The Saints have major salary-cap issues, big decisions
Mickey Loomis (Credit - Neutralgroundnews)
By Bill Barnwell | ESPN
If you thought the 2020 NFL season was weird, just wait for 2021. While we all hope that the league won't be as significantly impacted by COVID-19 as it was during a stop-and-start 2020 campaign, one of the financial effects of the pandemic will still be felt next season. The salary cap has been steadily rising over the last decade, but in 2021, the baseline cap number every team starts its offseason with will fall from the previously expected mark of $210 million to a new expectation of $175 million, a 16.7% drop.
Some teams have made preparations in recent weeks for the cap decline, but just about every long-term contract signed over the past few years was structured under the idea that the cap was going to continue rising. As a result, we're going to see teams placed in unfamiliar situations this offseason. There will be less money to go around for free agents, and veterans on rosters with unguaranteed deals might have to choose between taking a pay cut or being pushed onto the open market. It's going to be messy.
With that in mind, I've gone through the 14 playoff teams and taken a look at the players who might not be back on their rosters in 2021, along with projected cap space numbers from Spotrac. ...
Full Story - ESPN
Mickey Loomis (Credit - Neutralgroundnews)
By Bill Barnwell | ESPN
If you thought the 2020 NFL season was weird, just wait for 2021. While we all hope that the league won't be as significantly impacted by COVID-19 as it was during a stop-and-start 2020 campaign, one of the financial effects of the pandemic will still be felt next season. The salary cap has been steadily rising over the last decade, but in 2021, the baseline cap number every team starts its offseason with will fall from the previously expected mark of $210 million to a new expectation of $175 million, a 16.7% drop.
Some teams have made preparations in recent weeks for the cap decline, but just about every long-term contract signed over the past few years was structured under the idea that the cap was going to continue rising. As a result, we're going to see teams placed in unfamiliar situations this offseason. There will be less money to go around for free agents, and veterans on rosters with unguaranteed deals might have to choose between taking a pay cut or being pushed onto the open market. It's going to be messy.
With that in mind, I've gone through the 14 playoff teams and taken a look at the players who might not be back on their rosters in 2021, along with projected cap space numbers from Spotrac. ...
Full Story - ESPN