SALARY CAP dept. ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

AFC East salary cap numbers

ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton has the early salary-cap projections for 2013.Keep in mind, these are raw numbers before any roster cuts are made. These numbers are subject to change when teams begin making transactions.

But here is where each AFC East team’s cap currently stands :

• Buffalo Bills: $20.6 million under
  
• Miami Dolphins: $35.8 million under
  
• New England Patriots: $18.6 million under
  
• New York Jets: $19.4 million over
  

Overall, the AFC East is doing well with the cap. The Dolphins are the major players from the division and one of the biggest in the NFL. Expect Miami to make some significant signings in free agency.

The New York Jets are the only team over the cap. The new general manager will have a lot of work to do. New York needs to get under the cap and provide enough space for free agents and its rookie class.Look for the Jets to cut several veterans such as safety Eric Smith, offensive tackle Jason Smith and linebackers Bart Scott and Calvin Pace. New York also will be hard-pressed to re-sign starting safety LaRon Landry, tight end Dustin Keller and tailback Shonn Greene.

The Bills and Patriots are both in decent shape and most likely will make additional cuts to add more cap space.

> http://espn.go.com/b...ary-cap-numbers

[SayNoToDMC]

Our new GM isn't an accountant...... Red ink? Black ink? Who gives a ****? He's about championships

[The Crusher]

Blame Rex?

[SayNoToDMC]

Blame Rex?

I blame math

[The Crusher]

I blame math

CTM's fault? Agreed.

[Integrity28]

Why is everything a "dept"?

[SenorGato]

Won't basically 4-5 cuts Do the job, if that? Jason Smith is somewhere around 13 million of that...

[kelly]

I blame math

just blame me

[kelly]

Clayton : Jets have worst cap situation

ESPN's John (The Professor) Clayton has an interesting read on the salary-cap situation of every team. According to Clayton, the Jets are a league-high $19.4 million over the 2013 cap.Each team is allowed to use a "carryover," moving unused cap room from 2012 into 2013. The Jets have a $3.4 million carryover, reducing the overage to $19.4 million.

Let's put that into some perspective, though. By cutting LB Calvin Pace, LB Bart Scott, OT Jason Smith and S Eric Smith, the Jets will clear $30.7 million in cap space. That will give them some room to operate, but keep in mind that, by cutting those players, they'll have only 10 starters under contract.

> http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/19987/clayton-jets-have-worst-cap-situation

[kelly]

Commentary

Carryover rules impact cap strategy

Mailbag: Replay procedures, Tannehill's potential, fixing Oakland and more

With the most cap space for 2013, the Bengals have their eyes on their money.

2013 Cap Space

Team Carryover Total space Arizona $3.6M -$723,000 Atlanta $307,000 $4.9M Baltimore $1.2M $15.7M Buffalo $9.8M $20.6M Carolina $3.6M -$11.8M Chicago $3.2M $13.3M Cincinnati $8.5M $55.1M Cleveland $14.3M $48.9M Dallas $2.3M -$18.2M Denver $11.5M $18.5M Detroit $486,000 -$1.1M Green Bay $7M $7.1M Houston $2.4M $12.9M Indianapolis $3.5M $46M Jacksonville $19.5M $22.1M Kansas City $14M $16.1M Miami $5.3M $35.8M Minnesota $8M $16.1M New England $5.6M $18.6M New Orleans $2.7M -$14.7M NY Giants $1M -$4.7M NY Jets $3.4M -$19.4M Oakland $4.5M -$4.5M Philadelphia $23M $5.2M Pittsburgh $758,000 -$10.8M San Diego $995,000 $8.7M San Fran $859,000 $3.9M Seattle $13.2M $18.6M St. Louis $247,000 $1.8M Tampa Bay $8.5M $31.3M Tennessee $12.8M $19.4M Washington $4.2M -$4M

On the eve of the regular-season finale, teams couldn't afford to think exclusively about the game.They had to think about next season. Under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, teams had to designate how much money they wanted to carry over to the 2013 salary cap. The carryover provisions are new and important.With the cap growing at only $300,000 a year, teams have to budget their cap over a multi-year basis. Last year's cap was $120.6 million, so general managers have to be smart about their spending.

The "haves'' are in good shape. The "have nots'' have to be creative. Thanks to the carryover, there is $350.7 million of cap room in 2013, but $200.3 million of carryover is part of that.Eight teams, though, account for 79 percent million of total room. The Cincinnati Bengals saved $8.5 million of cap room in 2012 and made the playoffs for the second consecutive year. They have $55.1 million of room. The Cleveland Browns saved $14.3 million of room in 2012 and now have $48.9 million. After being tight against the cap in 2012, the Indianapolis Colts now have $46 million of room.The Miami Dolphins have $35.8 million, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers $31.3 million, the Jacksonville Jaguars $22.1 million, the Buffalo Bills $20.6 million and the Tennessee Titans $19.4 million.

On the negative side, the New York Jets are $19.4 million over the cap. The Dallas Cowboys are $18.2 million over, the New Orleans Saints $14.7 million over and the Carolina Panthers $11.8 million over.

rest of article :

> http://espn.go.com/n...ct-cap-strategy

[Il Mostro]

...but keep in mind that, by cutting those players, they'll have only 10 starters under contract.

This is the most positive takeaway from this piece. The fewer underachievers carried over from this team, the better. Blow the mutha up!

[Greenseed4]

Clayton : Jets have worst cap situation

ESPN's John (The Professor) Clayton [says] by cutting those players, they'll have only 10 starters under contract.

> http://espn.go.com/b...t-cap-situation

This is the most positive takeaway from this piece. The fewer underachievers carried over from this team, the better. Blow the mutha up!

1. Clayton is overreacting.

2. He's also not including players under contract that ARE on roster but weren't starters this past season but could be a *potential NEW starters

By my count:

Offense (9): D'Brick, Ducassse, Mangold, Sanchez, Powell, Holmes, Kerley, Hill

Defense (12/13): Wilkerson, Ellis, Pouha, Coples, Harris, Davis, McIntyre, Sapp, Allen or Bush, Wilson, Cromartie, Revis

Specials (2): Malone, McKnight

NOTE: I didn't list Konrad Rueland because I don't view him as a potential starter. Also, I'm aware that you can't start more than 11 players on defense, though we attempt it often; depending on the safety situation and whethor or not were fielding a 3-4 or a 4-3 we still have enough personnel to field a competitive defense.

Missing starters: 2 OL, 1 TE, a long snapper, and a kicker.

The other 24 spots are backups, which we actually have plenty of.

[kelly]

Jets’ cap number scares off GMs

“Salary cap hell.”

That is how one league source described the Jets’ current salary cap situation. That may be an overstatement, but it is going to be one of the new general manager’s immediate challenges.ESPN reported yesterday the Jets are $19.4 million over the projected 2013 salary cap,the most in the NFL,and the perception of the situation may be scaring GM candidates away.League sources said at least two people have turned down the chance to even interview with the Jets because the salary cap situation scared them away. As much as has been made of the new GM being forced to keep Rex Ryan as head coach, the team’s salary cap health appears to be the bigger challenge.

The circus-like atmosphere around the Jets has extended to the GM search, with several candidates still in the picture for owner Woody Johnson to choose from.

Former Browns GM Tom Heckert canceled his interview because of concerns over the cap, according to a source. The Jets have also seen Dave Caldwell (Jaguars) and Tom Telesco (Chargers) pick other teams over them.The Jets had three interviews yesterday with Dolphins assistant GM Brian Gaine, Steelers director of football and business administration Omar Khan and former Bears GM Jerry Angelo, according to sources. All have experience dealing with the cap.

Today, the Jets will have three more interviews with Seahawks vice president of football administration John Idzik and two candidates whose names are not known, but are both former GMs in the league, according to a source.The Jets’ cap situation is not as bad as it appears on the surface,though.They carried $3.4 million over from 2012, ESPN reported.The Jets can easily maneuver their way under the cap by releasing linebacker Bart Scott, linebacker Calvin Pace, tackle Jason Smith and safety Eric Smith next month. That would save them $30.7 million. You can add another $1.5 million if they release quarterback Tim Tebow, as expected. Those moves would put them $12.8 million under the cap.

The problem for the Jets is that leaves them with only 10 players who were starters this year under contract — QB Mark Sanchez, C Nick Mangold, T D’Brickashaw Ferguson, WR Santonio Holmes, WR Stephen Hill, NT Sione Po’uha, DE Muhammad Wilkerson, LB David Harris, CB Antonio Cromartie and CB Darrelle Revis. They will probably tender tackle Austin Howard, who is a restricted free agent, to bring the number to 11.Then, the Jets would have to hope some of their unproven draft picks from the last few years can step into starting roles. Backups such as RB Bilal Powell, DL Quinton Coples and G Vlad Ducasse may become starters in 2013. The Jets also may hope either Antonio Allen or Josh Bush can grab one of the safety spots.

brian.costello@nypost.com

> http://www.nypost.co...tm_content=Jets

[Larz]

"jet hater" lombardi said the jets have no cap issue

they can cut 30 mill in 5 moves, which I think they are planning on doing already

cut

scott

pace

eric smith

jason smith

some other guy I forgot

so don't get your panties in a twist if a jet hater said you can fix the jets cap in 3 minutes

[pfilippone]

Jets’ cap number scares off GMs

“Salary cap hell.”

That is how one league source described the Jets’ current salary cap situation. That may be an overstatement, but it is going to be one of the new general manager’s immediate challenges.ESPN reported yesterday the Jets are $19.4 million over the projected 2013 salary cap,the most in the NFL,and the perception of the situation may be scaring GM candidates away.League sources said at least two people have turned down the chance to even interview with the Jets because the salary cap situation scared them away. As much as has been made of the new GM being forced to keep Rex Ryan as head coach, the team’s salary cap health appears to be the bigger challenge.

The circus-like atmosphere around the Jets has extended to the GM search, with several candidates still in the picture for owner Woody Johnson to choose from.

Former Browns GM Tom Heckert canceled his interview because of concerns over the cap, according to a source. The Jets have also seen Dave Caldwell (Jaguars) and Tom Telesco (Chargers) pick other teams over them.The Jets had three interviews yesterday with Dolphins assistant GM Brian Gaine, Steelers director of football and business administration Omar Khan and former Bears GM Jerry Angelo, according to sources. All have experience dealing with the cap.

Today, the Jets will have three more interviews with Seahawks vice president of football administration John Idzik and two candidates whose names are not known, but are both former GMs in the league, according to a source.The Jets’ cap situation is not as bad as it appears on the surface,though.They carried $3.4 million over from 2012, ESPN reported.The Jets can easily maneuver their way under the cap by releasing linebacker Bart Scott, linebacker Calvin Pace, tackle Jason Smith and safety Eric Smith next month. That would save them $30.7 million. You can add another $1.5 million if they release quarterback Tim Tebow, as expected. Those moves would put them $12.8 million under the cap.

The problem for the Jets is that leaves them with only 10 players who were starters this year under contract — QB Mark Sanchez, C Nick Mangold, T D’Brickashaw Ferguson, WR Santonio Holmes, WR Stephen Hill, NT Sione Po’uha, DE Muhammad Wilkerson, LB David Harris, CB Antonio Cromartie and CB Darrelle Revis. They will probably tender tackle Austin Howard, who is a restricted free agent, to bring the number to 11.Then, the Jets would have to hope some of their unproven draft picks from the last few years can step into starting roles. Backups such as RB Bilal Powell, DL Quinton Coples and G Vlad Ducasse may become starters in 2013. The Jets also may hope either Antonio Allen or Josh Bush can grab one of the safety spots.

brian.costello@nypost.com

> http://www.nypost.co...tm_content=Jets

How is having "several GM candidates to choose from" adding to the Circus-Like atmosphere?? I want to sucker punch every writer that spouts this kind of BS. We will continue to have 'locker room cancers' and a 'circus like atmosphere' until they find some other BS to label the Jets with. Being from NY and having a long Super bowl drought, the Jets are an easy target.

If a GM candidate can't handle our "cap hell", then they aren't worth considering. I can see a GM candidate having a personality/chemistry issue with Rex. If that happens, I think Woody should give the GM authority over whether to keep Rex, not give Rex any veto power over a GM candidate.

[Scott Dierking]

"jet hater" lombardi said the jets have no cap issue

they can cut 30 mill in 5 moves, which I think they are planning on doing already

cut

scott

pace

eric smith

jason smith

some other guy I forgot

so don't get your panties in a twist if a jet hater said you can fix the jets cap in 3 minutes

And have 10 starters under contract.

[kelly]

i hope we have a " great " draft

[Larz]

And have 10 starters under contract.

boo ****ing hoo

you think they will go to camp with 10 guys instead of a whopping 14 ?

cry me a ****ing river

[kelly]

The Financial Page

That Sunk-Cost Feeling

After a farcical 2012 season, in which the New York Jets invented ever new ways to lose games (thus the “butt fumble”), the team’s general manager, offensive coördinator, and quarterback coach are all gone. Yet Mark Sanchez, the starting quarterback, remains. He has played poorly for two seasons in a row, and has now thrown more interceptions in his career than touchdowns. But the Jets have invested an enormous amount of energy and money in Sanchez, and, assuming that no one will trade for him, they are contracted to pay him $8.25 million next year, whether he plays or not. So figuring out what to do with Sanchez will be trickier than you might think.

The Jets have stumbled into a classic economic dilemma, known as the sunk-cost effect. In a purely rational world, Sanchez’s guaranteed salary would be irrelevant to the decision of whether or not to start him (since the Jets have to pay it either way). But in the real world sunk costs are hard to ignore. Hal Arkes, a psychologist at Ohio State University who has spent much of his career studying the subject, explains, “Abandoning a project that you’ve invested a lot in feels like you’ve wasted everything, and waste is something we’re told to avoid.” This means that we often end up sticking with something when we’d be better off cutting our losses—sitting through a bad movie, say, just because we’ve paid for the ticket. In business and government, the effect pushes people to throw good money after bad. The quintessential case of this is the Concorde. There was never a convincing business case for the supersonic airliner, and there were numerous attempts to kill it. But those attempts all failed, in large part because of the billions that had already been spent.

The sunk-cost dilemma isn’t just about waste. It’s also about reputation—after all, the future is uncertain, and if you keep a foundering project alive there’s always a chance that it will right itself. “Giving up on a project, though, means that somebody has to admit that he shouldn’t have done it in the first place,” Arkes says. “And there are lots of executives who would rather be tortured than admit that they’re wrong.” If you’re faced with this problem, it’s tempting to look to those times when staying the course has worked out. After all, plenty of N.F.L. teams have eventually been rewarded for sticking with struggling quarterbacks—most notably, the Giants with Eli Manning. Andrew Brandt, a former N.F.L. executive who’s now a business analyst for ESPN NFL, told me, “When you stray from decisions from year to year, that’s when you get in trouble, unless you have an option so attractive that it’s worth giving up on your current plan.” The problem is that patience is often simply self-justification. The organizational behaviorist Barry Staw, in a 1995 study of the N.B.A., showed that high draft picks consistently got more playing time than lower draft picks, regardless of whether their performance justified it. When executives think they’re being patient, they’re often just being obstinate.

The most intriguing aspect of sunk costs, as Arkes and others have documented, is that greater investment in a project increases people’s belief that it will succeed. That may help explain what happened last March, when the Jets gave Sanchez a contract extension that guaranteed his salary through 2013. Since Sanchez was already signed for two more years, and was coming off a mediocre season, the extension seemed peculiar to outside observers. But the Jets argued, and doubtless believed, that it was a smart way of locking up a young player. It was a classic case of what psychologists call the “escalation of commitment.” Since the Jets had bet big on Sanchez, it seemed reasonable to place an even bigger bet on his future.

So how do you counter this problem ?

“Taking the original decision-maker out of the picture and letting a fresh pair of eyes look at the pros and cons can help,” Arkes says. He points to a Staw study of a bank that found that loan officers were reluctant to acknowledge that loans they’d made had gone bad, whereas new executives were far more likely to take the loss and move on. Whoever becomes the Jets’ new general manager will have no personal or reputational investment in Sanchez, which should make it easier for him to be more objective, though he’ll still have to persuade the head coach and the owner. New York might also take comfort from the success of the Seattle Seahawks, who showed a remarkable indifference to sunk costs this year. Last spring, Seattle signed the quarterback Matt Flynn to a hefty free-agent contract, a chunk of which was guaranteed. But in training camp Flynn was outperformed by a new draftee, Russell Wilson. The Seahawks put Wilson in the starting lineup, Flynn got to throw only nine passes all year, and the team made it to the playoffs. This happened only because the Seahawks understood that Flynn’s salary was irrelevant. “I don’t want that to matter to me,” the head coach said of the investment. “You want the best guy at that time to play.”

To be fair, the Jets face a harder problem than the Seahawks did: the talent pool of available quarterbacks is small, and, because of the N.F.L. salary cap, they’ll likely have a limited amount of money for signing an alternative to Sanchez. “Unless the Jets get lucky in the draft or bring in a veteran who can remake his career, Sanchez could well be the best option,” Brandt told me. Even so, while the Jets figure out whether Sanchez is the best option, they need to forget—forget how much they’ve paid him, how high he was drafted, and even the fact that the head coach has a tattoo of his wife wearing Sanchez’s jersey. All those costs are sunk. Worrying about them will only insure that the Jets are, too. ♦

> http://www.newyorker...talk_surowiecki

[kelly]

Maybe the Jets' Cap Situation Isn't Hopeless

The biggest savings, $12 million, can be had by cutting tackle Jason Smith.Before the Jets' new head of football operations tries to rebuild this 6-10 team, he must first dig it out of a roughly $25 million salary-cap hole. That helps explain why the Jets' top football job remains unfilled more than two weeks after the firing of general manager Mike Tannenbaum.But a closer examination of the Jets' 2013 obligations reveals that an act of Congress won't be needed to rescue this team. At least that much cap room can be found by simply cutting some disappointing, highly paid veterans.

According to NYJetsCap.com, the Jets will be about $21 million over the estimated 2013 salary cap when the new league season begins in March. Additionally, the team needs to clear about $4 million more to sign its 2013 draft class.The biggest savings, $12 million, can be had by cutting tackle Jason Smith, a backup whom ProFootballFocus.com ranked just 35th at his position based on his performance on every snap. Linebacker Calvin Pace ranked 69th of 72 linebackers and saves the Jets another $8.6 million if cut.Fellow starting linebacker Bart Scott graded much better (23rd of 112), but returns the Jets another $7.2 million if released. Defensive tackle Sione Pouha, safety Eric Smith and quarterback Tim Tebow all graded poorly, too, and can be let go for a combined salary cap windfall of about $7.4 million. That adds up to $35.2 million—$10.2 million more than needed even before renegotiating other contracts for additional savings.

Due to arcane NFL salary-cap accounting, other players actually result in a cap charge if cut. For example, jettisoning quarterback Mark Sanchez in 2013 would force the team to first find another $4.3 million cap room.

This Can Work

Here are the dispensable players whom the Jets can save the most 2013 salary-cap room by cutting, along with their 2012 ranking at their position. player position cap value cap savings

if cut 2012 positional rank Jason Smith T $12M $12M 35th of 122

Calvin Pace LB $11.57M $8.56M 69th of 72

Bart Scott LB $8.65M $7.15M 23rd of 112

Sione Pouha DT $6.17M $3.83M 51st of 85

Eric Smith S $3M $3M 125th of 170

Tim Tebow QB $2.59M $1.53M 34th of 71

Santonio Holmes WR $12.5M $1.25M 100th of 206

Antonio Cromartie CB $10.75M $1.25M 15th of 217

<a name="U704289571072RR">

Sources: NYJetsCap.com, ProFootballFocus.com

> http://online.wsj.co...SJ_topics_obama

[kelly]

Jets need to hire personnel expert as general manager, not another salary-cap specialist such as Mike Tannenbaum

Despite some of the good things Tannenbaum did, such as trading up in the draft for Darrelle Revis and trading for Antonio Cromartie, his strength was evaluating numbers — he put together the brilliant offer sheet for Curtis Martin in 1998 at the request of Bill Parcells — not evaluating talent

The downfall of the Jets the last two years was not

Rex Ryan’s tattoo of his half-naked wife wearing a Mark Sanchez jersey, or Tim Tebow’s presence making it impossible for Sanchez to function, or even the emotional and unfortunate resignation of Fireman Ed leading the “J-E-T-S” chant.

The Jets stink right now and have sunk to their lowest level since the forgettable and thankfully short-lived Rich Kotite era for one basic reason: The roster is bad.As the Jets have turned their search for a new general manager to replace Mike Tannenbaum from a sprint into a marathon, one thing is certain: They need to hire a personnel expert as general manager, not another salary-cap specialist such as Tannenbaum, who at least had experience in the pro personnel department. So, it’s not encouraging news that two of the finalists are capologists, and one of them — Seattle vice president of football administration John Idzik — is reportedly getting a second interview Wednesday or Thursday.When teams change coaches, they often go from a disciplinarian (Eric Mangini) to a players’ coach (Rex Ryan) or from a players’ coach (Jim Fassel) to a disciplinarian (Tom Coughlin). Despite some of the good things Tannenbaum did, such as trading up in the draft for Darrelle Revis and trading for Antonio Cromartie, his strength was evaluating numbers — he put together the brilliant offer sheet for Curtis Martin in 1998 at the request of Bill Parcells — not evaluating talent.

Do the Jets really want another cap guy at the top of their organizational chart ?

They need someone who majored in the college draft, not drafting contracts.Tannenbaum always resented the idea that he was not a football guy, and he worked hard to become educated in the nuances of the game, but successful teams are run by experienced football guys, not law school graduates or MBA candidates. Five of the seven general manager openings that were created after this season have been filled. The scorecard: Football Guys 5, Cap Guys 0.The Jaguars (David Caldwell), Chargers (Tom Telesco), Panthers (Dave Gettleman), Cardinals (Steve Keim) and Chiefs (John Dorsey) all hired GMs who were deeply involved in personnel in their previous job. The Browns are expected to do the same.

Can everybody be wrong and the Jets be right ?

Well, at least Caldwell, the Falcons’ director of player personnel, was their No. 1 choice. But it doesn’t say much for the image of the organization that Caldwell considered the Jaguars a more attractive job. Jacksonville is the most forgotten franchise in the NFL. It was reported by SI.com that Woody Johnson was preparing a contract package to Caldwell that included a $1 million housing allowance, which is extraordinary. Caldwell not only turned down the Jets, but he then said he had no interest in Tebow. So he hurt the Jets twice.Former Bears GM Jerry Angelo, who was instrumental in hiring Idzik in Tampa when he worked for the Bucs, has the best credentials of the Jets’ finalists: He built a Super Bowl team in Chicago in 2006 (they lost to the Colts) and might have made it to another if Jay Cutler, whom he acquired in a blockbuster deal with the Broncos, didn’t hurt his knee in the 2010 NFC Championship Game against the Packers. He knows the league, once worked as a scout for Parcells, helped construct the Bucs team in 2002 that won the Super Bowl (he left for Chicago in 2001) and drafted Charles Tillman and Lance Briggs in back-to-back rounds in 2003.

Idzik’s father was a Jets assistant coach, giving him something in common with Ryan. The elder John Idzik worked for Walt Michaels in the late ’70s. The younger Idzik was a wide receiver at Dartmouth, earned a master’s degree in liberal studies at Duke and broke into the NFL with the Bucs in 1993 and later worked for the Cardinals.He has been running the Seahawks’ cap since 2007. He has never been in charge of any college or pro personnel department in the NFL.The Jets are also interested in Omar Khan, the Steelers’ director of business and administration. He sounds an awful lot like Tannenbaum. He went to Tulane. Tannenbaum went to Tulane law school. He got his NFL start with the Saints. So did Tannenbaum. Khan joined the Steelers in 2001 and is in charge of their salary cap. He is also good friends with Bill Cowher, so perhaps he can deliver Cowher if Ryan gets fired after the 2013 season. Johnson was interested in Cowher before he hired Ryan, but he refused to cut short his vacation to interview him with Tannenbaum, so Cowher withdrew as a candidate.The Jets interviewed Scott Cohen, their assistant GM, but promoting Tannenbaum’s right hand man would be a tough sell to Jets fans.

This is a crucial decision. Hiring the right GM might bring back Fireman Ed.

> http://www.nydailyne...tm_content=ESPN