How can teams manage the salary cap with all these huge qb contacts (1 Viewer)

[RXSIG]

With more teams signing QBs to record contracts that will count more than 10% of the total salary cap, how are teams going to manage. In 2012 the average player salary was 1.9 million. I fear that teams are going to be made up with 3-4 star players and the rest of the team are going to become low payed replacement players that will come and go from one season to the next.

 

[CoolBrees1]

With more teams signing QBs to record contracts that will count more than 10% of the total salary cap, how are teams going to manage. In 2012 the average player salary was 1.9 million. I fear that teams are going to be made up with 3-4 star players and the rest of the team are going to become low payed replacement players that will come and go from one season to the next.

Exactly....the yearly salary cap will determine just how much your willing to spend on the "elite" QB's.....as long as the tv contracts go up...this will determine just how much of your cap space you'll wanna spend on top contracts....with qb being one of them....personally...I don't see how the Cowboys just gave Romo that big extension...he hasn't done diddly to self promote that big of a pay raise....poor handling by Jerry Jones....

 

[NYCsaint]

Has the percentage actually gone up? The cap shot from 85 to 120+ in 8 years. Essentially every position has gone up 50% in that time.

Drew got 10% without promise he'd ever throw again, and now with a ring got 16% (used annual average compared to cap at year of signing). Is that a structure issue or just being upset your paying the going rate for greatness?

 

[duhonmark551]

The league has some teams with franchiseable QBs and the rest wanting those same QBs. If one of these QBs ever hit the market as a FA he could start a bidding war for his services (aka Peyton Manning).

The league has set up a method for a team to keep their ace QB for his entire career, its called the franchise tag. It can be used on the same person for 3 years straight. It can be used to keep your ace QB in the corral for a good amount of time, even if he tries to jump the fence. So the QB knowing he is at the mercy of the franchise tag, just negotiates a long term contract that is the same 'pay' as the franchise tag terms. Currently that is about $20M per year. So the team gets to remove the franchise tag from the QB and use it to corral some other stud the next year. If the QB doesn't sign the LT contract then the team will just use the franchise tag on the QB until it is illegal to do so.

It doesn't really matter how elite these ace QBs are, the bargaining price is completely driven by the current 'franchise tag' salary. That being the case I don't envision Aaron Rodgers will get much more than $20M a year, about the same as Romo, Ryan, Flacco, and Brees. Elite status doesn't really matter because all the teams and their ace QBs are in the same boat, financially speaking.

Before long all the ace QBs will make $20M after their rookie contract expires, and the other 52 squad members will get to split the rest of the pie.

 

[SaintsJunkie]

hmm migrant workers in the nfl?

 

[Innotech]

Our salary cap situation is really grim, like the Cowboys.
We have to draft better or win a super bowl within the next couple years or blow the whole thing up and start with a new roster.

 

[Sev705]

The problem is that QB play is the number one factor in championship wins. It's the one position that can really change a teams fortune. Every other position can be easily replaced. Yes there are elite players at other positions, but none that contribute the way a qb does.

In this age of free agency, teams cannot let their elite to good qb's go. Unless there is a replacement already on the team, there is no way to fill the void of a good qb. Look at teams like Arizona. They lost Warner to retirement in '09. They have yet to find a qb that can lead the team to more than 7 wins.

Teams and fans see the effects of losing top qb's. The problem now is that the qb's and more importantly their agents know this. They know that teams are willing to pay for the type of success that Brees, Flacco, Brady, and to a lesser extent, Romo bring. There won't be a stop to these massive contracts until either a) there is some sort of cap placed on a players contract %, or b)teams stop paying for them. option b is very unlikely to happen.