Happy Tampering Day

[Nepa]

(03-12-2025, 12:19 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: but the flip side, Tee gets hurt again, we probably saved $$ in long run by not signing him, Chase is the tough one, but for Bengals trade off is the guarantee $$, if they don't over pay there and a players gets hurt badly, you don;t have dead weight of paying a player that can't play... seems two sides to the coin here.  As for Burrow, he mentioned restructure but ive heard nothing else from Burrow on it.. so maybe it was just a pressure move, unless i missed something factual on negotiations. 

If I understand correctly, restructuring Burrow's contract really comes down to The Family making an offer, because it means giving more cash upfront. Generally, it is done by converting salary into a signing bonus, and a signing bonus is prorated over the length of the contract. Burrow would not lose by restructuring. The Family, however, would need to convert some of the salary into a signing bonus.

 If you heard nothing else from Burrow, it is probably because he needs The Family to make the first move. Burrow let them know that he would be willing to do the restructuring to help with the cap. 

Edit: Based on what Luvnit2 identified below (Buffalo Bills' example), there is another way to add cap that does not involve an overly burdensome upfront signing bonus. That is to add voidable years to the end of the contract, that is, years on which the player will never play but which one can spread out the salary and signing bonus. I am adding this now for completeness. As Luvnit2 states, the view that a team (read "Bengals") does not have enough money upfront to create more cap space is ingenuous, since one can use voidable years in creating the cap space. This method is seemingly becoming more popular among teams. And it is done with the idea that since the salary cap is likely to increase year by year, a dollar at the end of the contract will be less costly than a dollar now.

[Clark W Griswold]

(03-12-2025, 12:34 PM)Nepa Wrote: If I understand correctly, restructuring Burrow's contract really comes down to The Family making an offer, because it means giving more cash upfront. Generally, it is done by converting salary into a signing bonus, and a signing bonus is prorated over the length of the contract. Burrow would not lose by restructuring. The Family, however, would need to convert some of the salary into a signing bonus.

 If you heard nothing else from Burrow, it is probably because he needs The Family to make the first move. Burrow let them know that he would be willing to do the restructuring to help with the cap. 

I guess that would go back to the question of do they have the $ to pay out that large amount all at once? If they do would they even want to do this. I understand it from a team/cap perspective but this doesn’t seem like something they do.

[*ochocincos*]

(03-12-2025, 12:34 PM)Nepa Wrote: If I understand correctly, restructuring Burrow's contract really comes down to The Family making an offer, because it means giving more cash upfront. Generally, it is done by converting salary into a signing bonus, and a signing bonus is prorated over the length of the contract. Burrow would not lose by restructuring. The Family, however, would need to convert some of the salary into a signing bonus.

 If you heard nothing else from Burrow, it is probably because he needs The Family to make the first move. Burrow let them know that he would be willing to do the restructuring to help with the cap. 

What would go into a restructure by Burrow to help the cap?

From my understanding, it would likely require MORE guaranteed money to further spread the cap hit to future years.
And I thought the Bengals mostly had concern with giving too much guaranteed money as it is.
I can't see how giving more guaranteed money to Burrow results in having more guaranteed money to Chase/Higgins.

If Bengals ownership really is strapped for cash to guarantee contracts, they need to find more ways to get cash this/next year....or consider selling the team to someone who can (which they won't do).

[Nicomo Cosca]

Larry Ogunjobi to the Bills.

[Luvnit2]

(03-12-2025, 12:50 PM)ochocincos Wrote: What would go into a restructure by Burrow to help the cap?

From my understanding, it would likely require MORE guaranteed money to further spread the cap hit to future years.
And I thought the Bengals mostly had concern with giving too much guaranteed money as it is.
I can't see how giving more guaranteed money to Burrow results in having more guaranteed money to Chase/Higgins.

If Bengals ownership really is strapped for cash to guarantee contracts, they need to find more ways to get cash this/next year....or consider selling the team to someone who can (which they won't do).

A restructure has nothing to do with guaranteed money. In Burrow's case the team had to place in escrow the guaranteed portion of his contract. That money is collecting interest. The team would need to convert his 2025 base into a bonus. If they do so, they can change his base to 1.1 million and use none of that bonus towards his 2025 cap.His base in 2025 is 25,400 so they could instantly add 24.3 million to the cap at a minimum if they did no other type of restructure. The bonus applies to the guaranteed portion, so no need to change the guarantee.

But, the team needs to have the cash/loan to pay the bonus. The team's equity would determine the amount a bank would loan them, the higher the equity, the more the team can leverage with a bank to borrow money. Interest rates are very high so not a great time to do loans, but the NFL teams have a huge advantage as banks gets a guarantee from the CBA towards these bonuses and salaies.

[Luvnit2]

(03-12-2025, 12:57 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Larry Ogunjobi to the Bills.

Bills are definitely trying to put themselves in a postion to win it all in 2025. They are also leveraging a lot of future cap to do it. If they win it all, great move. If they do not, could cost them in future years.

Yes, I am an optmist, but also wish our team was more aggressive. Yesterday they add Larry and also Bosa. Is Bosa a great player still? If healthy, probably yes.

[RunKijanaRun]

(03-12-2025, 11:46 AM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: It essentially turns a 1 KM walk into a 5 KM walk: something that is harder, but far from impossible.

IE, being overdramatic.

So then by calling me over-dramatic, you agree being dramatic is reasonable. And there’s a significant difference in choosing to do something that’s 5x harder if you can avoid it.

[Ell Prez]

(03-12-2025, 01:00 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: Bills are definitely trying to put themselves in a postion to win it all in 2025. They are also leveraging a lot of future cap to do it. If they win it all, great move. If they do not, could cost them in future years.

Yes, I am an optmist, but also wish our team was more aggressive. Yesterday they add Larry and also Bosa. Is Bosa a great player still? If healthy, probably yes.

Cap is always going up. Look at what chiefs have done. Always restructuring. Who cares about 3 years down the road. All contracts in 3 years will look great compared to the cap and new deals being done in 2028.

[Luvnit2]

(03-12-2025, 01:39 PM)Ell Prez Wrote: Cap is always going up. Look at what chiefs have done. Always restructuring. Who cares about 3 years down the road. All contracts in 3 years will look great compared to the cap and new deals being done in 2028.

You are preaching to the choir. I have advocated for years for Bengals to be more creative.

Here is an example of Bill adding cap space. In this example, no bonus paid, just added voidable years (pushed cap into later years that will be dead money in later years).

This is what aggravates me, the excuse of having to pay cash to lower cap hit is simply not true.

·
Follow
The Bills have restructured defensive tackle Ed Oliver's contract, per sources. The move saves just over $10M in cap space with void years added to the end of the deal as http://overthecap.com documented.

[WeezyBengal]

(03-12-2025, 11:39 AM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: It's the new league year, so it affects cap space and the like: it ISN'T a big deal like he's being overdramatic about, but it does make the extensions and the like a bit trickier to complete, that's all.

It'd matter more if the Bengals were savy with how they structure their cap, but they aren't, so its a non issue. 

[*ochocincos*]

(03-12-2025, 12:59 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: A restructure has nothing to do with guaranteed money. In Burrow's case the team had to place in escrow the guaranteed portion of his contract. That money is collecting interest. The team would need to convert his 2025 base into a bonus. If they do so, they can change his base to 1.1 million and use none of that bonus towards his 2025 cap.His base in 2025 is 25,400 so they could instantly add 24.3 million to the cap at a minimum if they did no other type of restructure. The bonus applies to the guaranteed portion, so no need to change the guarantee.

But, the team needs to have the cash/loan to pay the bonus. The team's equity would determine the amount a bank would loan them, the higher the equity, the more the team can leverage with a bank to borrow money. Interest rates are very high so not a great time to do loans, but the NFL teams have a huge advantage as banks gets a guarantee from the CBA towards these bonuses and salaies.

That was exactly my point.
If they're going to restructure and convert more of the base salary to bonus, they will need to pay that out immediately upon restructure.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(03-12-2025, 10:00 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: Give me two of these guys and I'm happy.

1. Brandon Scherff: 4.5%
2. Kevin Zeitler: 6.0%
3. Teven Jenkins: 6.4%
T4. Will Hernandez: 7.1%
T4. Mekhi Becton: 7.1% (only 2024 snaps at OG)
6. Dalton Risner: 8.0%

Nice, I know Scherff and Zeit are older, but they stay healthy and would be good gets for a couple years before they fall off.

But give me any two of those Guards and we are much better off than last year. I like the Defensive moves and think Trey will be back but 
Guard is still the area of concern to me with Cappa cut and Volson sucking last season.

[pulses]

(03-12-2025, 07:26 AM)Synric Wrote: Not anymore. The Bengals didn't maximize cap space with their contracts. For example TJ Slaton will have a bigger cap hit in 2025 than Osa Odighizuwa. 

They probabably did that in case Slaton isn't doing any good or one of the young guys gets better they can cut him loose.

[Luvnit2]

(03-12-2025, 02:11 PM)ochocincos Wrote: That was exactly my point.
If they're going to restructure and convert more of the base salary to bonus, they will need to pay that out immediately upon restructure.

They are going to pay out the base each week of the 2025 regular season now. They would pay months earlier, but no change to the guarantee. There are other methods as well. I showed one earlier. It is below. Teams simply add voidable years to the deal and it moves the cap to later years (the voidable years). No money changes hands, it is just a method used by lots of teams to create cap room immedialtely. A way to kick the can down the road.

There are other methods as well for an initail contract or the new contracts we are creating in 2025. It all hinges on the Bengals pholosophy to decide to push more cap money into the future.

As I have pointed out, Bengals started the FA period with other 230 million dollars for 2026 which is top 4 in the league I believe. Teams like the Pats and Bear hae more, but they have spent a lot of 2025 money. That matters as Spotrac calculates the 2026 cap number on 2025 carry over + any current contracts.

·
Follow
The Bills have restructured defensive tackle Ed Oliver's contract, per sources. The move saves just over $10M in cap space with void years added to the end of the deal as http://overthecap.com documented.

[Luvnit2]

(03-12-2025, 05:22 PM)pulses Wrote: They probabably did that in case Slaton isn't doing any good or one of the young guys gets better they can cut him loose.

He may have. Spotrac and other sites do some speculation on how the team structured the contract. Take Gesicki for example. It was reported he got 12 million at signing. But to get 12 million, he would have to be given a huge bonus. It states. the base is 5.5 million and a bonus of 2.1 million. That is only 7.6 million, if report of 12 million is correct, likely more bonus money (which they can push cap hit portion to year 3 if they desire) and less base.

The contracts have not been fully vetted yet so many will be different once contract is filed and validated.

I would be very suprised if Gesicki has a 7.7 million cap hit in 2025 as it is listed right now. It could be same for Slaten. As we know Bengals FO is tight lipped and agents don't care how a team structures a contract and is not privvy to that inforation making it an educated guess of strcuture by these sites.

[pulses]

(03-12-2025, 06:05 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: He may have. Spotrac and other sites do some speculation on how the team structured the contract. Take Gesicki for example. It was reported he got 12 million at signing. But to get 12 million, he would have to be given a huge bonus. It states. the base is 5.5 million and a bonus of 2.1 million. That is only 7.6 million, if report of 12 million is correct, likely more bonus money (which they can push cap hit portion to year 3 if they desire) and less base.

The contracts have not been fully vetted yet so many will be different once contract is filed and validated.

I would be very suprised if Gesicki has a 7.7 million cap hit in 2025 as it is listed right now. It could be same for Slaten. As we know Bengals FO is tight lipped and agents don't care how a team structures a contract and is not privvy to that inforation making it an educated guess of strcuture by these sites.

They need to get Teven Jenkins signed today !!!!

[*pally*]

The #Colts and RB Khalil Herbert have agreed on a one-year contract, sources tell me and @RapSheet.

Deal negotiated by @EquitySports VP of Football Samantha Sankovich and CEO Chris Cabott. pic.twitter.com/b5BY85P2N7

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 12, 2025

[*pally*]

As the Bengals search for a starting guard continues, I can report that Mekhi Becton isn’t an option as of right now.

After years of linking him to the Bengals, it doesn’t appear to be a fit on either side.

The team is interested in Teven Jenkins, but he has other suitors.…

— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) March 12, 2025

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(03-12-2025, 06:07 PM)pally Wrote:

The #Colts and RB Khalil Herbert have agreed on a one-year contract, sources tell me and @RapSheet.

Deal negotiated by @EquitySports VP of Football Samantha Sankovich and CEO Chris Cabott. pic.twitter.com/b5BY85P2N7

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 12, 2025

Man, wanted us to bring back Herbert. Definitely have to draft a RB now.

(03-12-2025, 06:08 PM)pally Wrote:

As the Bengals search for a starting guard continues, I can report that Mekhi Becton isn’t an option as of right now.

After years of linking him to the Bengals, it doesn’t appear to be a fit on either side.

The team is interested in Teven Jenkins, but he has other suitors.…

— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) March 12, 2025

So Becton is out for what ever reason, must not fit what they want to run on Offense scheme wise. Teven Jenkins and another Guard please...

[*pally*]

this one was always a pipe dream

Source: Former Pro-Bowl guard Kevin Zeitler is signing a one-year $9 million deal with the Tennessee Titans. pic.twitter.com/sBPuQ00qFl

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2025