Free Agency expectations?

[BengalsRocker]

(03-16-2020, 09:34 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Ok, what I'm about to do here will amuse some, and likely piss off some others, but here goes.

A team starts out with $198.2M in total salary cap for this season, correct?

The new NFL minimum, for guys on rookie contracts is $675K, correct?  According to last year's stats, 65% of players were on minimum deals (obviously not all on rookie contracts)  But, for the sake of arguments, let's assume they are all on rookie minimum deals.  The new roster limit it 55, so 65% of 55 players is just under 36, so we'll use 36 as our number.  36 players x $675k = $24.3M, so add to that number the amount of AJ Greens franchise tag, $17.8M, and you get a total of $42.1M.  So far so good.  Then add the estimated $11M for the rookie salary pool, and now were up to $53.1 already spoken for, leaving a whopping $145.1M to spread out over the remaining 19 players that make up the nucleus of your team.

But hey, we have a couple of stars on the defense who make good money..  So, subtract Carlos and Geno's cap hits ($25.2M total) from the total, taking us down to now $119.2M to be spread over 17 starter quality players, leaving an average of $7.05M to spend on each of 17 players that will make up your starting lineup.

Welp, then we have Tyler Boyd's $8.05M cap hit, now down to $111.85M to spread over 16 players, now down to an average of $6.99M left to spend on each of the remaining players.

Oh, and WJ III is going to cost $9.95M this year, so now down to $101.1M to spread over 15 players, leaving an average of $6.74M per player to spend.  Still thinking that you can make a star studded lineup with that remaining money?  Don't forget, you need starter quality players at all of those positions..


Obviously, the numbers work out just a little differently than what I laid out, but you definitely get the idea.  Cap management isn't quite as clear cut and easy as one might think it is.  The Bengals generally honor their contracts, and new cap guidelines are forcing more teams to go the way of the Bengals.  If the Bengals end up adding 2 quality free agents this year, it will be a win for both the team and the fans.

That's all well and noted... but how ever does the rest of the league do it?