The NFL has officially established the salary cap for the 2014 season: $133 million. That’s significant, given that it’s a jump of $9.4 million from last year’s cap, giving teams that much more spending room heading into next year. Last year’s number was $123.6 million.
NFL news: Salary cap set; Greg Hardy, Jimmy Graham among those getting franchise tagged
The NFL set its salary cap for 2014, and teams began using the franchise tag on Friday.
Kevin C. Cox
Initial projections pegged the cap at around $126 million, but in the past month or so a figure of $130 million was floated. The ante was upped last week, when one report suggested it could hit $133 million or potentially even a “few million” higher than that. Well, the latest one was right, and it represents the biggest jump in cap space we’ve seen in some time.
Specifically, it’s the biggest jump in cap space we’ve seen since 2006. That year, the cap jumped from $85.5 million to $102 million, an increase of a whopping 19.3 percent. This year’s increase is 7.6 percent, which is also significant. But why the big jump? The explanation is simple: broadcast contracts.
Back in 2006, the huge jump was due to the incredibly lucrative broadcast contracts that kicked in for the NFL. This year, new contracts are kicking in again (and smaller television deals will come in play in 2015 as well, so we could see another jump). It’s not 19.3 percent, but it’s still incredibly high.
This hugely effects teams like the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers -- both of which are over the projected salary cap for 2014. As noted by Behind The Steel Curtain, the Steelers can become cap compliant with a single roster move, though it won't leave them any space for free agents or draftees:
The Steelers are projected by Over The Cap to be $5,673,066 over that projected cap. The release of Levi Brown, which should come in the very near future, would put them under the cap by $576,934.
Obviously a few more moves should be expected. The NFL requires teams to be under the salary cap for their top 51 players by the start of the league year - March 11.
But the move doesn’t just impact teams who aren’t exactly cap compliant. The news opened the way for franchise tags to be set and there’s plenty of free agent speculation, so read on for what you might have missed from Friday in the NFL:
The Carolina Panthers put the franchise tag on defensive end Greg Hardy on Friday. Hardy had a monster 2014 with 15 sacks, becoming one of the top pass rushers in the league after a few decent seasons before. He was one of the most important aspects of a Carolina defense that took the team to the No. 2 seed in the NFC. He made a Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-Pro for his troubles.
The increase in salary cap space allowed the Panthers to make this move, but it’s still unlikely they move forward without extending him or, if worst comes to worst, trading him, as noted by Cat Scratch Reader:
Salary cap concerns are real. The issue was never whether the Panthers could retain Hardy with a franchise tag, but if they should. If Carolina is unable to trade Hardy or sign him to a long term deal his one-year contract will consume over half of the team’s available money. Last year a defensive end franchise tag cost $11.2 million, which will likely rise in 2014. This is a huge domino to fall and has mammoth ramifications for the team’s ability to retain other priority free agents.
The New Orleans Saints plan to place the franchise tag on Jimmy Graham, widely considered to be the best tight end in the NFL. But whether or not he's actually tagged as a tight end is the intriguing part of this deal. Most figured there was no way Graham could possibly head elsewhere this offseason, so now the question is if the team will tag him as a wide receiver. Graham is obviously the best receiving tight end in the NFL and puts up receiver-like numbers, and the franchise tag for receiver pays almost $4.8 million more than the tag for a tight end. He could file a grievance if they tag him as a tight end, and likely has a case.
The Washington Redskins have until Monday to place the franchise tag on outside linebacker Brian Orakpo. It's unclear if the team will do it, given that he would count more than $11 million against the salary cap for 2014, which is out of their price range. But they also don't want to lose the stellar pass rusher, and a long-term deal is the best option for both sides. That said, the Redskins need to move fast, because Orakpo is reportedly ready to test the open market to get what he deserves.
Over at Hogs Haven, they note that it’s seeming more and more unlikely he remains with the team:
The lack of progress toward re-signing Washington’s top pass rusher makes it more and more likely that the Redskins will enter the 2014 season without him. ... Letting Orakpo test his free-market value could be advantageous to the Redskins if they believe he isn’t worth $10 or $11 million for one year. If they’re right-say teams offer him between $7 and $8 million per year-the Redskins could conceivably swoop in and bring him back for less. That’s a big risk to take, of course.
We already knew that the Seattle Seahawks released wide receiver Sidney Rice, but they made the move official on Friday, along with the release of defensive lineman Red Bryant. Rice is a solid receiver, but has been dealing with significant injuries for the past few seasons. Bryant has also been good, but Seattle has plenty of talent along the defensive line and his cap hit of $8.5 million was too much to sustain. Both players should find teams for 2014 relatively easily, though Rice will have to prove he's healthy.
Two reports surfaced regarding defensive linemen Dion Jordan on Friday. The first suggested that the Miami Dolphins were shopping the player and seeing what they could get for him in the trade space, and the second suggested that the team has informed Jordan that he will not be dealt. So at this point either the Dolphins found there wasn't a whole lot to gain from a potential trade for last year's No. 3 overall pick, or they're keeping the news from Jordan. It's unclear why they want to trade him, though he did not play a whole lot in his rookie season. There's clearly a lot to work with there, but the Dolphins might be looking to go in a different direction.
Baltimore Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta will remain with the team for another five seasons. He signed a five-year, $32 million contract on Friday, in advance of hitting the open market in early March. Pitta missed 12 games in 2013 due to a hip injury and many wondered how much the Ravens valued him going forward. The decision to extend a player with such a long contract after that kind of injury says a lot about how they feel about him in their offense.
Baltimore Beatdown looks at whether or not this means the team will use the franchise tag elsewhere:
Now with Pitta locked up for the foreseeable future, the Ravens can turn their attention to retaining left tackle Eugene Monroe, whom the team traded a 4th and 5th-round selection to Jacksonville during the middle of the season. The move was also the first in-season trade in Ravens franchise history.
The Buffalo Bills and Jairus Byrd are currently trying to work out a new contract in advance of multiple deadlines. The first is Monday, when the Bills will face the deadline of whether or not to place the franchise tag on Byrd. The second is when the new league year begins and Byrd will hit the open market if not tagged or under contract. It's been a long, long process for Byrd and the Bills, but reports on Friday suggested that the contract talks have been "pleasant" so far. Last year, talks were heavily publicized in the media and both sides were unhappy, so this is definitely a nice change.
The NFL is considering adding another official on the field during the upcoming preseason. The extra official would stand in the offensive backfield with the referee and umpire and serve as an extra set of eyes monitoring things between the tackles. NFL offenses seem to be getting more and more complex and this seems like it can only be good for the league, but they’ll have to test things out in the preseason first before implementing such a change in the regular season.
Several schools have announced their Pro Day workouts for March and April, in advance of the NFL Draft in May. Most of the top prospects set to enter the NFL will be working out, including many who did not work at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier in February. We've got a comprehensive schedule at the link above.
Nick Folk was the other player to receiver the franchise tag on Friday. The New York Jets announced the move amid talks of Graham and Hardy, so it was somewhat overlooked. Folk is now set to make over $3 million in 2014, a sizable number for a kicker, but he was very solid in 2013, regardless. Over at Gang Green Nation, they're not crazy about the move, however:
I can’t really say I’m in love with this move.
Don’t get me wrong. Folk was great in 2013. It’s just this makes his cap number over $3 million according to reports. That is a tremendous amount of space to use on a kicker. And a career year at Folk’s age usually does not repeat itself. It feels like the Jets are paying based on past performance instead of what will happen going forward.
The Arizona Cardinals released linebacker Jasper Brinkley on Friday. Brinkley signed a two-year contract with the team last season, but started in just three games in 2013, compiling 30 tackles on defense and five special teams tackles. He was the starter while Daryl Washington served a suspension, but the team wanted to free up some salary cap space. The move frees up $2 million against the cap.
The Chicago Bears announced a one-year contract extension for defensive back Kelvin Hayden on Friday. He came to the team in 2012, but after a solid campaign in which he played 16 games, he tore his hamstring in training camp prior to 2013. Still, the Bears have a lot of question marks in the secondary and Hayden, if healthy, should be some solid depth and insurance at the position. He can be a solid nickel corner if it shakes out that way and should have an opportunity to compete for more playing time.
See More:
