..cap issues ? ? ?

[kelly]

With this year's NFL Draft in the past, teams have the opportunity to add veteran help to address areas of need. But the ability to sign quality veterans who remain on the market is in part dictated by the salary cap space each team possesses.

There are fewer teams with challenging salary cap situations because the annual growth in the cap has been around eight percent over the last couple of years and unused cap room can be carried over from one year to the next. Despite this, those teams that have pushed the envelope may not be immune from decisions somewhat dictated by the cap.

Here's a look at two teams who have some cap work to do if they want to address any roster holes before the beginning of the season.

~ ~ new york jets 

The Jets remain in a contract stalemate with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The suggestion that he would rather retire than accept the Jets' offer, which is reportedly in the neighborhood of $7 million to $8 million per year, is believed to be just posturing.

The two sides should be able work out a compromise. Although Christian Hackenberg was taken in the second round, the Jets want Fitzpatrick back, because having him under center represents the team's best chance to get to the playoffs. The 33-year-old journeyman doesn't have any other viable starting opportunities and was never going to get anything close to Sam Bradford's two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles averaging $17.5 million per year, which has $22 million fully guaranteed.A little less than $4 million of cap space probably isn't enough to sign Fitzpatrick without some maneuvering. The Jets also have to sign first-round pick Darron Lee, whose expected four-year, $10,221,645 deal will have a $1,858,481 2016 cap number.

Signing franchise player Muhammad Wilkerson long term would solve the Jets' cap problems, because a deal would give him a 2016 cap number significantly lower than his $15.701 million franchise tender that's current counting on the books. Such a deal seems unlikely because he is believed to seeking a deal in excess of the $16,666,667 per year with almost $52 million in guarantees three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt received from the Houston Texas in the six-year contract extension he signed in 2014.Restructuring Darrelle Revis' five-year, $70,121,060 deal could create the most cap room of any player under contract, because he has a fully guaranteed $17 million salary this year. It's probably better to leave his contract as is, since the Jets can walk away from the deal with minimal cap consequences after the 2017 season when there isn't any guaranteed money. This ability could be compromised with a restructure.

Reworking Brandon Marshall's deal, which runs through the 2017 season, may be a better idea. He has the third-highest cap number on the team at $9.5 million and there isn't any signing bonus proration with his contract.Fitzpatrick's return could make 2013 second-round pick Geno Smith vulnerable, because teams rarely keep four quarterbacks. The league trend is to go with two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster with a third on the practice squad. General manager Mike Maccagnan and head coach Todd Bowles don't have a vested interest in Smith, who was drafted by former general manager John Idzik.

rest of above article  : 

>     http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25583555/agents-take-cap-issues-could-dictate-next-moves-for-chiefs-and-jets

[kelly]

How the Jets can create cap space for Ryan Fitzpatrick (if he returns)

 

The New York Jets remain a hot topic around the NFL because of their multi-layered quarterback situation. Our question of the week concerns money and the quarterback position, two of our favorite subjects.

@RichCimini jets offering Fitz about $8 mill he wants $15 mill. How can we sign him if we only have $3.5 mill in cap space#jetsmail

12:48 PM - 13 May 2016

 

@RichCimini: As of Friday, the Jets had $4 million in cap space, according to NFLPA records, but that may not include their most recent rookie signings.

As for Ryan Fitzpatrick's situation, it's impossible to predict the required cap space unless we know the structure of the contract. Everybody is saying $8 million, but what does that mean? Is it one-year, $8 million total? Is it a multi-year deal with $8 million guaranteed? It could be a two-year, $20 million offer, including a $4 million signing bonus and a guaranteed base salary of $4 million in 2016. We just don't know; both sides have been extremely tight-lipped.

This much we know: They'll have to create some cap space to sign him, regardless of the structure. They can restructure a couple of contracts, starting with Buster Skrine. His $6.5 million salary already is guaranteed, which makes it easier to re-work the deal. If they drop his base to $760,000 and give him the rest in a signing bonus, they'd lower his cap charge from $7.75 million to $3.9 million -- a $3.85 million savings. They did pretty much the same thing withJames Carpenter in March.Eric Decker is due to make a non-guaranteed $6.5 million, so they also can save $3.85 million with a simple restructuring. It would reduce his cap charge from $8 million to $4.15 million. Between Decker and Skrine, you're talking about close to $8 million in additional cap space.

They could go to Brandon Marshall (a max $4.3 million cap savings), but you're always reluctant to approach players over 30 because there's a good chance they will be released before their contract expires. And you know what that means: The team's cap gets hammered with the money it pushed to the back end of the contract by restructuring. The same theory applies to Darrelle Revis, who has a team-high $17 million cap charge. In Marshall's case, it would be somewhat palatable because there's no pro-rated signing bonus counting on the cap; it's just base salary.

Another way to add cap room would be to sign Muhammad Wilkerson to a long-term contract by the July 15 deadline, but that appears unlikely. Barring a deal, the Jets will carry Wilkerson's $15.7 million franchise tender into the season. That's not good cap management, but there are other issues involved with a potential Wilkerson deal.Getting back to your question, Joel: The Jets can easily create cap space for Fitzpatrick; that's the least of their worries. The bigger problem is agreeing on a contract.

>     http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/60367/how-the-jets-can-create-cap-space-for-ryan-fitzpatrick-if-he-returns