Should Bengals get creative with cap to win now

[Luvnit2]

Many teams are getting creative manipulating the cap to sign high priced players. Many ask how we can afford Tee, extend Chase, extend Trey, resign guys like Hill, Gesicki and add a high-priced guard in FA.

This is a good read and gives an idea how teams now are manipulating the cap so they can still pay good contracts but kick the burden down the road. It is like putting debt on a credit card, get what you want now someday the CC will need to be paid back and with heavy interest. Signing bonuses are used over the life of a contract. Some reams convert base salary into a signing bonus later in a contract. The other way is voidable year(s). Adding void year(s) to a contract has to be accounted for sooner than later.
https://nypost.com/2021/03/22/how-nfl-teams-use-voidable-years-in-contracts-to-beat-cap/

Should of front office get creative in 2025 as we do pro rate signing bonuses, but I don't think I have ever seen them use voidable years or convert a huge base salary into a signing bonus and spread over the duration of an existing contract.

If you think about it, teams lie the Ravens who have very little cap dollars in 2025 will figure out a way to bring on key free agents and/or sign guys like their starting 2 OT's currently not under contract.

It says we have 59 million in cap space in 2025, but with cuts and contract structures and restructures that number could balloon to over 100 million easily. Is the risk worth the reward? I say yes as I see the NFL adding revenue sooner than later with the international market and popularity continues to rise.

Thoughts?

[J24]

They don't really have to this season but in future years yes. Especially if they sign Chase and Tee to long term extensions.

[*Nately120*]

Nah.

[NUGDUKWE]

Yes I think need to start doing this just to keep up with the rest of the league but even more so now with the window they have. Good point as well with the cap continuing to rise. We've really hurt ourselves focusing too much energy waiting to make sure everything will work out financially. While I don't see the team going to crazy it's more than the fans that they have to prove they want to win to it's Burrow and Chase as well. You run off another QB and they're may be no coming back from that for a very long time.

[007BengalsFan]

I dont think even if they want to they could do it. They dont have a lot of money for a bunch of guaranteed contracts where all that money would be required to be put in escrow.

[Luvnit2]

(01-07-2025, 10:42 PM)007BengalsFan Wrote: I dont think even if they want to they could do it.  They dont have a lot of money for a bunch of guaranteed contracts where all that money would be required to be put in escrow.

The void contracts have nothing to do with guaranteed money. I have heard this argument a lot in the forum. There is nothing preventing a team with a net worth of 3 to 4 billion from borrowing money to pay bonuses or put in escrow growing interest.

A mere 10% borrow on 3 billion in equity is 300 million or the entire cash and cap spend for 1 year.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

Short answer..... absolutely.

[jj22]

We don’t need to do anything but expand the scouting department. You don’t have to worry about breaking the bank on FA or re-signing All of the star players you drafted if you can just draft better. Develop talent. 

I don’t care to be one of those teams in cap hell. And I don’t think it’s about the cap, I think it’s about guaranteed money and cash on hand.

[Luvnit2]

(Yesterday, 12:04 AM)jj22 Wrote: We don’t need to do anything but expand the scouting department. You don’t have to worry about breaking the bank on FA or re-signing All of the star players you drafted if you can just draft better. Develop talent. 

I don’t care to be one of those teams in cap hell. And I don’t think it’s about the cap, I think it’s about guaranteed money and cash on hand.

How have Ravens done being in cap hell last 3 or 4 years? All teams miss with draft picks, but great teams overcome it with trades or FA.

Who is to say expanding the scouting department fixes our drafts? There is an element of luck involved also. It is simple to be a Monday morning QB after a draft. Take Mahomes who was drafted in round 1, pick #10. Arguably a lot of teams who passed needed a QB then or shortly after includng:

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/patrick-mahomes-chiefs-2017-nfl-draft/i880cg6p8xumjacoqmb8i0v5

Browns - took Myes Garrett
Bears -Trubisky (talk about a huge miss)
49ers- Soloman Thomas - bust
Bucs - Fournette
Titans - Corey Davis - bust
Jets - Jamal Adams
Chargers - Mike Williams
Panthers - Christian McCaffrey
Bengals John Ross = bust
Chiefs - traded up Mahomes

In essence, the Chiefs were 1 of 32 teams who got it right. Every team's scouting department could have lobbied to either draft him ahead of Chiefs who were in top 9 or traded up as Chiefs did to acquire him.  Of course, that is Monday morning QB analysis.

Every NFL team could have solved their QB issue for the next 15 years back in 2017, but they did not in spite of their scouting department size. It is not just the size of scouting; it is the GM/Director of scouting ability to evaluate talent.

I was at PBS for the draft as a season. ticket holder. The room booed the selection. How could we know the selection sucked, but our FO did not?

This is just one draft. Note how many busts happened in the top ten. It was 4 or 40% of the so called can't meet prospects flamed out. The draft is always a crap shoot and always will be.

In the 2017 draft 17 first round picks never earned their draft status. The 49ers who passed on Mahomes for Thomas (DE) drafted Beathard in the 3rd round, they needed a starting QB. In contrast pick #31 TJ Watt was picked. Great pick by the Steelers, horrible job by the 16 teams who missed their 1st round pick.

Bengals do need to get better drafting, but to think the Bengals are the only ones due to a small scouting department is simply not true.

[c766]

Elly De La Cruz and Joe Burrow are both going to be Free Agents in 5 more seasons

Time is ticking for everyone....

[Bambam]

Without question. You only have a short window with Joe Burrow. The chances of the Bengals having another superbowl caliber quarterback is slim (they suck at scouting). Strike while the iron is hot.

[jj22]

(Yesterday, 12:57 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: How have Ravens done being in cap hell last 3 or 4 years? All teams miss with draft picks, but great teams overcome it with trades or FA.

We'll see this post season but to answer your question no better than us and we've actually made it to the SB and AFCC twice when you compare the last 3-4 years. 

And the supposedly great Ravens did lose 5 games this year.... Far more than what the National Media and Lamar lovers like to admit. I only bring the record up because a couple made kicks and 1 stop and we are right there with them. So do we really need to be in cap hell or do we need to make 1 stop and/or 1 kick. 

[*rfaulk34*]

(01-07-2025, 09:18 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: Many teams are getting creative manipulating the cap to sign high priced players. Many ask how we can afford Tee, extend Chase, extend Trey, resign guys like Hill, Gesicki and add a high-priced guard in FA.

This is a good read and gives an idea how teams now are manipulating the cap so they can still pay good contracts but kick the burden down the road. It is like putting debt on a credit card, get what you want now someday the CC will need to be paid back and with heavy interest. Signing bonuses are used over the life of a contract. Some reams convert base salary into a signing bonus later in a contract. The other way is voidable year(s). Adding void year(s) to a contract has to be accounted for sooner than later.
https://nypost.com/2021/03/22/how-nfl-teams-use-voidable-years-in-contracts-to-beat-cap/

Should of front office get creative in 2025 as we do pro rate signing bonuses, but I don't think I have ever seen them use voidable years or convert a huge base salary into a signing bonus and spread over the duration of an existing contract.

If you think about it, teams lie the Ravens who have very little cap dollars in 2025 will figure out a way to bring on key free agents and/or sign guys like their starting 2 OT's currently not under contract.

It says we have 59 million in cap space in 2025, but with cuts and contract structures and restructures that number could balloon to over 100 million easily. Is the risk worth the reward? I say yes as I see the NFL adding revenue sooner than later with the international market and popularity continues to rise.

Thoughts?

My thoughts are that if you have a QB like Burrow, you certainly put aside your M.O. and push the can down the road as much as you can, to win rings. When Burrow is gone, you can deal with the cap issues and hopefully, you can do it with trophies in your case, which would make it much easier. You go for what is in your reach and deal with reprecussions later. 

All the talk about the Rams and what they were doing was going to kill the team were blown way out of proportion. The got the ring, had to "suffer" for a couple years and now they're back in it. 

The Bengals are currenly in a position that would allow them to add multiple big contracts because of how they've been operating. They could sustain it for years and if it means some losing records a few years down the road, if you win SBs, it's worth it.

Continuing to pinch pennies is just going to lead to a bunch more "what ifs". 

Five years in, no rings and look where they're currently sitting...

Stop pinching and open the damn wallet.

[*rfaulk34*]

Continuing to operate the way they have; half measure after half measure, only insures failure and the fact you don't really care about winning rings, you just care about not hurting the bank account. 

[c766]

(Yesterday, 01:17 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: Continuing to operate the way they have; half measure after half measure, only insures failure and the fact you don't really care about winning rings, you just care about not hurting the bank account. 

Yep

What are the chances Burrow re-signs here after 5 more seasons? 

He will be 33/34 and looking for a Rams/Stafford sort of set up for ages 34-38 seasons.  

They are going to waste 10 years of Burrow, their track record speaks for itself

[jj22]

Burrow's body isn't going to survive 10 more years if you haven't been paying attention.

[c766]

(Yesterday, 01:34 PM)jj22 Wrote: Burrow's body isn't going to survive 10 more years if you haven't been paying attention.

Everyone said the same thing about Stafford 

Then he went to an Org who wanted to win, and they immediately won it all  

[Luvnit2]

(Yesterday, 01:34 PM)jj22 Wrote: Burrow's body isn't going to survive 10 more years if you haven't been paying attention.

I will make a prediction, Burrow has a longer career than Tua, Jackson, Allen and Hurts. For those who say Burrow takes too many hits, the guys mentioned take more due to running more. As they get older, the half step they lose in speed, they take more and bigger hits.