We currently have $35 million in dead money. (1 Viewer)

[kcirdor]

(maybe we outbid Washington for Norman)

Norman is over rated after playing on a top defense. No thanks.

 

[whodat4eva]

Every team has dead money, some more than others. There are plently of teams this year that are hovering around $10 million dollar dead money. For a lot of teams, it is not a huge issue.

On the other hand, $35 million in dead cap is a huge hole to work out of! Really is unfortunate considering we only have so many prime Brees years left. Below is a current summary of dead cap and we are leading by a lot!

TeamDead Money
Saints$35,540,927
Browns$24,985,607
Falcons$21,170,053
Lions$17,038,626
Eagles$16,364,291
Rams$15,230,724
Bills$13,660,316
Patriots$10,638,278
Chiefs$10,605,648
Colts$10,152,761
Dolphins$10,081,556
Chargers$9,962,692
Giants$9,748,629
Steelers$9,278,233
Panthers$8,901,087
Seahawks$8,822,789
Bears$8,658,478
Redskins$8,651,236
Broncos$8,447,302
Titans$7,501,013
49ers$7,437,899
Jets$7,392,398
Ravens$6,938,956
Texans$5,659,079
Raiders$4,054,254
Cardinals$3,515,684
Vikings$2,308,809
Cowboys$931,982
Packers$762,121
Buccaneers$651,901
Jaguars$407,145
Bengals$245,437

Source: NFL Salary Cap Space | Over The Cap

I'm not so sure about the other teams but I believe we put ourselves deeper in the grave for a few years. It was gonna catch up to us and bite us hard. You have to be amazed we aren't looking like the Browns or another bottom team with all that dead money.

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[FlySaint]

Every team has dead money, some more than others. There are plently of teams this year that are hovering around $10 million dollar dead money. For a lot of teams, it is not a huge issue.

On the other hand, $35 million in dead cap is a huge hole to work out of! Really is unfortunate considering we only have so many prime Brees years left. Below is a current summary of dead cap by team and we are leading by a lot! Notice that most of your leaders here are teams not expected to be very good. Just saying -- this dead cap stat is among the strongest of reasons why not to set your expectations too high this year.

Team Dead Money
Saints $35,540,927
Browns $24,985,607
Falcons $21,170,053
Lions $17,038,626
Eagles $16,364,291
Rams $15,230,724
Bills $13,660,316
Patriots $10,638,278
Chiefs $10,605,648
Colts $10,152,761
Dolphins $10,081,556
Chargers $9,962,692
Giants $9,748,629
Steelers $9,278,233
Panthers $8,901,087
Seahawks $8,822,789
Bears $8,658,478
Redskins $8,651,236
Broncos $8,447,302
Titans $7,501,013
49ers $7,437,899
Jets $7,392,398
Ravens $6,938,956
Texans $5,659,079
Raiders $4,054,254
Cardinals $3,515,684
Vikings $2,308,809
Cowboys $931,982
Packers $762,121
Buccaneers $651,901
Jaguars $407,145
Bengals $245,437

Source: NFL Salary Cap Space | Over The Cap

None of the other teams at the top of the list are very good...

 

[JackT.]

I'm not so sure about the other teams but I believe we put ourselves deeper in the grave for a few years. It was gonna catch up to us and bite us hard. You have to be amazed we aren't looking like the Browns or another bottom team with all that dead money.

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that is because of Drew. a lesser qb and we would be top two picks for the past two seasons.

 

[gtaz21]

I'm not so sure about the other teams but I believe we put ourselves deeper in the grave for a few years. It was gonna catch up to us and bite us hard. You have to be amazed we aren't looking like the Browns or another bottom team with all that dead money.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

Not sure where you're getting this high and mighty attitude. I love the Saints, always have. But, the Saints are right there with these teams over the last couple years. The dead money is one indication of how far the Saints have fallen and the severity of the personnel mistakes that have been made by their FO.

Atlanta has had the same record as the Saints over the last two years as much as it pains me to admit it. Also, some of those teams, Browns, Lions, Rams, Eagles, Patriots, beat the Saints the last time they played them. Saints beat Chiefs, Dolphins, Bills, Falcons, last time they played them. So, the Saints are right in there with those teams over the last couple years.

I hope this year the Saints go 16-0, but let's not pretend that the Saints have performed better than any of these other Top 10 Dead Money teams over the past couple years. They haven't.

 

[whodat4eva]

Not sure where you're getting this high and mighty attitude. I love the Saints, always have. But, the Saints are right there with these teams over the last couple years. The dead money is one indication of how far the Saints have fallen and the severity of the personnel mistakes that have been made by their FO.

Atlanta has had the same record as the Saints over the last two years as much as it pains me to admit it. Also, some of those teams, Browns, Lions, Rams, Eagles, Patriots, beat the Saints the last time they played them. Saints beat Chiefs, Dolphins, Bills, Falcons, last time they played them. So, the Saints are right in there with those teams over the last couple years.

I hope this year the Saints go 16-0, but let's not pretend that the Saints have performed better than any of these other Top 10 Dead Money teams over the past couple years. They haven't.

I was just putting in the consideration of us having 10 million more in dead money. To say we have that much more than the next team is both horrible being how it became that way but surprising because we aren't as bad as we should in my opinion. Jus was looking at the bright side under the circumstances.

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[Saint_Ward]

That's a part of the problem. Another part of the problem is 30 million dollars to our quarterback who said he would give up some money when the team needed it and then didn't do it. That was a part of the problem this year that was actually made public when it happened during the Josh Norman debacle. After that, I can only imagine that the team cut short any negotiations with a free agent guard.

I was under the impression that Brees said he was willing to help with Cap issues (which would mean an extension), but the team never asked him.

 

[kcirdor]

I was under the impression that Brees said he was willing to help with Cap issues (which would mean an extension), but the team never asked him.

That's what you call PR. "See Saints we could sign Norman if you would give me the deal I want."

Saints have played the Brees situation as it should be. If he survives the season he will get paid like a top 5 QB. If he plays the New Orleans won't pay me card next year, he will split the fans even more. If he gets hurt, he screwed himself.

 

[Maik Jeaunz]

Well, damn... Next year we are at $5 million in dead money so far...

I mean if that tell us at alot on why we couldn't bring in good free agent help. I don't know what would.

so you're saying next year...CHAMPIONSHIP!

 

[Brennan77]

I know it bites. But the dead money is because we swung for the fences to try to win it all with the core we had. We missed. It didn't work out.

 

[los226]

Our front office really let us down. From dumb contracts to washed up players, to taking too long to revamp the scouting staff, and lack of draft picks. That's a recipe for disaster in the talent department.

The good thing is that we are headed in the right direction. Next year we have a small amount of dead money and Ireland's presence can already be felt. Extend Brees and give Ireland another offseason and we may have something for Drew's last years in the league.

 

[St. Geezy]

Hindsight is always 20/20. Don't tell me you were mad that Jimmy and Junior got the contracts they did when they did. It sucks but I can't be mad we tried to keep our high profile players. Now were doing what we have to in order to get out of it.

Was happy with both contracts, but the issue I have is that we didn't learn anything new about Jimmy one year into his massive deal and killed it. I like how the trade turned out, but in hindsight I don't know if it was worth the cap charge. We lost an elite weapon that masked our lack of receiver talent and took on mounds of dead cap space that could have been used in other areas, perhaps the areas we addressed with the trade actually.

And in Junior's case, it wasn't just the contract, it was the subsequent restructure and release weeks later that REALLY burned us.

It isn't the deals that killed us, it's us giving these big deals and then essentially "changing our minds" months later. Keenan is the latest (though he has the injury circumstance of course).

 

[barto]

Well, damn... Next year we are at $5 million in dead money so far...

I mean if that tell us at alot on why we couldn't bring in good free agent help. I don't know what would.

In Loomis we Trust....GMAFB

 

[new city champ]

Yep 3 elite players, or 1 elite defensive lineman and 3 to 4 solid starters. Or an elite corner (maybe we outbid Washington for Norman) and an elite offensive guard with 2 more good players.

No matter how you slice it up, our roster is devoid of talent, mainly due to the Gallette and Graham deals along with the bad drafts.

Fortunately we have an all-world QB, or else this thing would be Ditka-era bad. I'm talking 3-13.

I'm afraid this is the long and the short of it. If you assume even league-average in dead cap space, we'd have another $25 million in salary with which to sign targeted free agents.

If you are going to have that much dead space, you better have great drafts to make up for it. We have not. Fair at best, and that's probably being generous and optimistic about the last two draft classes.

This is what goes into the case for trading Brees. You aren't going anywhere with this roster, even with Drew. So what's the point unless you think you can do an Elway or a Manning and build a contender for a late-career run with an aging franchise QB. That's hard to do. You need to do everything else right--free agent finds; mid-round studs in the draft. Plus, you have to contend with the franchise QB's enormous salary and its impact on your cap. Very tall order. Would probably be better strategy to trade the QB, pick up some extra picks in the first and second round, free up the salary space and just admit you are in a rebuild. Very few teams avoid that process (maybe only the Patriots). I guess the Saints think they can be one of them. Good luck.

 

[St. Geezy]

Every team has dead money, some more than others. There are plently of teams this year that are hovering around $10 million dollar dead money. For a lot of teams, it is not a huge issue.

On the other hand, $35 million in dead cap is a huge hole to work out of! Really is unfortunate considering we only have so many prime Brees years left. Below is a current summary of dead cap by team and we are leading by a lot! Notice that most of your leaders here are teams not expected to be very good. Just saying -- this dead cap stat is among the strongest of reasons why not to set your expectations too high this year.

Team Dead Money
Saints $35,540,927
Browns $24,985,607
Falcons $21,170,053
Lions $17,038,626
Eagles $16,364,291
Rams $15,230,724
Bills $13,660,316
Patriots $10,638,278
Chiefs $10,605,648
Colts $10,152,761
Dolphins $10,081,556
Chargers $9,962,692
Giants $9,748,629
Steelers $9,278,233
Panthers $8,901,087
Seahawks $8,822,789
Bears $8,658,478
Redskins $8,651,236
Broncos $8,447,302
Titans $7,501,013
49ers $7,437,899
Jets $7,392,398
Ravens $6,938,956
Texans $5,659,079
Raiders $4,054,254
Cardinals $3,515,684
Vikings $2,308,809
Cowboys $931,982
Packers $762,121
Buccaneers $651,901
Jaguars $407,145
Bengals $245,437

Source: NFL Salary Cap Space | Over The Cap

Saints, Lions, Browns, Falcons...not exactly great company at the top of that list.

Even if we were just average in terms of dead cap space, hovering around $10m, that's still over $25 million and 3-5 starters.