Let me preface this by saying a.) this should probably be an off season type post, and b.) I know very little about the cap structure in the NFL.

We have all heard in the last few years about the Saints being in “cap hell” because they keep “kicking the can down the road.” Looking at Spotrac, NO has negative $87 million in cap space for next year, basically double the next closest team (LAC). I know teams can create cap space by either restructuring a contract (backloading a contract to create cap space in short term by reducing cap space in long term) or trading/releasing/waiving a player (and eating any dead cap). Haven’t they extensively restructured players’ contracts already? Do they have any ability to “kick the can down the road” anymore? And regarding trading/waiving/releasing players, this seems unlikely with any big contract players because of their dead cap hit, correct?

Can someone give me a rundown on what next year will look like for them? Either specific players’ contracts or in gerneral. Thanks.

  • PolackMike@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    This happens every offseason with the Saints. Eventually, the bill is going to be due. New Orleans is more than likely looking at four or five years of being the worst team in football and no cap space to sign anyone. That’s not going to happen until Mickey Loomis gets shown the door though.

    • RedMalone55@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      It’s not “eventually coming due.” The salary cap rises every year. All they’re doing is borrowing cap space from the future since a dollar now is worth more than a dollar then.

      More teams should be doing it that way.

  • Slixtrix4076@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    cap is increasing by a large amount every year. contracts are backloaded so any dead money/hits will happen when we have that extra large amount.

  • jfgiv@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    they’ll restructure

    edit: by my quick back-of-the-napkin math, they can clear up to $103,327,015 worth of space by restructuring the contracts they have on the books. they can also clear $34.293,164 through cuts.