Nick Wright On The Saints Salary Cap

What critics of the Saints salary cap management fail to understand is the Saints system effectively pre-guarantees a large portion of the upcoming year's salaries for the best Saints' players by converting salaries into signing bonuses and lowering the current year cap numbers. This incentivizes players to go along with it. The system only works because the Saints draft well in lower rounds, play undrafted free agents, and retain the players they sign to long term deals. Players like Michael Thomas leaving early on his original deal would blow this system up. Sure the Saints cap has money for players that are no longer on the team. What Wright is missing is the trade off is that the cap number for players who are on the team in the current year is much lower. The system requires long term stability in coaching staffs and roster (i.e. if there is ever large scale player turnover you are breaking the system. That tends to happen when you change your coach.) Yes having a tank year like the Falcons had last year is the normal alternative, but that year is not this year.