The NFL cap is exactly what it seems, the NFL has a hard cap, yes the cap changes from year to year, based on NFL revenue, the cap has steadily increased over the years because due primarily to the increase in TV rights fees.
The NFL also shares revenue amongst teams, meaning every team gets and equal slice of the TV deals, which is why a team in Green Bay can effectively compete against teams in Dallas and NY.
The NFL also has a rookie contract slotting system that based on your draft position pretty much guarantees how much you will be paid, that’s why the 49ers with a 7th round pick at QB can afford so many other top tier players because their QB is making less than 1 million per year versus the KC chiefs where Mahomes makes around 50 million per year.
The other main difference in the NFL is their contracts are not guaranteed, except for the signing bonuses, versus MLB and NBA contracts that are guaranteed.
The NFL amortizes signing bonuses over life of the contract so a 20-million-dollar bonus over a 5 year contract averages to 4 million per year in cap space, combined with the salary for that year equals the cap hit for that player, that’s the reason Jalen Hurt in your example counts so little in year 1 and 2.
MLB teams like the Yankees can exceed the salary cap, if they do, they pay a tax into a fund that gets distributed to lower revenue teams like Tampa Bay.
“MLB teams like the Yankees can exceed the salary cap...”
One example of cap adjustment is:
A team may carry over salary cap space from one league year to the following league year by submitting notice to the NFL prior to 4 p.m. EDT on the day following the team’s final regular-season game. A team can carry over 100 percent of its remaining 2023 room to its adjusted salary cap for 2024.
https://www.wkrg.com/sports/ap-nfl-free-agency-explained-from-salary-cap-and-tampering-to-franchise-and-transition-tags/#:~:text=A%20team%20may%20carry%20over,team‘s%20final%20regular%2Dseason%20game.
You mentioned hard cap. That is a ghost. NFL teams cannot exceed the salary cap. All clubs must be under the cap by the start of each new league year. In 2023, the league year began on March 13.
However, it’s critical to remember that the NFL salary cap is simply a ledger. While it is a hard cap, it’s designed to be exploited. Teams can deploy various mechanisms to push money into the future and create more space in the present.
A few examples are :
Signing bonuses are prorated over the life of the contract or five years (whichever is shorter). Although the player receives his cash instantly, his team won’t feel the financial impact immediately.
Teams can restructure contracts to open up more cap space. By converting base salaries (the money a player receives for playing each week during the season) into proratable signing bonuses, clubs can create additional cap space in the short term.
Many teams are often over the cap during the offseason and until the new league year begins. Increasing salaries, prorated signing bonuses, and “dead money” — salary cap space devoted to players no longer on a team’s roster — can add up and force a club over the cap. Those can be corrected easily.
To get under the cap by the beginning of the new league year, teams often have to release some players, trade others, or rework contracts to lower the current season’s cap charges. And there is always a undesignated player pool of men out there that would sign short contracts to get a job, even on the taxi squads. And there is always the waiver list which is in it’s way, a dibs list until someone claims then they are taken off and someone, or more than someone, will go on it to cover the imaginary elusive money on the ledger.
In a nutshell, they are only working with current cap charge needs and covering it with future investment. And there is always a undesignated player pool of men out there that would sign short contracts to get a job, even on the taxi squads. Then they might be released when the other players are reinstated. This one was big concerning the IL and it’s many different useages.
It’s a gmae within a game. Windmills of the acountant’s minds.
wy69
“MLB teams like the Yankees can exceed the salary cap...”
One example of cap adjustment is:
A team may carry over salary cap space from one league year to the following league year by submitting notice to the NFL prior to 4 p.m. EDT on the day following the team’s final regular-season game. A team can carry over 100 percent of its remaining 2023 room to its adjusted salary cap for 2024.
https://www.wkrg.com/sports/ap-nfl-free-agency-explained-from-salary-cap-and-tampering-to-franchise-and-transition-tags/#:~:text=A%20team%20may%20carry%20over,team‘s%20final%20regular%2Dseason%20game.
You mentioned hard cap. That is a ghost. NFL teams cannot exceed the salary cap. All clubs must be under the cap by the start of each new league year. In 2023, the league year began on March 13.
However, it’s critical to remember that the NFL salary cap is simply a ledger. While it is a hard cap, it’s designed to be exploited. Teams can deploy various mechanisms to push money into the future and create more space in the present.
A few examples are :
Signing bonuses are prorated over the life of the contract or five years (whichever is shorter). Although the player receives his cash instantly, his team won’t feel the financial impact immediately.
Teams can restructure contracts to open up more cap space. By converting base salaries (the money a player receives for playing each week during the season) into proratable signing bonuses, clubs can create additional cap space in the short term.
Many teams are often over the cap during the offseason and until the new league year begins. Increasing salaries, prorated signing bonuses, and “dead money” — salary cap space devoted to players no longer on a team’s roster — can add up and force a club over the cap. Those can be corrected easily.
To get under the cap by the beginning of the new league year, teams often have to release some players, trade others, or rework contracts to lower the current season’s cap charges. And there is always a undesignated player pool of men out there that would sign short contracts to get a job, even on the taxi squads. And there is always the waiver list which is in it’s way, a dibs list until someone claims then they are taken off and someone, or more than someone, will go on it to cover the imaginary elusive money on the ledger.
In a nutshell, they are only working with current cap charge needs and covering it with future investment. And there is always a undesignated player pool of men out there that would sign short contracts to get a job, even on the taxi squads. Then they might be released when the other players are reinstated. This one was big concerning the IL and it’s many different useages.
It’s a gmae within a game. Windmills of the acountant’s minds.
wy69