vike daddy Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 (edited) a thread for our more knowledgeable financial gurus to explain salary cap intricacies and strategies available to the team. we'll start with this: The Vikings hold the 12th-most salary cap space in the NFL with a sizeable $36,381,185 to work with, per Over the Cap. However, the Vikings can balloon their cap space even further. Here is a look at four moves the Vikings can make to free up even more space this spring. By making the following moves, the Vikings would be able to nearly double their salary cap space (all numbers are again via OTC): Restructure T.J. Hockenson’s contract ($7.1 million saved) Restructure Byron Murphy’s contract (~$5.4 million saved) Restructure Brian O’Neill’s contract (~$8.9 million saved) Cut Harrison Smith (~$11.3 million saved) If the Vikings pulled the trigger on each of these moves, their salary cap space would go up to $70,309,051. As things currently stand, this would give them the fourth-most cap space going into free agency. https://purpleptsd.com/2024/vikings/vikings-analysis/vikings-cap-space-2/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook Edited January 15 by vike daddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 The move that would be disheartening for many Vikings fans would be parting ways with Harrison Smith. The safety has been a crucial part of Minnesota’s defense ever since he was drafted in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. That being said, Smith is set to enter his age-35 season in 2024, which is never a good thing for an NFL safety, particularly a player set to carry a $19.2 million cap hit. At the very least, Minnesota should approach the veteran about taking a pay cut this year. https://purpleptsd.com/2024/vikings/vikings-analysis/vikings-cap-space-2/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Fobos Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 The Vikings' front office staff are great at financial gymnastics. You can usually tell how recently someone has started following the team by how stressed they are about the cap. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 6 minutes ago, Sir Fobos said: The Vikings' front office staff are great at financial gymnastics. You can usually tell how recently someone has started following the team by how stressed they are about the cap. when did the cap start? was it always there in the Super Bowl era? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Fobos Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 The cap started in about '94. Brezinski was originally hired around that time (Dolphins) to manage their cap. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 When Did the NFL Salary Cap Start? The NFL salary cap came to fruition in tandem with the beginning of NFL free agency. In 1992, the NFL was determined to have violated antitrust rules by refusing to grant players the opportunity to become free agents. The NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) eventually agreed to begin free agency in 1993. The salary cap would take effect for the 1994 season. That year, the salary cap was supposed to be $32 million per team. But after the league sold expensive television rights to networks, the inaugural cap was set at $34.608 million. https://www.profootballnetwork.com/nfl-salary-cap-history/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingsrule Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 3 hours ago, vike daddy said: The move that would be disheartening for many Vikings fans would be parting ways with Harrison Smith. The safety has been a crucial part of Minnesota’s defense ever since he was drafted in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. That being said, Smith is set to enter his age-35 season in 2024, which is never a good thing for an NFL safety, particularly a player set to carry a $19.2 million cap hit. At the very least, Minnesota should approach the veteran about taking a pay cut this year. https://purpleptsd.com/2024/vikings/vikings-analysis/vikings-cap-space-2/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook Would his on the field play be missed? Seems he’s fairly mediocre at this point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Relax Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 12 minutes ago, vikingsrule said: Would his on the field play be missed? Seems he’s fairly mediocre at this point. Compared to his past play, maybe. However, he still does well on blitz packages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 (edited) 16 hours ago, vikingsrule said: Would his on the field play be missed? Seems he’s fairly mediocre at this point. Yes. You must have no idea how much he has covered for poor CB play. Edited January 16 by swede700 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GermanVike Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 I think Lowry is gone, didn't show anything. I beliieve they will draft a replacement or sign a high end FA. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelKing728 Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Lowry is an easy cut. As much as I like Harrison Smith, I think he either gets cut or retires, unfortunately. And then if I had to guess, they'd try to restructure at least one of Murphy/O'Neill/Hockenson's deal. Maybe this way we could keep both Cousins and Hunter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CriminalMind Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 (edited) 5 hours ago, vike daddy said: This is an easy release here. Was a poor signing here. Many people thought it was poor from the start. Go get a still young, Justin Madabuke in free agency, giving him big money, and stop screwing around at these important positions. Edited January 18 by CriminalMind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcblack34 Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 On 1/15/2024 at 11:29 AM, vike daddy said: a thread for our more knowledgeable financial gurus to explain salary cap intricacies and strategies available to the team. we'll start with this: The Vikings hold the 12th-most salary cap space in the NFL with a sizeable $36,381,185 to work with, per Over the Cap. However, the Vikings can balloon their cap space even further. Here is a look at four moves the Vikings can make to free up even more space this spring. By making the following moves, the Vikings would be able to nearly double their salary cap space (all numbers are again via OTC): Restructure T.J. Hockenson’s contract ($7.1 million saved) Restructure Byron Murphy’s contract (~$5.4 million saved) Restructure Brian O’Neill’s contract (~$8.9 million saved) Cut Harrison Smith (~$11.3 million saved) If the Vikings pulled the trigger on each of these moves, their salary cap space would go up to $70,309,051. As things currently stand, this would give them the fourth-most cap space going into free agency. https://purpleptsd.com/2024/vikings/vikings-analysis/vikings-cap-space-2/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook What this fails to address is that a lot of teams that currently have more cap space can make similar moves to creat more space. So even if the Vikings make all of those moves, they likely end up only moving up a couple of spots. They also have to be practical about how those moves impact their cap in future years. That said, none of those moves seem prohibitive and they do need more flexibility going into free agency. Especially if they intend on being players for Cousins and Hunter while extending JJ. I don't recall if it was on here or not, but I recently read an article about teams that are willing to add void years to contracts to extend the cap hit for years after the effective end of the contract. By doing so, a team that does so for 3 years can effectively give themselves a 25% cap advantage over a team that doesn't do it. Those numbers might be a bit off, but you get the gist. It all depends on how much the ownership wants to spend. This can basically continue indefinitely. The bill would always "come due" 1, 2, or 3 years after the owner decided to stop spending that amount, but for a cash-rich owner, it can be worth it to compete (if that truly is the goal over making money). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 The Vikings’ future is largely uncertain, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has done a great job in setting this team up for the future while also focusing on trying to win now. The salary cap space for each season allows the team to evolve in however they need to. 2024 cap space: $24,658,132 (53 players) 2025 cap space: $139,489,530 (29 players) 2026 cap space: $226,910,109 (13 players) https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/lists/vikings-nurture-young-qb-justin-jefferson-christian-darrisaw/?taid=65268e6269f2640001733575&utm_campaign=trueAnthem_manual&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter&fbclid=IwAR12VWA2WDyFJ8ntA18bxhzqlO1nG_2bJQR8pEzZY7HIL18DILKRxqXoCx0 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.