Hypothetical question? Jason Smith's Contract puts Rams over Salery Cap

by Nbr1RamFan on Apr 28, 2009 3:42 PM CDT

This is hypothetical but just "what if" the Rams can't come to terms with Jason Smith without putting them over their salery cap? Then what happens? We don't get to keep him?

I found this post on PFT here: ProFootballTalk

Salary Cap Space As Of April 22 posted by Mike Florio on ProFootballTalk.com:

Arizona Cardinals: $1.29 million.
Atlanta Falcons: $23.67 million.
Baltimore Ravens: $968,000.
Buffalo Bills: $11.82 million.
Carolina Panthers: $2.69 million.
Chicago Bears: $20.96 million.
Cincinnati Bengals: $16.26 million.
Cleveland Browns: $20.27 million.
Dallas Cowboys: $10.35 million.
Denver Broncos: $16.3 million.
Detroit Lions: $10.72 million.
Green Bay Packers: $27.89 million.
Houston Texans: $10.75 million.
Indianapolis Colts: $7.10 million.
Jacksonville Jaguars: $16.94 million.
Kansas City Chiefs: $32.3 million.
Miami Dolphins: $13.19 million.
Minnesota Vikings: $17.32 million.
New England Patriots: $4.67 million.
New Orleans Saints: $4.29 million.
New York Giants: $4.37 million.
New York Jets: $12.62 million.
Oakland Raiders: $9.33 million.
Philadelphia Eagles: $37.44 million.
Pittsburgh Steelers: $440,000.
San Diego Chargers: $8.56 million.
San Francisco 49ers: $26.11 million.
Seattle Seahawks: $7.41 million.

St. Louis Rams: $10.67 million.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $35.54 million.
Tennessee Titans: $13.05 million.
Washington Redskins: $5.96 million.

So does anyone know, what happens if a team can't come to terms with their number 1 pick in the draft because it wuld put them over their cap?

I hope someone out there has the answer.

Go Rams!

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I believe...

in all cases a team would find a way to make room for the rookies they need to sign. They may release some veterans or try to trade a few guys for future draft picks. They may also ask some players to restructure their deals so they count less against the cap, but they are still getting paid in some way.

If however, just for the sake of argument they couldn’t do any of this I believe the team still holds the rights to the player. They can offer them whatever contract they want. There is no wording in the NFL player’s association contract that states the second round pick in the NFL draft must make a certain amount. They could offer a contract they can afford and if J. Smith refuses to take it then he would be forced to sit out the season. The Rams could keep him in waiting until they get cap space or they could trade his rights to another team. This comes up every year because some pundit will wonder aloud if a GM will just take a stand against the crazy rookie salaries and just offer them NFL minimum and say either sign it or don’t play. In the end this never happens because the teams drafting this high can’t afford to do this like while solid teams like the Steelers or Pats could hypothetically do something out of the box like this.

In the end, the Rams knew how much the second pick in the draft would cost them. You can basically look at Jake Long’s contract from last year and know that it will be in that ballpark (higher because of inflation and lower because he is the 2nd pick – some balance of the two). All of the cap clearing they did prior to the draft (Pace, Holt, etc.) was for free agency and with this in mind.

by Hetfield72 on Apr 28, 2009 4:31 PM CDT reply actions

I did not know that!!

Thanks for the info, although I never thought signing Smith would be a problem. Looking at the going rates for draft picks down the scale, it’s easy to see why trading out of the first round is a good idea. I only hope we will have that as an option in the future. It looks like it’s a perpetually good scenario for the pats and others.

by dbcouver on Apr 28, 2009 5:10 PM CDT up reply actions

I believe there are special NFL rules

for determining how much the rookies count against the cap. I have never heard of a team having to wait on signing a draft choice because they didn’t ahve cap room. I thought I read something that said the rookies count just over $6 million against the cap this year. I could be very wrong, but that’s my impression of the situation.

by andyrose on Apr 28, 2009 11:19 PM CDT reply actions

Yes this is true

Andyrose is right. I forgot about the rookie cap. There is a certain “cap” for rookies in place. Each year the NFL will give a team a rookie cap. Just for example say that it is $6 million. Any contracts the Rams sign with all of their rookies have to fit two criteria
(1) They have to fit under the normal salary cap restrictions for the year
(2) All of the rookie’s contracts must have a cap hit for this year of $6 million or less (or whatever the # is)

The was agents have gotten around this and why it has gotten out of control is that there is no cap on signing bonuses/guaranteed money.

They probably aren’t worried about the cap implications of signing the rookies. They worry more about the bonuses, etc. in the contract for the rookies.

by Hetfield72 on Apr 29, 2009 8:45 AM CDT up reply actions

That's What I Like About This Place...

you get good answers to your questions. This place ought to be renamed “NFL 101”.

Thanks guys!

Go Rams!

PS. Didn’t San Francisco go over their salary cap once a while back? Seems I remember something like that.

by Nbr1RamFan on Apr 29, 2009 4:26 PM CDT reply actions

San Francisco

got themselves in a major bind over the salary cap quite a few years ago. They kept rewriting contracts and delaying the inevitable until if finally all caught up with them. They had to cut a bunch of good players to get under the cap, and they haven’t been the same good team since.

by andyrose on Apr 29, 2009 11:16 PM CDT reply actions