costs, including player benefits, in early March. https://t.co/kW7SxD2Cm0

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2023

For those looking for the number without clicking the link the OP, it's $224.8 mill. That's a substantial increase from the $208.2 mill from this past season.

I was hoping it would plummet but oh well...

As of right now we are 43 million under the salary cap for 2023, with a total of 41 players under contract. So with that:

Key Free Agents:

1) Jesse Bates- His stock went down this year, but we have already prepared for his departure. (Dax Hill)

2) Vonn Bell- I think we re-sign V. Bell

3) Eli Apple- I also think we re-sign him as he wont command large money, but this one is 50/50 as we are set with Awozie/CTB/Hilton as starters but he is a nice #4.

4) Hayden Hurst- I also think we re-sign Hurst

5) Germaine Pratt- I think we will extend Logan Wilson and let Pratt walk we have (ADG)

6) Tre Flowers- I think we re-sign him he's not going to break the bank.

7) Samaji Perine - he will be re-signed

Possible cuts: (3.5m savings possibilities)

1) Brandon Wilson- no doubt savings of 2 million

2) Josh Topou- 50/50 cap hit is 1.5, but we have Teufele to replace him, and draft another DL

Extentions:

1) Joe Burrow
2) Logan Wilson
3) Tee Higgins

-I look for us to focus more on keeping our core together this offseason and looking to plug areas of concern to upcoming contract expiration dates.

Draft: ( quick 5 rd mock)

1) Isaiah Foksey- DE (ND) 6'5 265 gives us additional DE depth

2) Jaelyn Duncan- OT (Maryland) 6'6 330 gives us a future anchor on the ROT

3) Emmanuel Forbes -CB (Miss. ST) 6'0 180 gives us an additional CB to groom on dime packages

4) Jarratt Patterson-G (ND) 6'4 310 can play G/C gives us solid interior depth.

5) Ventrell Miller- LB ( Florida) 6'0 225 additional LB depth to replace Pratt.

(01-30-2023, 07:04 PM)schroomytunes Wrote: As of right now we are 43 million under the salary cap for 2023, with a total of 41 players under contract. So with that:

Key Free Agents:

1) Jesse Bates- His stock went down this year, but we have already prepared for his departure. (Dax Hill)

2) Vonn Bell- I think we re-sign V. Bell

3) Eli Apple- I also think we re-sign him as he wont command large money, but this one is 50/50 as we are set with Awozie/CTB/Hilton as starters but he is a nice #4.

4) Hayden Hurst- I also think we re-sign Hurst

5) Germaine Pratt- I think we will extend Logan Wilson and let Pratt walk we have (ADG)

6) Tre Flowers- I think we re-sign him he's not going to break the bank.

7) Samaji Perine - he will be re-signed

Possible cuts: (3.5m savings possibilities)

1) Brandon Wilson- no doubt savings of 2 million

2) Josh Topou- 50/50 cap hit is 1.5, but we have Teufele to replace him, and draft another DL

Extentions:

1) Joe Burrow
2) Logan Wilson
3) Tee Higgins

-I look for us to focus more on keeping our core together this offseason and looking to plug areas of concern to upcoming contract expiration dates.

Draft: ( quick 5 rd mock)

1) Isaiah Foksey- DE (ND) 6'5 265 gives us additional DE depth

2) Jaelyn Duncan- OT (Maryland) 6'6 330 gives us a future anchor on the ROT

3) Emmanuel Forbes -CB (Miss. ST) 6'0 180 gives us an additional CB to groom on dime packages

4) Jarratt Patterson-G (ND) 6'4 310 can play G/C gives us solid interior depth.

5) Ventrell Miller- LB ( Florida) 6'0 225 additional LB depth to replace Pratt.

Nice post

With the 2023 salary cap set at $224.8 million per club, the nonexclusive franchise and transition tag numbers are now set as well. pic.twitter.com/QRcOpLXbQZ

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2023

(01-30-2023, 07:04 PM)schroomytunes Wrote: Extentions:

1) Joe Burrow
2) Logan Wilson
3) Tee Higgins

Nice post, but I would point out that those three together are going to get contracts that have yearly averages somewhere in the $90m ($50m, $15m, $25m, respectively).

I still am just not sure I see how the Bengals extend all three of Burrow, Higgins, and then Chase next year while still making a complete team around them.

Even if they could make it work, would the Bengals be better off with just Tee Higgins or would they be better off with say... a 1st round draft pick, a 3rd round draft pick, Ethan Pocic at C (moving Karras back to LG), Marvin Jones at WR on a 1-2 year deal, AND Dalton Schultz at TE... for just like $3-4m/yr more? Chiefs had the same question with Tyreek Hill last offseason.

- - - -

The other thing I would say is I fully expect Mixon to be gone this offseason. Cutting him saves $7.2m in cap space and he's lost more and more playing time while being largely ineffective.

(01-30-2023, 09:30 PM)pally Wrote:

With the 2023 salary cap set at $224.8 million per club, the nonexclusive franchise and transition tag numbers are now set as well. pic.twitter.com/QRcOpLXbQZ

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2023

Wonder why offensive lineman is grouped into one designation and defensive ends and tackles are still separate.  

(01-30-2023, 02:57 PM)ochocincos Wrote: For those looking for the number without clicking the link the OP, it's $224.8 mill. That's a substantial increase from the $208.2 mill from this past season.

Wow that could easily be 3 role players we can keep that we probably couldn’t beofre

(01-30-2023, 10:02 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Nice post, but I would point out that those three together are going to get contracts that have yearly averages somewhere in the $90m ($50m, $15m, $25m, respectively).

I still am just not sure I see how the Bengals extend all three of Burrow, Higgins, and then Chase next year while still making a complete team around them.

Even if they could make it work, would the Bengals be better off with just Tee Higgins or would they be better off with say... a 1st round draft pick, a 3rd round draft pick, Ethan Pocic at C (moving Karras back to LG), Marvin Jones at WR on a 1-2 year deal, AND Dalton Schultz at TE... for just like $3-4m/yr more? Chiefs had the same question with Tyreek Hill last offseason.

- - - -

The other thing I would say is I fully expect Mixon to be gone this offseason. Cutting him saves $7.2m in cap space and he's lost more and more playing time while being largely ineffective.

Someone interviewed. Joe Mixon and I think he senses that he may be gone because he stated that he's willing to do whatever it takes to stay with the team even with less pay..  I think Pratt is gone and I think Bates walks

(01-30-2023, 10:02 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Nice post, but I would point out that those three together are going to get contracts that have yearly averages somewhere in the $90m ($50m, $15m, $25m, respectively).

I still am just not sure I see how the Bengals extend all three of Burrow, Higgins, and then Chase next year while still making a complete team around them.

Even if they could make it work, would the Bengals be better off with just Tee Higgins or would they be better off with say... a 1st round draft pick, a 3rd round draft pick, Ethan Pocic at C (moving Karras back to LG), Marvin Jones at WR on a 1-2 year deal, AND Dalton Schultz at TE... for just like $3-4m/yr more? Chiefs had the same question with Tyreek Hill last offseason.

- - - -

The other thing I would say is I fully expect Mixon to be gone this offseason. Cutting him saves $7.2m in cap space and he's lost more and more playing time while being largely ineffective.

The salary cap will double in the next 5-7 years.  If the deals are set up the right way, we will have no issues extending everyone that we want.

(01-31-2023, 12:19 AM)Hammerstripes Wrote: The salary cap will double in the next 5-7 years.  If the deals are set up the right way, we will have no issues extending everyone that we want.

Plus if we give Joe a 10 year contract then we have him down until his mid thirties and I reckon will be a very good looking contract just a few years down the line.

Vonn Bell is a must-have. He needs to be priority #1 in terms of our guys. Hurst #2.

No thanks to Apple coming back. I have no issue with a legitimate superstar trash talking and then backing it up with stellar play, but Eli Apple is a rotational guy who has only been forced to start due to injuries. With Awuzie, CTB, and Hilton, we have a good 1-3. See if a veteran is available for depth, and maybe draft another corner, but I don't want that in our locker room anymore.

(01-30-2023, 11:47 PM)psychdoctor Wrote: Someone interviewed. Joe Mixon and I think he senses that he may be gone because he stated that he's willing to do whatever it takes to stay with the team even with less pay..  I think Pratt is gone and I think Bates walks

I was just thinking that Mixon would probably be willing to do a restructure. 

(01-31-2023, 01:45 AM)BuildTheWall Wrote: Vonn Bell is a must-have. He needs to be priority #1 in terms of our guys. Hurst #2.

No thanks to Apple coming back. I have no issue with a legitimate superstar trash talking and then backing it up with stellar play, but Eli Apple is a rotational guy who has only been forced to start due to injuries. With Awuzie, CTB, and Hilton, we have a good 1-3. See if a veteran is available for depth, and maybe draft another corner, but I don't want that in our locker room anymore.

We need depth. If we could get Eli as a back up for $2M it would be a steal. He’s honestly not that bad and probably worth $5-6M.

(01-31-2023, 02:24 AM)Ell Prez Wrote: We need depth. If we could get Eli as a back up for $2M it would be a steal. He’s honestly not that bad and probably worth $5-6M.

I don't hate him, nor do I think he's a total liability. Despite not living up to the the first round hype, he definitely belongs in the NFL and has a role on this team if he is retained. That said, it's one thing if his play on the field matched his talk off the field, but in reality, it doesn't. I'd prefer we not give the other teams bulletin board material. He does this every year, and it always comes back to bite us. Not sure that makes the locker room better.

(01-31-2023, 12:19 AM)Hammerstripes Wrote: The salary cap will double in the next 5-7 years.  If the deals are set up the right way, we will have no issues extending everyone that we want.

If the salary cap doubles in the next 5-7 years, so will player salaries.

In 2020, there were only 2 QBs making more than $35m/yr and only 1 making at least $40m/yr.
In 2022 there are 9 QBs making at least $40m/yr and 5 making at least $45m/yr.
In just 2023 that number is going to jump up even higher with Burrow, Hurts, Herbert, and possibly Lamar all getting deals.

Just because the cap shoots up doesn't mean players demands won't shoot up too. 

- - - - - -

It's also not just a matter of cap space but guaranteed money. All that guaranteed money has to be liquid cash put into escrow. Based on the normal deals for the levels they're getting paid... Whatever contract Burrow gets, likely 40-60% of it will be fully guaranteed and need to go into escrow. Higgins and Chase will both likely also get 40-50% of their contracts fully guaranteed. For Wilson that number is more like 30-50%.

You figure something in the realm of....
Burrow: 10yr/$500m
Higgins: 4yr/$100m
Chase: 5yr/$150m
Wilson 4yr/$60m

That's likely somewhere between $318m on the low end and $470m on the high end of guaranteed money (using rough ballpark estimates) for 4 players that the Browns/Blackburns have to have liquid to go into escrow. It's a large part of why they've always been so tight on giving guarantees in the past. The team is their only source of money. The ~$120m/yr on average will be tough on the cap, but arguably the guaranteed money they need to get together for that is the harder part.

Also when you see teams moving numbers around to reduce cap hits and push them further down the line? That's done by using restructured signing bonuses, which is giving players MORE cash upfront and just making it count for cap purposes in later years. It requires a pretty decent amount of liquid cash being thrown around to make work.

...Those estimation numbers are also assuming you extend Burrow before Hurts/Herbert/Lamar all get their deals and bump up the price of a top QB contract, and you extend Higgins before the Vikings extend Jefferson and absolutely reset the top of the WR market.

(01-31-2023, 05:01 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: ...Those estimation numbers are also assuming you extend Burrow before Hurts/Herbert/Lamar all get their deals and bump up the price of a top QB contract, and you extend Higgins before the Vikings extend Jefferson and absolutely reset the top of the WR market.

What are the chances the Bengals organization made a lot more money these past 2 years with the success we have had through extra merchandise sales?

(01-30-2023, 10:02 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Nice post, but I would point out that those three together are going to get contracts that have yearly averages somewhere in the $90m ($50m, $15m, $25m, respectively).

I still am just not sure I see how the Bengals extend all three of Burrow, Higgins, and then Chase next year while still making a complete team around them.

Even if they could make it work, would the Bengals be better off with just Tee Higgins or would they be better off with say... a 1st round draft pick, a 3rd round draft pick, Ethan Pocic at C (moving Karras back to LG), Marvin Jones at WR on a 1-2 year deal, AND Dalton Schultz at TE... for just like $3-4m/yr more? Chiefs had the same question with Tyreek Hill last offseason.

- - - -

The other thing I would say is I fully expect Mixon to be gone this offseason. Cutting him saves $7.2m in cap space and he's lost more and more playing time while being largely ineffective.

Why would Tee be worth more than the franchise tag? Isn’t that an average of the top five?