Santos showed how difficult it is to defeat a team three times in one season. After two easy wins during the regular season, the Saints were eliminated from the postseason by the Buccaneers on Sunday in a playoff loss of 30-20 divisions. The Saints will now turn their attention to resolving the NFL’s scariest wage cap situation for 2021. The NFC South champions have $ 284.1 million in 2021 cap commitments with 45 players signed, according to NFLPA data. $ 4.122 million of unused limit space for 2020 has been carried over to the 2021 league year, which starts on March 17th. According to the off-season accounting rules, only the 51 main salaries (ie maximum number) matter.
The wage cap for 2021 was conservatively projected at $ 210 million before the coronavirus pandemic. The NFL and NFLPA set a salary cap of $ 175 million for 2021, with league revenues decreasing due to COVID-19. If revenues are better than expected, the 2021 salary cap may be higher, but will likely remain below the current level of $ 198.2 million.
The Saints have been aggressive and creative in managing the salary cap in recent years, taking a credit card approach in which current obligations become future. The bill is coming and expires in March.
Once there are 51 players counting and the transfer is taken into account, New Orleans is projected to be approximately $ 109 million over the $ 175 million floor. The Saints will need to continue pushing the envelope with the salary cap in order to be in compliance when the 2021 league year begins.
The biggest piece of the Santos wage ceiling puzzle is Drew Brees. Jay Glazer of FOX Sports Insider reported before the Buccaneers game that he strongly believed that Brees would retire after the season. Brees did not commit after the defeat. “I’m going to give myself the opportunity to think about the season, think about a lot of things, just like I did last year, and make a decision,” said Brees.
Brees has the NFL’s fourth highest salary cap for 2021, $ 36.15 million. Assuming Brees retires, he and the Saints should agree to reduce their base salary from $ 25 million in 2021 to $ 1.075 million, their league minimum wage of 2021, so that the $ 23.925 million ceiling relief can be earned instantly. . The Saints would need to keep Brees on the roster until June 2 to prevent the $ 11.5 million in prorated bonuses related to the 2022 and 2023 contract years from becoming a 2021 cap.
At that point, Brees would be placed on the reserve / retirees list and his base salary of $ 1.075 million would also come off the books for additional limit relief. Instead of taking the $ 22.65 million total dead money, a cap wage charge for a player who is no longer on a team squad in 2021 by putting Brees on the reserve / retiree list before June 2, there would be $ 11.15 in 2021 and $ 11.5 million in 2022 this way.
Potential Cap Victims
It will be necessary for the Saints to separate from several key collaborators on this season’s team. $ 13.4 million cap can be earned with the launch of linebacker Kwon Alexander, which was acquired from 49ers in mid-season trading. The Saints would end up winning $ 1.2 million from Alexander, who tore an Achilles at the end of the season, under the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement injury protection, as he would have years of contract left if his injury prevented him to play in 2021.
Launching the tight end Jared Cook before his $ 8.04 million bonus is due, on the second day of the 2021 league year (March 18), will create $ 9.1 million cap space. The 2021 salary of $ 11.2 million from cornerback Janoris Jenkins, of which $ 1.2 million is a fully guaranteed on-call bonus and a $ 14.2 million limit is a luxury that the Saints are unlikely to be able to afford. . Jenkins’ separation would free up $ 7 million of coverage space. The $ 6.5 million salary of the center / guard Nick Easton in 2021 (up to a maximum of $ 6.875 million) is too much for a backup. His exit would create a $ 5.875 million cap.
$ 5 million of limit space can be earned by cutting the defensive tackle Malcolm Brown. He was on the field for only 33 percent of New Orleans’ defensive plays, despite having played 13 games. The $ 10 million limit on the wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders can also put you in danger – although your $ 2 million bonus on the list is guaranteed. Cutting it would create $ 4 million of limit space.
Free agent not called up for 2020 Blake Gilliken, who spent the season on reserve due to a back injury, may be the heir of gambler Thomas Morstead. The Saints might find the $ 2.84 million difference in their 2021 salaries attractive. Moving past Morstead generates $ 2.5 million in limit savings.
Latavius Murray, who is scheduled to make $ 3.35 million in 2021, helps form one of the NFL’s best running back tandems with All-Pro Alvin Kamara. Finding a cheaper option may be a necessity. Murray’s departure would free up $ 2.5 million of roof space. $ 2.6 million cap room can also be won with nickel cornerback Patrick Robinson.
It is difficult to imagine a scenario where most of these players are still around for the next season. If all nine were released, $ 51.975 million cap space would be created. Presumably, nine players with a $ 660,000 minimum wage for the first year would replace them in the top 51. The net gain would be a $ 46.035 million cap.
Potential Contract Restructures and Extensions
The restructuring of contracts in which the salary is converted into signature bonuses, pushing the obligations of the current limit into the future, has become a lifestyle for the saints. Fictitious or annulment years are consistently added to these restructurings for additional limit relief, because the converted salary is also prorated over the false years.
Defensive side Cameron Jordan has the second highest number of Saints caps after Brees, with $ 18.9 million. Jordan’s bonus on the fifth day of the fifth day of the league year (March 21) and $ 10.825 million from the 2021 base salary, which is anything but the league’s $ 1.075 million minimum, could be turned into a bonus of subscription by adding a 2025 year contract canceled on the last day of the 2023 league year (as well as the 2024 year). This $ 12.725 million wage conversion would yield $ 10.18 million of maximum space to bring Jordan’s value from 2021 to $ 8.72 million. In turn, Jordan’s ceiling from 2022 to 2025 would increase by $ 2.545 million.
Wide receiver Michael Thomas was the subject of exchange rumors after he was suspended for a game over a training fight with a teammate. Speculation is starting again. Trading with Thomas would increase the Saints’ woes because there would be $ 20 million in dead money when their maximum number in 2021 was $ 18.8 million.
Converting $ 11.6 million from Thomas’ $ 12.6 million base salary into a subscription bonus and adding a one-year 2025 fictitious contract would create $ 9.28 million of maximum space. Thomas’s new ceiling for 2021 would be $ 9.52 million.
Offensive guard Andrus Peat is another candidate for contract restructuring, as he is virtually guaranteed to be in the Saints squad in 2022. His base salary of $ 10.85 million in 2022, which is guaranteed for injuries, becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2021 league year (March 19) By converting $ 8 million from Peat’s $ 20 million base salary of 2021 with the addition of a nullable 2025 year contract, $ 6.4 would be created million ceiling. This maneuver would bring Peat’s 2021 cap down to $ 5.2 million.
The Saints need to extend the contract for cornerback Marshon Lattimore or right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, as only one can be designated as a player in the franchise in 2022. Lattimore and Ramczyk, both chosen in the first round of 2017, are scheduled to play in 2021 with less than $ 10.244 million and $ 11.064 million fifth-year options. Arresting Ramczyk may be more essential because 2021 is also Terron Armstead’s remaining contract year.
The Saints could employ the same tactic used with the defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins by adding void years to Lattimore’s fifth year option in a salary conversion. Lattimore’s base salary could drop by $ 9 million to $ 1,244 million, while closing in up to four years of contract cancellation until 2025. $ 7.2 million cap room is produced with the signing bonus of US $ 9 million being prorated over five years. Having four years canceled on the last day of the 2021 league year would leave $ 7.2 million of dead money in 2022.
Any extension by Ramcyzk will certainly be more than the three-year contract, $ 42 million ($ 14 million per year) with $ 30 million fully guaranteed to the right Jack Conklin received from the Browns in the offseason free agency. Lane Johnson (Eagles) is the highest-paid right in the league, with $ 18 million a year. The most recent tackle data point is Garett Bolles’ four-year extension of $ 68 million with $ 40 million in guarantees, making him the fifth highest-paid NFL striker with $ 17 million a year .
Ramcyzk’s four-year extension to the Bolles neighborhood could create $ 7 million of limit space if a signature bonus / option bonus framework is employed. For example, Ramcyzk could receive a $ 15 million subscription, where his base salary in 2021 would drop to $ 1,064 million, making his 2021 cap at $ 4,064 million. A payment of $ 15 million during the first days of the 2022 league year would also be required to obtain a 2025 year contract (the option bonus) under this example.
If a new agreement could not be worked out in a timely manner, adding years of annulment as in the case of Lattimore could be done as a replacement. A $ 8 million space limit would be generated from a $ 10 million signing bonus and a base salary of $ 1,064 million in 2021 with four years of cancellation. The annulment years would be converted into real years in a new agreement.
Santos will need to decide the comfort level with two high-priced tackles. An Armstead extension would likely cost $ 20 million a year. Your contract is being left alone for now. There is already $ 5.075 million of dead money in 2022 because of last year’s restructuring with two years of cancellation or fictitious. Up to $ 8.06 million of limit space can be created if $ 10.075 million is converted into a signing bonus and two more years of cancellation running through 2025 are added.
Final thoughts
$ 40.06 million cap is created from restructuring and a Ramcyzk extension. Adding this amount to $ 46.035 million net gain from the nine wage ceiling write-offs and $ 23.925 million initially collected from Brees, the Saints would create a $ 110.02 million space limit. More than any other team, the Saints will benefit from the 2021 salary cap set closer to the current $ 198.2 million than the $ 175 million floor.
The attempt to retain important free agents, such as safety Marcus Williams and defensive tip Trey Hendrickson, is not being considered. Williams will likely be looking for a business near the top of the security market, at least in the $ 14 million / year range. Hendrickson may have left New Orleans with the price after reaching second place in the NFL with 13.5 bags.
The Saints unexpectedly signed the security All-Pro Jairus Byrd – which turned out to be a mistake – in 2014, when no one had them as potential suitors because of their situation on the edge. It wouldn’t be a shock for the Saints to take another rabbit out of the hat this off-season. Structuring long-term business with a modest cap for 2021 or the first year and a cap for the second year in expansion, as with Byrd, is likely to be a necessity for the Saints.