Salary Cap Increasing to $130 Million

[Jooser]

Source: Cap will be higher than $132 million
Posted by Mike Florio on February 25, 2014, 1:50 PM EST
cash-money-pile-stack-550x556 Reuters

Back when the owners were told that the salary cap would climb from $123 million in 2013 to $126.3 million in 2014, a source with knowledge of the cap calculation said it will be higher.

Now that reports have put the salary cap as high as $132 million for 2014, the same source has said, once again, it will be higher.

Per the source, the cap could be a “few million” higher than $132 million. If this means $3 million more than reported, the cap could be as high as $135 million. That would amount to an 9.75 percent increase over last year, the biggest spike by far since the 2011 labor deal was negotiated.

It’s unknown whether the increase in the cap, which is based on revenues but inevitably is negotiated by the NFL and the NFLPA, will result from efforts to borrow against future cap increases. In past years, the quid pro quo for an increase in the cap has included an agreement by the NFLPA to permit cap penalties to be imposed on the Cowboys and Redskins for treating the uncapped year of 2010 too literally.

A cynic may wonder whether the spike in the cap for 2014 is aimed at helping NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith fend off a 2015 challenge from Sean Gilbert or, possibly, Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks.

Regardless, the cap could be increasing by similar amounts in the future. Per the source, the 2014 bump is expected to become the trend in future years.

Maybe even as high as $135? How much are we over on that figure?

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

There was always one other factor in a team's salary cap that I don't remember hearing about since the new deal, that revolved around bonuses. The two numbers were called "Likely to be earned" (LTBE) and "Not likely to be earned" (NLTBE).

A LTBE bonus was a bonus on a player's contract the previous year that the number crunchers expected him to earn - such as play in 50% of snaps, QB throw for 2,000 yards etc. It was included on the previous year cap, but if it was unearned, then would be credited back the following year.

A NLTBE bonus was one that he could not be expected to reach - say rushing for 2,000 yards, 15 sacks etc. That would not be added to the previous year's cap, but if it was reach then they would charge it the following year.

I'm wondering if this formula still exists since the last contract, and is it possible that we would have cap space coming back to the Steelers this year. For example, if Woodley had a LTBE bonus of 10 sacks that he did not reach. IMO, the only players who might have reached some nice bonus money would be Ben (say TD:int ratio or 4,000+ yards passing) or Brown (receiving yards). Other than that, I can't see too many performance bonuses reached as many (especially on D) underwhelmed.

[Jooser]

[URL]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/27/source-cap-will-be-133-million-per-team/[/URL]

Source: Cap will be $133 million per team
Posted by Mike Florio on February 27, 2014, 7:08 PM EST
Cash Getty Images

For 2014, each team will have $10 million more to spend than it had a year ago.

Per a league source, the salary cap will be $133 million in 2014. That’s a significant jump from the spending limit of $123 million last year, especially in light of recent increases of only a million or two per year.

Tom Pelissero of USA Today reports that the official number will be announced most likely by Monday, and possibly as soon as tomorrow.

In response to recent reports that the cap will be $132 million, we were told it could be a few million higher. In the end, it’s only a million more. Still, it’s a big jump over the $126.3 million projection shared with owners during the 2013 season.

The increase is good news for teams that need cap space, like the Steelers and Cowboys. But it’s bad news for teams that prefer to keep their money in their coffers. The current labor deal requires each team to spend 89 percent of the unadjusted cap, on (for now) a three-year rolling average.

If/when the official cap numbers are released, the various franchise tags also will be set. Under the 2011 labor deal, the franchise tags are tied to a percentage of the cap.

The higher the cap, the greater the tags will be.

[hawaiiansteel]

Scott Brown ‏@ScottBrown_ESPN:

Per ESPN roster management, the Steelers are only $372,066 over the salary cap. Will Allen deal not in that since signing not yet official.

[URL]https://twitter.com/MarkKaboly_Trib[/URL]