Lions Cap with George Ketchman

Final Roster . . .

2008-08-28T05:29:00.011-04:00

5:00pm

Saturday was the final cut down day to the 53 man roster and now the salary cap status is computed a little differently. Up until this point, only the top 51 cap figure for players counted, plus dead cap and bonuses that are allocated to this year. Now everything counts. The salary cap for the year is $116,729,000 and by my guesstimation, the Lions have $114,483,252 of current charges against the cap, leaving them with $2.2M of Salary Cap space.

One thing the Lions did not do, they did not make cuts based on salary cap implications, they kept the best players. I wouldn't be surprised to see Cory Redding or Jeff Backus restructure their contracts (both are committed to the Lions long-term), Jason Hanson to sign an extension (he's in the final year of his contract and the Lions can reduce his current year cap hit through an extension), Dominic Raiola to sign an extension (they can reduce his current year cap hit through an extension) or sign Roy Williams to an extension, provided they are committed to Roy long-term. All the above is dependent on if they need additional cap space to do what they want to do, i.e. sign Rudi Johnson.

(3) Quarterbacks - $7,600,440
(3) Running Backs - $2,406,000
(4) Wide Receivers - $14,364,711
(5) Full Backs/Tight Ends - $6,603,840
(9) Offensive Linemen - $16,840,669
(11) Defensive Linemen - $17,474,117
(6) Linebackers - $7,437,960
(9) Defensive Backs - 13,464,063
(3) Specialists - $4,101,827
(6) Injured Reserve - $3,060,517
(8) Practice Squad - $707,200
Dead Cap - $15,073,843
Cap Adjustment - $5,348,065

QB - Some teams have carried only two QB's in the past, but we are not set up that way. Stanton is injured and even if he wasn't, he's not better than Orlovsky yet. $7,600,440.

Jon Kitna - $5,875,000
Dan Orlovsky - $933,720
Drew Stanton - $791,720

RB's - Rudi Johnson was in Detroit last night, it'll be interesting to see if there are any changes. We claimed Marcus Thomas off of waivers and he has to remain on the roster for at least three weeks. $2,406,000

Tatum Bell - $1,600,000
Kevin Smith - $511,000
Marcus Thomas - $295,000

WR - There needs to be an option to put a 4th WR on the game day roster if one of our main four are nicked up. $14,364,711

Roy Williams - $6,292,833
Calvin Johnson - $3,490,158
Mike Furrey - $2,900,000
Shaun McDonald - $1,681,720

FB/TE - With the release of Sean McHugh, we only have one FB. Casey Fitzsimmons can fill the void if Felton gets injured during the game, but there is no viable solution if Felton were to miss an extended period of time. Owens appears to be on the roster in case Campbell continues to struggle with nagging injuries. If Owens is on the opening day roster, his salary would be guaranteed for the year (he has four credited seasons in the NFL). I wouldn't be surprised to see him released before the start of week 1 and signed immediately after the game. $6,603,840

Dan Campbell - $2,315,000
Michael Gaines - $2,006,720
Casey Fitzsimmons - $1,450,000
John Owens - $491,720
Jerome Felton - $340,400

OL - This unit seems to be set, you have viable backups at all the positions. Cherilus can play either tackle position, Ramirez can play either guard spot. Andy McCollum can play center or guard and Cook has the versatility to play guard or tackle. $16,840,670

Jeff Backus - $5,523,176
Dominic Raiola - $4,370,000
Edwin Mulitalo - $2,250,000
Gosder Cherilus - $1,280,000
George Foster - $1,106,720
Stephen Peterman - $933,720
Manny Ramirez - $487,054
Andy McCollum - $445,000
Damion Cook - $445,000

DL - 11 defensive linemen made the final roster, wow. Well, we won't end the season with 11 DL guys on the roster. Maybe a trade is in the works for Shaun Cody or Langston Moore? $17,474,117

Cory Redding - $4,983,334
Dewayne White - $3,960,470
Chuck Darby - $2,195,000
Jared DeVries - $1,656,720
Shaun Cody - $1,120,000
Langston Moore - $933,720
Corey Smith - $806,720
Ikaika Alama Francis - $586,720
Andre Fluellen - $465,400
Cliff Avril - $456,333
Landon Cohen - $309,700

LB - With six guys, we have the depth, but once again this is a position that will need to be addressed if a player gets nicked up. $7,437,960

Ernie Sims - $2,605,000
Paris Lenon - $1,800,000
Alex Lewis - $1,456,720
Jordon Dizon - $645,000
Gilbert Gardner - $486,240
Ryan Nece - $445,000

DB's - We kept 9 guys and while we could probably get by when a player gets nicked up, it'll be a little tougher if a couple of guys get banged up. The CB's tend to be some of the smaller players on the football field and are always susceptible to injury. $13,464,063

Travis Fisher - $2,756,720
Brian Kelly - $2,340,053
Keith Smith - $2,006,720
Dwight Smith - $2,006,720
Kalvin Pearson - $1,422,387
Leigh Bodden - $1,040,053
Daniel Bullocks - $942,970
Gerald Alexander - $571,720
Ramzee Robinson - $376,720

ST's - There weren't any players to be cut and the players that we have are some of the best specialists in the league. $4,101,827

Jason Hanson - $2,086,720
Nick Harris - $1,298,387
Don Mulbach - $716,720

Injured Reserve - $3,060,517

Stanley Wilson - $933,720
Jon Bradley - $713,387
Brian Calhoun - $639,970
Aveion Cason - $366,720
Reggie Ball - $206,720
Shemiah Legrande - $200,000

Dead Cap - $15,073,843

Shaun Rogers - $4,271,393
Damien Woody - $3,000,000
Fernando Bryant - $2,333,333
Kenoy Kennedy - $1,360,000
Eddie Drummond - $1,000,000
Kalimba Edwards - $1,000,000
Kevin Jones - $741,250
Shawn Bryson - $500,000
Misc Others - $867,867

The Lions signed their 8 practice squad players. Each player will earn a weekly paycheck of $5200 and if on the roster for the entire season, will earn $88,400. With 11 defensive linemen on the roster, it's not a surprise that the Lions didn't sign a defensive lineman to the practice squad.

Darnell Bing (LB)
Matt Butler (OL)
Allen Ervin (RB)
Eric Fowler (WR)
Drew Henson (QB)
LaMarcus Hicks (CB)
Kenneth Moore (WR)
Jake Nordin (TE)

Practice Squad

2008-08-25T18:53:00.003-04:00

6:05am

As the Lions near their final cuts, they are going to be looking to sign 8 guys to the practice squad.

What is the Practice Squad? - It's a group of guys that are allowed to practice with the team during the week. They typically are part of the scout team that runs the upcoming opponents schemes during the week.

How much do they earn? - For 2008, they are entitled to a paycheck of $5,200 per week, but they don't earn accrued seasons (determines free agency status) or credited seasons (determines minimum pay status and other benefits) in the NFL.

Which players are eligible for the practice squad?

Players that have two or less prior seasons on a teams practice squad (3 weeks on the practice squad in one season counts as a season on the practice squad).
If a player has accrued seasons in the NFL, they are still eligible for the practice squad if they have been active for less than nine games, provided they meet rule 1 above.

Which current Lions players are eligible?

QB - Drew Henson (two accrued seasons, but only seven games on active roster, never on PS)
QB - Drew Stanton (no accrued seasons, never on PS)
RB - Kevin Smith (Rookie)
RB - Jerome Felton (Rookie)
WR - Kenneth Moore (Rookie)
WR - Brandon Middleton (one accrued season, but only two seasons on PS 2005-STL, 2007-DET, 2006-DNP)
TE - Clark Harris (No accrued seasons and one season on PS - 2007)
Oline - Gosder Cherrilus (rookie)
Oline - Manny Ramirez (no accrued seasons)
Oline - Carroll Madison (Rookie)
Dline - Five0 - (One accrued season, but less than nine games on active roster)
Dline - Andre Fluellen - (Rookie)
Dline - Cliff Avril - (Rookie)
Dline - Landon Cohen (Rookie)
Dline - Victor DeGrate (no accrued seasons and one year on PS 2007-DET)
Dline - Ruldolph Hardie - (Rookie)
LB - Jordon Dizon (Rookie)
LB - Buster Davis (No accrued seasons and one year on PS 2007-DET)
LB - Tyrone Pruitt - (Rookie)
LB - Darnell Bing (No accrued seasons and one year on PS 2007-SF)
CB - Ramzee Robinson (One accrued season and one year on PS 2007-DET)
CB - LaMarcus Hicks (One accrued season and one year on PS 2007-DET)

Who is not eligible? - Basically everyone else, but here's a list of players that may at first appear eligible, but fail for the reason listed

WR - Ronald Belamy (one accrued season with less than nine games on active roster, but has already spent 3 seasons on PS 2003 & 2004-MIA and 2007-DET)
WR - John Standeford (Only one accrued season with less than nine games on active roster, but has spent 3 seasons on PS 2004, 2005 & 2006 with Indy)
WR - DeVale Ellis (One season on PS, only one accrued season but has nine games exactly on active roster)
Oline - Frank Davis - (Only one accrued season, but has nine games exactly on the active roster)
Dline - Claude Harriot - (no accrued seasons, but three seasons on PS 2004-NYG, 2006-DET & 2007-DET & KC)

What's the procedure for signing players to the practice squad?

They have to be officially waived from their current team. During the final cuts over the next week.
Then they must clear waivers. If a team claims a player placed on waivers, they are immediately added to the teams active roster. We claimed Eric Frampton off waivers last year at this time.
After the players clear waivers, they are free to negotiate a practice sqaud contract with whatever team they choose. Typically, players sign with the club that they were just waived from, because they have familiarity with that club, but they are not required to. Fred Matua signed with Cleveland a couple years ago, even though he was offered a contract on Detroit's PS. Buster Davis was offered a contract with Arizona after being waived, but elected to sign with Detroit's PS.

Does signing a Practice Squad contract with a team, limit their ability to sign with another team? - No, they can sign a contract with any NFL team at any time, provided that it's for a spot on the active roster. They are not allowed to switch practice squad teams unless they are waived from the Practice Squad.

Current Lions, Mike Furrey, Stephen Peterman and Paris Lenon have all spent time on the practice squad in the past. So, just because you don't initially make the roster, doesn't mean your NFL career is over.

Takeo Spikes and Recent Transactions

2008-08-13T17:36:00.006-04:00

12:05am

Takeo Spikes - According to Rotoworld, Spikes signed a one year contract for $1.48M that includes a $300,000 Signing Bonus, contains a $140,000 Roster Bonus and a $1,040,000 Base Salary. An additional $200,000 can be earned through incentives.

It's not a lot and the Lions reportedly offered him $1.5M, it looks like it was a matter of Spikes choosing San Francisco over Detroit. Contrary to what the local media may report, it looks like the salary cap didn't have anything to do with salary cap limitations and had to do more with Spikes choosing San Francisco over Detroit.

Nick Jones and Eddie Johnson were both released on August 9th. There release will have no effect on the Lions current cap status.

Dave Rayner signed for the league minimum for players with 3 years of service, $520,000 and his current year player cost is $520,000. His player cost will figure into the Top 51 Calculation and reduce the Lions Cap Status by about $60,000.

Damion Cook signed for $605,000, the league minimum for players with 4 years of service. The NFLPA will subsidize $160,000 of his salary and Cook's current year player cost will be $445,000.

Kiwaukee Thomas, an 8 year veteran signed for the league minimum $730,000 and the NFLPA will subsidize $285,000 of his salary. Thomas' 2008 player cost will be $445,000.

Stanley Wilson was placed on Injured Reserve on August 11th. The move doesn't effect the Lions current cap status. His contract likely doesn't include a split salary and unless an injury settlement is reached, he'll count $933,720 against the cap.

Based on the above, the Lions are currently about $4.1M under the cap.

Training Camp Battles (ST) - Cap Perspective

2008-08-13T04:02:00.003-04:00

11:55am

Nate's projected Roster, has no surprises on Special Teams. The ST Unit will count $4,101,827.

ST's Current Year Cap Charge:

Jason Hanson - $2,086,720
Nick Harris - $1,298,387
Don Mulbach - $716,720
Eddie Johnson - $370,000

ST's 2008 Dead Cap if Traded or Released:

Jason Hanson - $436,720
Nick Harris - $348,387
Don Mulbach - $51,053
Eddie Johnson - $0

Based on Nate's Projected Roster, the Lions would have $90,761,300 in 53 active players and 2 Injured Reserves, broken down as follows:

(3) Quarterbacks - $7,600,440
(5) Wide Receivers - $14,816,431
(3) Running Backs - $2,750,970
(4) Full Backs/Tight Ends - $4,818,787
(9) Offensive Linemen - $16,915,056
(5) Defensive Ends - $7,666,493
(5) Defensive Tackles - $9,897,453 (1 IR)
(5) Corner Backs - $9,528,933 (1 IR)
(5) Safeties - $5,395,517
(6) Linebackers - $7,269,393
(3) ST Players - $4,101,827

The Lions would have $17,320,947 of 2008 Dead Cap broken down as follows:

April 9th blog entry - $15,192,000
Additional accumulated through the Summer - $657,500
Projected LB Final Cuts - $43,240
Projected CB Final Cuts - $12,000
Projected DE Final Cuts - $15,440
Projected DT Final Cuts - $14,700
Projected RB Final Cuts - $50,080
Projected FB/TE Final Cuts - $1,213,440
Projected WR Final Cuts - $113,827
Projected OL Final Cuts - $8,720

The Total Salary Cap for the year is $116,729,000 and based on Nate's Projected Roster, I'd guesstimate that the Lions would have spent $114,137,512 of Cap space and thus have $2,591,488 available entering the season.

Active Player Costs - $90,761,300 (from above)
Dead Cap - $17,320,947 (from above)
Cap Adjustments - $5,348,065 (March 1st Blog Entry)
Practice Squad - $707,200 (8 players @5200 per week over 17 weeks)

Training Camp Battles (LB) - Cap Perspective

2008-08-12T05:55:00.005-04:00

6:45am

Based on Nate's Projected Defensive Roster, the Lions would have $7,269,393 in the six LB's with an additional $43,240 of Dead Cap from the release of other LB's.

LB's Current Year Cap Cost:

Ernie Sims - $2,605,000
Paris Lenon - $1,800,000
Alex Lewis - $1,456,720
Jordon Dizon - $645,000
Gilbert Gardner - $486,240
Anthony Cannon - $460,953
Leon Joe - $445,000
Buster Davis - $301,720
Tyrone Pruitt - $297,000
Darnell Bing - $295,000

LB's 2008 Dead Cap if Traded or Released:

Ernie Sims - $1,890,000
Paris Lenon - $750,000
Alex Lewis - $456,720
Jordon Dizon - $350,000
Gilbert Gardner - $41,240
Anthony Cannon - $15,953
Buster Davis - $6,720
Tyrone Pruitt - $2,000
Leon Joe - $0
Darnell Bing $0

The projected defensive roster would include 26 players totalling $39,757,789 with an additional $85,380 of Dead Cap from final cuts.

(5) Defensive Ends - $7,666,493
(5) Defensive Tackles - $9,897,453
(5) Corner Backs - $9,528,933
(5) Safeties - $5,395,517
(6) Linebackers - $7,269,393

Training Camp Battles (DB) - Cap Perspective

2008-08-12T05:02:00.005-04:00

6:05am

Based on Nate's Projected Defensive Roster, the Lions would have five CB's and five S's. The five CB's plus Wilson (IR) would count $9,528,933 with an additional $12,000 of Dead Cap. The Safeties would cost $5,395,517 with no dead cap implications.

CB's Current Year Cap Charge:

Travis Fisher - $2,756,720
Brian Kelly - $2,340,000
Keith Smith - $2,006,720
Leigh Bodden - $1,040,053
Stanley Wilson - $933,720 **
DeVonte Edwards - $451,720
Ramzee Robinson - $376,720
LaMarcus Hicks - $375,280

CB's 2008 Dead Cap if Traded or Released:

Brian Kelly - $1,090,053
Travis Fisher - $1,006,720
Keith Smith - $1,006,720
Leigh Bodden - $340,053
Stanley Wilson - $933,720 **
DeVonte Edwards - $6,720
Ramzee Robinson - $6,720
LaMarcus Hicks - $5,280

S's Current Year Cap Charge:

Dwight Smith - $2,006,720
Kalvin Pearson - $1,422,387
Daniel Bullocks - $942,970
Gerald Alexander - $571,720
Greg Blue - $451,720
Stephen Howell - $295,000

S's 2008 Dead Cap if Traded or Released:

Kalvin Pearson - $1,046,720
Dwight Smith - $656,720
Daniel Bullocks - $497,970
Gerald Alexander - $201,720
Greg Blue - $6,720
Stephen Howell - $0

** Stanley Wilson was placed on IR after being injured during the first preseason game. When a football injury occurs while on the roster, the base salary is guaranteed to be paid for the year. At some point, the Lions may reach a settlement with Wilson for a lesser amount, but they are currently on the hook for his current year base salary.

Training Camp Battles (DL) - Cap Perspective

2008-08-11T19:48:00.006-04:00

8:25pm

Based on Nate's Projected Defensive Roster, the Lions will have $7,666,493 of cap charges invested in five total DE's and will incur an additional $15,440 of Dead Cap associated with the release of three DE's. At DT, the Lions will have five players accounting for $9,897,453 of cap space and will have an additional $14,700 of dead cap from the release of one DT.

DE's Current Year Cap Charges:

Dewayne White - $3,960,000
Jared DeVries - $1,656,720
Corey Smith - $806,720
Ikaika Alama-Francis - $586,720
Cliff Avril - $456,333
Victor DeGrate - $301,720
Claude Harriot - $301,720
Ruldolph Hardie - $297,000

DE's 2008 Dead Cap if Traded or Released:

Dewayne White - $3,355,470
Jared DeVries - $356,720
Corey Smith - $106,720
Ikaika Alama-Francis - $216,720
Cliff Avril - $161,333
Victor DeGrate - 6,720
Claude Harriot - $6,720
Ruldolph Hardie - $2,000

DT's Current Year Cap Charges:

Cory Redding - $4,983,333
Chuck Darby - $2,195,000
Shaun Cody - $1,120,000
Langston Moore - $933,720
Andre Fluellen -$465,400
Landon Cohen - $309,700
Shemiah Legrande - $200,000 **

DT's 2008 Dead Cap if Traded or Released:

Cory Redding - $2,083,333
Chuck Darby - $1,465,000
Shaun Cody - $600,000
Shemiah Legrande - $200,000 **
Andre Fluellen - $170,400
Landon Cohen - $14,700
Langston Moore - $6,720

**Shemiah Legrande was placed on IR at the end of June. When a football injury occurs while on the roster, a portion of the salary is guaranteed to be paid for the year. At some point, the Lions may reach a settlement with Legrande for a lesser amount, but they are currently on the hook for his split salary figure.

Training Camp Battles (RB's, FB's & TE's) - Cap Perspective

2008-08-11T00:34:00.005-04:00

12:35am

Based on Nate's Projected Roster, the Lions will have $2,750,970 of Cap Charges in 3 RB's with an additional $50,080 of Dead Cap. At TE/FB, the Lions would have $4,818,787 tied up in 4 players with an additional $1,213,440 of Dead Cap.

RB's Current Year Cap Charges:

Tatum Bell - $1,600,000
Brian Calhoun - $639,970
Kevin Smith - $511,000
Aveion Cason - $491,720
Artose Pinner - $448,360

RB's 2008 Dead Cap if Traded or Released:

Tatum Bell - $300,000
Kevin Smith - $216,000
Aveion Cason - $46,720
Brian Calhoun - $6,720
Artose Pinner - $3,360

FB & TE Current Year Cap Charge:

Dan Campbell - $2,315,000
Michael Gaines $2,006,720
Casey Fitzsimmons - $1,450,000
Jon Bradley - $713,387
John Owens - $491,720
Sean McHugh - $451,720
Jerome Felton - $340,400

FB & TE Dead Cap if Released or Traded:

Michael Gaines - $1,206,720
Dan Campbell - $515,000
Casey Fitzsimmons - $395,000
Jon Bradley - $91,667
Jerome Felton - $45,400
Sean McHugh - $6,720

Based on Nate's Projected Roster, the Lions will have 24 players on offense counting for $46,901,684 of cap space. Additional cuts will yield an additional $1,386,067 of Dead Cap.

(3) Quarterbacks - $7,600,440
(5) Wide Receivers - $14,816,431
(3) Running Backs - $2,750,970
(4) Full Backs/Tight Ends - $4,818,787
(9) Offensive Linemen - $16,915,056

Training Camp Battles (QB & WR) - Cap Perspective

2008-08-10T07:35:00.005-04:00

7:45am

Based on Nate's Projected Roster, the Lions will have $7,600,440 of Cap Charges in 3 QB's. At Wide Receiver, the Lions would have $14,816,431 tide up in 5 players with an additional $113,827 of Dead Cap.

QB's Current Year Cap Charges:

Jon Kitna - $5,875,000
Dan Orlovsky - $933,720
Drew Stanton - $791,720

QB's 2008 Dead Cap if Traded or Released:

Jon Kitna - $1,925,000
Drew Stanton - $421,720
Dan Orlovsky - $6,720

WR's Current Year Cap Charges:

Roy Williams - $6,292,833
Calvin Johnson - $3,490,158
Mike Furrey - $2,900,000
Shaun McDonald - $1,681,720
DeVale Ellis - $451,720
Kenneth Moore - $388,667
Ronald Bellamy - $376,720
Brandon Middleton - $376,720
John Standeford - $376,720
Taye Biddle - $370,000

WR's 2008 Dead Cap if Traded or Released:

Roy Williams - $2,568,333
Calvin Johnson - $1,606,720
Mike Furrey - $1,200,000
Shaun McDonald - $681,720
Kenneth Moore - $93,667
DeVale Ellis - $6,720
Ronald Bellamy - $6,720
Brandon Middleton - $6,720
John Standeford - $6,720
Taye Biddle - $0

Training Camp Battles (OL) - Cap Perspective

2008-08-09T10:20:00.006-04:00

12:15pm

As the start of the season approaches, the salary cap will be calculated differently. Beginning with the first game of the season, all money will be counted against the cap, not just the Top 51 player contracts. Player cuts can yield some salary cap charges for the current season, the following season, both or neither. In order to understand what happens to the Lions salary cap when we start the regular season, some common terms and phrases need to be understood.

Current year player cap charge is the charge that I've been calculating and posting in this blog for each free agent or drafted pick that is signed.
Dead Cap or Dead Money is cap charges that have to do with a player that is no longer with the team.
Current year cap savings (charge) - When a player is released or traded, their is a current year cap impact and potentially a future year cap impact (if that player is signed beyond the current season). Typically when a player is released, the team will save on money not yet played to a player, for the most part this is the base salary and can also include roster bonuses and/or incentives, depending on when they are due.
Future year cap savings (charges) - When a player is signed beyond the current season, his trade or release will have an impact on future years. After June 1st, all unamortized signing bonuses are accelerated to the following season (2009). Unless there are guarantees associated with the contract, the team will save by not being obligated to pay base salaries, Roster or Workout bonuses or incentives, but will be charged for all unamortized signing bonuses.

According to Nate Caminata's Projected Roster for the offensive line, the Lions would have $16,915,056 tied up in 9 players and an additional $8,720 in Dead Cap in 2008.

Current year Cap Charges:

Jeff Backus - $5,523,176
Dominic Raiola - $4,370,000
Edwin Mulitalo - $2,250,000
Gosder Cherilus - $1,280,000
George Foster - $1,106,720
Stephen Peterman - $933,720
Jonathan Scott - $511,000
Manny Ramirez - $487,053
Frank Davis - $453,387
Corey Hulsey - $451,720
Andy McCollum -$445,000
Carroll Madison - $297,000
Nick Jones - $295,000

2008 Dead Cap if Released or Traded:

Jeff Backus - $2,823,176
Gosder Cherilus $1,280,000
Dominic Raiola - $970,000
Edwin Mulitalo - $750,000
George Foster - 306,720
Manny Ramirez - $117,053
Jonathon Scott - $51,053
Frank Davis - $8,387
Stephen Peterman - $6,720
Corey Hulsey - $6,720
Carroll Madison - $2,000
Andy McCollum - $0
Nick Jones - $0

Leigh Bodden's Extension

2008-08-08T19:19:00.008-04:00

6:10am

Leigh Bodden's extension was finally updated in the NFLPA salary database, about two weeks after it was announced. Bodden had two years remaining on the contract that he had originally signed with the Cleveland Browns and reportedly agreed to a 4 year $27M extension. The original contract called for base salaries of $1.7M (2008) and $1.8M (2009) with playing time and interception incentives totalling $1M (2008) and $818,750 (2009). Bodden reportedly received a $2M signing bonus and has an $8.6M non-guaranteed roster bonus due in March of 2009. The new contract calls for base salaries of $700K (2008), $2.5M (2009), $3.5M (2010), $4.35M (2011), $3.45M (2012) and $4.4M (2013). The Lions generally don't have incentives tied to individual performances (i.e. interceptions), so I'd assume that the incentives were removed when they extended his contract and adjusted his base pay for 2008 and 2009. The contract likely includes various workout and roster bonuses due in the later years of the contract. Before signing the extension, Bodden's 2008 cap cost was $2.7M. Assuming the above, for 2008, Bodden would count $1,033,333 against the cap.

$700,000 Base Pay
$333,333 SB Amortization ($2M over six years)

Teddy Lehman was placed on Injured Reserve on August 4th and subsequently released on August 8th. Normally when a player is placed on Injured Reserve, they are done for the season and receive their base pay or split salary (if applicable). In Lehman's case, he'd be entitled to a split salary of $295,000. His injury wasn't significant enough for him to miss the entire season, but was significant enough for him to miss an extended period of time. Lehman likely received an injury settlement for quite a bit less than his split salary amount and will now have the option to sign on with another team later in the year.

Updated Kenneth Moore - When I originally estimated his signing bonus, I used the 2007 signing bonus of a player drafted at roughly the same overall position. The Lions have typically signed their 3rd round and lower draft picks to three year contract, but not all teams do this. The 2007 signing bonus that I used to estimate Moore's 2008 signing bonus was for a four year contract. Consequently, his 2008 estimated signing bonus should be about $281,000 instead of $381,000. The adjustment won't effect the Lions current salary cap, but will adjust his 2008 cap cost to $388,667.

$295,000 Base Salary
$93,667 SB Amortization ($281,000 over three years)

Based on the above, I'd estimate that the Lions are currently $4.2M under the salary cap.

Jordon Dizon Signs and Other Transactions

2008-07-29T16:42:00.011-04:00

1:00pm

Since July 23rd, the Lions have had several transactions.

Signed: Leon Joe (07/24/08), Jordon Dizon (07/25/08), Teddy Lehman (07/26/08), Eric Fowler (07/27/08), Eddie Johnson (07/30/08), Andy McCollum (07/31/08) and Nick Jones (07/31/08).
Claimed off Waivers: Taye Biddle (07/29/08)
Released: Jon Dunn (07/23/08), Alfred Fincher (07/26/08), Paul Ernster (07/29/08), Eric Fowler (07/30/08), Matt Butler (07/31/08) and Chris Patrick (07/31/08).
Place on Injured Reserve: Reggie Ball (07/27/08)
Extended: Leigh Bodden (07/25/08)

Jordon Dizon signed his contract on July 25th. Based on slotting, Dizon should make slightly less than Matt Forte's reported $3.7M contract and slightly more than the contract that Dewayne Jarrett (last years #45 overall pick) made. Based on the above and factoring in the way that Tom Lewand usually structures his contracts, I'd guesstimate Dizon's contract to be a four year, $3.6M contract that included a $1.4M signing bonus and a $495,000 one-time bonus with base salaries of $295,000 (2008), $385,000 (2009), $470,000 (2010), $555,000 (2011). Based on the above information and guesstimates, Dizon's 2008 Salary Cap Cost would be $645,000.

$350,000 SB Amortization ($1.4M over 4 years)
$295,000 Base Salary

Teddy Lehman and Leon Joe both have four accrued seasons in the NFL and both qualify for a minimum salary of $605,000. Neither player likely received a signing bonus and therefore their contracts would qualify for a veteran minimum treatment with the NFLPA subsidizing $160,000 of their contracts. Both Contracts would count $445,000 against the cap and neither contract would be part of the Top 51 player contracts and therefore neither contract would have an immediate effect on the Lions salary cap status.

$605,000 Base Salary
$(160,000) Subsidized by the NFLPA

Eric Fowler has zero accrued seasons in the NFL and qualifies for a minimum salary of $295,000. He signed his contract on 07/27/08 and was released on 07/30/08. His signing and subsequent release had no effect on the Lions salary cap status.

Eddie Johnson has one accrued season in the NFL and qualifies for a minimum salary of $370,000. His contract would not figure into the Lions Top 51 calculation.

Andy McCollum is a 13 year veteran and qualifies for a minimum salary of $830,000, assuming that his contract qualifies for vet minimum treatment, the NLFPA will pay $385,000 of his contract. McCollum's salary cap cost will be $445,000 and will currently not count against the Lion's salary cap.

Nick Jones hasn't accrued any seasons in the NFL and qualifies for a minimum contract of $295,000. His contract would not count against the Lions salary cap.

Taye Biddle has one accrued seasons in the NFL and was claimed off waivers. His contract includes base salaries of $370,000 (2008) and $460,000 (2009). His salary also will not effect the Lions current salary cap status.

Jon Dunn, Matt Butler and Chris Patrick were all scheduled to earn a base salary of $295,000. Their release has no effect on the Lions salary cap status.

Alfred Fincher was scheduled to earn a base salary of $520,000 and for Salary Cap purposes, was included in the calculation of the Lions Top 51 Contracts. His release will save the Lions about $65,000 against the salary cap.

Paul Ernster was scheduled to earn a base salary of $445,000 and for salary cap purposes, was not included in the calculation of the Lions Top 51 contracts. His release has no effect on the Lions salary cap status.

Reggie Ball was scheduled to earn $295,000 for the year. His contract likely included a split salary adjustment, which is basically an injury provision that allows for a lower base salary should the player end up on injured reserve. Ball has no accrued seasons in the NFL and his split salary adjustment will likely reduce his base pay for the season from $295,000 to $200,000. His contract is not part of the Lions' top 51 player contracts and at the current time, does not effect the Lions salary cap status.

Leigh Bodden signed an extension on July 25th, however, his salaries for 2010-2013 have not been updated in the NFLPA salary database. I'm not sure why his base salaries haven't been updated, it could be that the Lions organization have dragged their feet on submitting the contract to the NFL Management Council and consequently, it hasn't been forwarded to the NFLPA or the NFL Management Council is still reviewing the contract. If we assume that Bodden received the reported $2M signing bonus and has either an option bonus or a roster bonus (I've seen it reported both ways) due next March in the amount of $8.6M and the contract for 2008 and 2009 remains unchanged, Bodden would count $3,033,333 against the salary cap.

$1,700,000 Base Salary
$333,333 Renegotiation Bonus ($2M over six years)
$500,000 Roster Bonus
$500,000 LTBE bonus based on Interceptions and Playing Time

Updated Gosder Cherilus signed his contract on July 24th. Based on the information that I had at the time, I reported that he would count $1.4M against the cap. After obtaining additional information, I'd guesstimate his contract to include no signing bonus, a roster bonus of $985,000 payable at the start of training camp in 2008, a $1.85M one-time bonus based on 35% playing time and minimal team performance, an option bonus due in March of 2009 in the amount of $6,025,000 and base salaries of $295,000 (2008), $495,000 (2009), $745,000 (2010), $610,000 (2011) and $810,000 (2012). He's also likely due various workout and roster bonuses starting in 2010. Based on the above information and guesstimates, Cherilus would count $1,280,000 against the current years salary cap.

$295,000 Base Salary
$985,000 Roster Bonus

Based on the above information I'd estimate that the Lions are about $2.25M under the cap.

PUP . . .Questions and Answers

2008-07-27T14:46:00.005-04:00

11:20pm

What is PUP? - Physically Unable to Perform

Who is eligible? - All players are eligible to go on PUP at the start of training camp or before participating in any practices. Once you participate in practice, you are no longer eligible to be placed on PUP.

What are PUP players allowed to do? - They can participate in team meetings and rehab their injury, but they are forbidden from participating in team activities during practices.

Who did the Lions place on PUP? - Edwin Mulitalo, Daniel Bullocks, Dan Campbell and Shaun McDonald

What benefit is there from placing a player on PUP? - It's an insurance in case an injury lingers. When a player is injured at the start of season, a team has two options, they can place him on Injured Reserve and he's done for the season or they can have him sit on the sideline, while they wait for him to get healthy. If he was placed on PUP at the start of training camp, a team can continue to keep him on PUP until the sixth week of the season. This frees up another roster spot and with only 53 total roster spots during the season, it's important. After the sixth week of the season, the PUP player can practice with the team and a decision on whether to activate that player or keep him on Reserve/PUP has to be made by the 10th week of the season.

What have the Lions done in the past? - They faced that decision with Kevin Jones and DeVale Ellis last year. They elected to remove Kevin Jones from the PUP list at the start of the season and he was able to start playing during the third week of the season. DeVale Ellis practiced with the team after the sixth week, but the Lions elected to keep him on Reserve/PUP for the remainder of the season.

Rookies Signed

2008-07-24T17:41:00.014-04:00

11:30pm

On Tuesday, July 23rd, the Lions agreed to terms with six of their draft picks, Kevin Smith, Andre Fluellen, Kenneth Moore, Jerome Felton, Landon Cohen and Caleb Campbell. On the 24th, Gosder Cherilus agreed to terms with the Lions. The amounts below used to calculate the salary cap costs are from Adam Caplan's and Nate Caminata's reports on RoarReport.com.

Kevin Smith - Smith signed a three year contract that included a signing bonus of just under $650,000 and base salaries of $295,000 (2008), $385,000 (2009) and $470,000 (2010). Assuming a SB of $649,800, Smith's 2008 Salary Cap cost would be $511,000.

$216,600 SB Amortization ($649,800 over 3 years)
$295,000 Base Salary

Andre Fluellen - Fluellen signed a three year contract that included a signing bonus of just over $511,000 and base salaries of $295,000 (2008), $385,000 (2009) and $470,000 (2010). Assuming a SB of $511,200, Fluellen's 2008 Salary Cap cost would be $465,400.

$170,400 SB Amortization ($511,200 over 3 years)
$295,000 Base Salary

Jerome Felton - Felton signed a three year contract that included a signing bonus of just over $136,000 and base salaries of $295,000 (2008), $385,000 (2009) and $470,000 (2010). Assuming a SB of $136,200, Felton's 2008 Salary Cap cost would be $340,400.

$45,400 SB Amortization ($136,200 over 3 years)
$295,000 Base Salary

Landon Cohen - Cohen signed a three year contract that included a signing bonus of just under $44,000 and base salaries of $295,000 (2008), $385,000 (2009) and $470,000 (2010). Assuming a SB of $43,800, Cohen's 2008 Salary Cap cost would be $309,600.

$14,600 SB Amortization ($43,800 over 3 years)
$295,000 Base Salary

Kenneth Moore - Moore signed a three year contract that included base salaries of $295,000 (2008), $385,000 (2009) and $470,000 (2010). Assuming a SB of $381,000, Moore's 2008 Salary Cap cost would be $422,000.

$127,000 SB Amortization ($381,000 over 3 years)
$295,000 Base Salary

Caleb Campbell - Unfortunately, the Department of Defense changed their position on allowing Campbell to fulfill his military obligations in an alternative manner. Campbell had agreed to a contract, but since he was ordered to return to West Point to serve as an assistant, he didn't sign the contract. As a result, the Lions will retain his rights until next April's draft. If the Lions don't sign Campbell to a contract before then, he will reenter the draft. My guess is that next March, the Lions will talk to Campbell and see what he wants and/or what he is allowed to do and at that time, they may offer him another contract similar to the one that he had agreed to a few days ago.

Gosder Cherilus - Cherilus signed a five year, $12.5M contract that guarantees him $8.86M with a maximum value of $15M. He'll receive base salaries of $295,000 (2008), $1,600,000 (2009), $1,920,000 (2010), $2,240,000 (2011) and $855,000 (2012). Based on the above information and what the Lions have done in the past, I'm going to guesstimate his contract to include a $500,000 Signing Bonus, $1,005,000 Roster Bonus payable at the start of training camp, $950,000 one-time bonus, that I discussed in a prior blog entry and a $3,000,000 option bonus/salary advance due and payable in early 2009. Based on the above information and guesstimates, Cherilus' 2008 Salary Cap Cost would be $1,400,000.

$1,005,000 Roster Bonus
$100,000 SB Amortization ($500,000 over 5 years)
$295,000 Base Salary

Jordon Dizon - He is the only remaining unsigned draft pick. Earlier this week, Tom Lewand reported to the media, that they were close, but earlier today, Tom Kowalski reported that a deal isn't imminent. The Lions have always been fair with their contract offers and as a result, usually get all of their 2nd round or later draft picks in camp on time. Dizon is the only one that I can recall in recent years that hasn't made it in on time. My guess is that the outstanding drunk driving charge against Dizon is playing a negative role in the negotiations. I believe that the Lions are offering a contract below the slotting that typically takes place with rookie draft picks or are offering a contract in which less money is paid up front. Dizon was drafted 45th overall, Drew Stanton was drafted 43rd overall in last years draft. The contract that Dizon should receive, based on slotting, should be similar to what Stanton received, maybe slightly less because Stanton is a QB and QB's usually receive a higher contract than other draft picks. Stanton received a four year, $3.9M contract with $2.85M guaranteed.

Based on the above information and before adjusting for Leigh Bodden's extension, I show the Lions about $2.6M under the cap.

One of the Reasons for the Holdup on Rookie Signings

2008-07-21T15:15:00.005-04:00

9:00pm

According to John Clayton of espn.com, the NFLPA won it's special master grievance against the NFL management council. The grievance had to do with how "one-time bonuses" are counted against the salary cap. Why it's a problem, is a little complicated, but I'll explain what I understand about the bonus.

How a "One-time bonus" works. A player's agent has negotiated into his contract a bonus that is payable if he plays in 35% of the plays that is also only payable if the team does something, i.e. wins 3 games, finishes with 3,500 yards of total offense, etc . . .basically something that is easily attainable. For salary cap purposes, since it's a bonus that is based on a team performance and requires at least 35% playing time, the bonus is considered, non-likely to be earned (NLTBE). This is beneficial for the team giving the bonus, because the bonus isn't counted in the rookie year and only counts against the cap when NLTBE bonuses are reconciled against likely to be earned bonuses at the end of the year. Calvin Johnson had this type of bonus and I discussed it in a prior entry.

It's referred to as a "One-time" bonus because, if it's not earned in the initial year, it's available in the 2nd year, if it's not earned in either of the first two seasons, it's available to be earned in the 3rd season. In the final year of the contract, if it hasn't been previously earned, it's automatically payable no matter what. Because this "One-time" bonus is going to be earned at one point or another, it is considered a guaranteed bonus. Also, once it's earned, it voids in all subsequent seasons. If a player earns the bonus in the first season of his contract, the bonus is void in all subsequent years, hence the "One-time" bonus reference.

One aspect of this bonus is that it is guaranteed, even though when it's actually paid can vary. Typically, it's not a problem, it's just a guaranteed payment that is guaranteed to be paid by the final year of the contract. However, on May 20th, the owners elected to opt out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and by doing this, it created a problem with this type of bonus. After the owners made the election to opt out, the final year of the CBA accelerated to 2010. First round picks usually sign either a five or six year contract, which for this years rookie class will extend through the 2012 or 2013 season. The 2nd round draft picks usually sign four year contracts and those contracts will extend beyond the CBA into the 2011 season. So, by using this type of bonus, it guarantees a payment after the scope of the current CBA. According to the CBA, guaranteed payments due and payable after the CBA expires, are for salary cap purposes, supposed to be reallocated to capped years within the CBA (much the same way that Deion charges are allocated). This would increase the salary cap charges in the current years and also increase the "rookie cap".

The NFL management council contended that these bonuses needed to be reallocated to capped years and the NFLPA said that nothing needed to be done with these bonuses. The ruling came in favor of the NFLPA. Now that the Teams and Agents know how these bonuses will be treated for salary cap purposes, you will see more rookies signed.

Player Rumors and Drafted Rookies Update

2008-07-17T16:19:00.006-04:00

12:30am

Early last week, the Tampa Bay Tribune reported that the Lions are interested in Chris Simms. The NFL Network has reported that the Lions may be interested in Takeo Spikes and various media outlets have reported that Daunte Culpepper (acting as his own agent) has contacted the Lions offering his services.

Chris Simms - I don't doubt that the Lions have inquired about Chris Simms. Any team that potentially could use a quarterback, should inquire. The Lions currently have an aging veteran in Jon Kitna, a four-year jouneyman that has attempted 17 career passes in Dan Orlovsky and basically a rookie in Drew Stanton as last season, he was placed on injured reserve at the start of training camp. There are several good reasons for the Lions to consider a veteran QB and with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers having five on their current roster (four if you don't count Jake Plummer), they are looking to trade one before they have to cut someone before the start of the season and all the rumors have pointed to Chris Simms being the odd man out. Rod Marinelli was coaching the defensive line in Tampa for 3 seasons while Simms was there and we all know how Rod likes to sign players that he's familiar with. In many ways it does make sense for the Lions to pursue Simms, but my guess is that the Lions were just doing their "due diligence" in inquiring about Simms. Simms' $2M base salary is in line with what veteran backup QB's make, but if the Lions were to trade for Simms, they would have to free up $1.5M in cap space. I doubt that a trade is in the works, but I think the Lions would consider signing him if he were cut.

Takeo Spikes - The former pro bowl linebacker is an aging linebacker that could help the Lions as they try to get Jordan Dizon acclimated to the NFL. Spikes made $4.5M last year, but I don't think it'll cost that much to sign him as he was released by the Eagles at the start of free agency and hasn't landed a job yet. Considering his age, prior salary and the lack of a job, my guess is that it would cost somewhere between $1.5M and $2.5M to land Spikes. Once again, the Lions would have to free up some salary cap space if they were to sign him and if they are going to sign him, it'll likely be done before the end of the week.

Daunte Culpepper - Is his own agent and is looking for a job for the season. I think that his better days are well behind him and he won't be playing football this year. He negotiated a contract in which (I believe) he robbed the Raiders. Just by signing the contract, he was guaranteed $750K. Once he made the opening roster, he was guaranteed $2.6M and once he was on the team after the sixth game, he was guaranteed $3.2M for the season. I think he's looking for a similar contract this year and he's not going to get it. He's already turned down $1M contract from the Packers. I don't see any chance that the Lions sign Culpepper.

Our Rookie Draft Picks - The Lions have never signed their rookies early, but it's odd that they have only officially signed one draft pick, Cliff Avril. My guess is that they have basically agreed to the money that will be paid to all the rookies drafted in the third round or later, but are holding up the contracts to see how they want to recognize the money for salary cap purposes. Jordan Dizon's contract is likely very close to being finalized as well. Gosder Cherilus' contract will allow the most flexibility to manipulate the salary cap and if needed, could be manipulated to keep salary cap space free for a player like Takeo Spikes. If needed, Jason Hanson's contract could be extended to free up salary cap space or Cory Redding contract could be restructured to free up salary cap space.

Franchise Player Deadline

2008-07-15T10:43:00.003-04:00

Back in February of this year, 12 players received the franchise tag designation, 11 of which received the non-exclusive franchise tag. The deadline for these players to sign long-term contracts is today (July 15th). Any player that hasn't signed a long-term contract by today, can only sign a one-year contract.

Of the 12 players that received the franchise tag, two were traded and received long-term contracts from their new teams, Jared Allen - Vikings and Corey Williams - Browns. Two have signed long-term contracts with their 2007 team, Marcus Trufant - Seahawks and Dallas Clark - Colts. The other eight players face the July 15th deadline.

All eight of these players have until the end of today (July 15th) to sign a long-term contract. If they haven't signed a long-term contract by the end of today, they may only sign a one-year contract.

Nnamdi Asomugha was the only player that received the exclusive franchise tag. He has not signed his franchise tag tender yet, does not have the option to sign with another team and may only negotiate with the Oakland Raiders.

Players who receive the non-exclusive franchise tag designation are allowed to negotiate a contract with other teams, but if they sign a contract with another team, their former team has the option to match that contract and retain their rights or they can receive two first round draft picks as compensation from the new team. Of the seven remaining players, four have already signed their franchise tag tender Karlos Dansby, Jordan Gross, Stacy Anderews and LJ Smith. The other three (Terrell Suggs, Ken Hamlin and Albert Haynesworth) have yet to sign the franchise tag or a long-term contract.

Over the past two years, the Lions were facing this deadline with Cory Redding (2007) and Jeff Backus (2006). There is also a strong possibility that they will could face this deadline in 2009 with Roy Williams next year.

Cliff Avril Signs

2008-07-11T22:38:00.003-04:00

11:20pm

Cliff Avril

The Lions have signed their first rookie draft pick. According to Adam Caplan of RoarReport.com, on July 11th, Cliff Avril signed a 3 year contract that included a $484,000 signing bonus. His base salaries are $295,000 (2008), $385,000 (2009) and $470,000 (2010). His current year salary cap cost is $456,333 ($484,000 SB/3 years plus $295,000 Base Salary). As I've noted in the past, only the top 51 player contract count toward the cap until the first day of the season. Before Avril signed, the 51st highest Lions player contract counted $451,720 against the cap. Therefore, the current impact of Avril's contract reduces the Lions salary cap status by $4,500. The Lions are currently $3.9M under the cap.

June Transactions

2008-07-04T13:59:00.005-04:00

10:30pm

The months of May and June are a fairly boring time of year for the NFL. The Draft has concluded and teams are just beginning to sign their draft picks and it's no different for the Lions. They do, however, have a very good track record of getting their rookie draft picks signed before the start of training camp. Over the last three years, only one rookie wasn't signed before the start of training camp, Calvin Johnson. He missed one or two days last year, but that was only because he had a very complicated contract that needed to be written and once it was done, he was at camp. 75% of drafted rookies don't sign a contract until after July 4th. The start of training camp is at the end of July and there is nothing that can be gained by signing rookies at the end of June/early July that they'd lose if they were to sign the week before training camp.

Over the past month the Lions have released seven players and placed one player on injured reserve. This freed up eight roster spots and the Lions will need one more spot before they can officially sign all of the rookie draft picks. On June 17th, the Lions released Darrell Blackman, Justin Sanders and Ronyell Whitaker. On June 23rd, Allen Ervin, Greg Lee, Jonathan Lewis and Buck Reed were released. On the 24th of June, Shemiah Legrande was placed on Injured Reserve and is officially done for the season. None of these transactions had an impact on the Lions salary cap status.

Election to Void the CBA

2008-05-31T21:13:00.003-04:00

9:45pm

According to John Clayton of ESPN.com, on May 2oth, the owners officially opted out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). In March of 2006, the NFL and the NFLPA agreed to an extension to the CBA through the 2012 season, with a salary cap in effect through the 2011 season. The last year has always been uncapped and has always included some poison pills in an attempt to get the owners and the players to agree to extensions early. This last agreement included an option for either the NFL or the NFLPA to opt out of the deal early. With the owners electing to void the CBA early, the CBA will expire following the 2010 season, the salary cap will remain in effect through the 2009 season and the 2010 season will be uncapped and the final college draft would take place in April of 2011. The owners had until November of this year to make the decision, but elected to do it early in an attempt to get the ball rolling on negotiations.

Pat Kirwan of NFL.com, Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports and Jaguars.com, all wrote detailed articles explaining what will happen if an extension to the CBA is not reached in the near future. Judging from the contrasting points in all the articles written above, the media doesn't even know entirely what is going to happen if the CBA expires and neither do I, but from what I understand, this is how the expiration of the CBA could effect the Lions.

Until the Lions are positive or at least pretty certain of what is going to happen with the Collective Bargaining Agreement, I wouldn't expect Roy Williams to sign a long-term contract with the Lions. He'll be a free agent after this season (he has the option to void the 2009 season, which he'd be stupid not to). The Lions will franchise him and keep him if they want him to remain on the team or trade him if they don't, but they'll get decent value for him if they trade him. If no agreement is reached before the 2010 season, Roy will be franchised again (120% pay increase over his 2009 franchise salary of probably around $9M). Again, he'll either remain with the team if that's what the Lions prefer or they'll trade him and get decent value for him.
After the 2008 season, Jason Hanson, Paris Lenon, Stephen Peterman, Stanley Wilson, Langston Moore and Shaun McDonald are the only significant players that are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents (other than Roy). I'd look for the Lions to lock up Hanson this summer and the rest depending on how they perform in 2008. The ones who perform well during the season will likely be given an extension near the end of the year or early in 2009 (provided that the Lions choose to keep them), the others would be in a "wait and see" position.
Daniel Bullocks is the only significant current player that would have become an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2010, but would qualify for Restricted Free Agency if an extension to the CBA is not reached before then.

If an agreement isn't reached before March of 2011, most people believe that the Owners will lock out the players, basically barring them from participating in free agency. The owners from the small market teams can not afford to pay high end players without a salary cap that includes revenue sharing. Salaries for the top end players will sky rocket as the high market teams (Dallas, Washington, New England, etc) will pay top dollar to entice players to sign a contract and low market teams that depend on revenue sharing (Minnesota, Indy, Atlanta, etc) won't be able to compete. If they aren't able to compete, they will vote to lock out and the owners of the high market teams will vote with them because they need to protect themselves from themselves. All in all, what has been a win/win situation for both the owners and the players, will become a lose/lose situation for both the owners and the players. They will get a deal done to extend the CBA and keep the salary cap intact, it's in the best interest of everyone concerned (high market teams, low market teams, mid market teams, high caliber players, average players, minimum pay players).

May Transactions

2008-05-30T09:14:00.005-04:00

11:25am

The Lions have made a couple of moves in the 2nd half of May, but their roster remains maxed out at 80 players. Recently signed players have about one more month to impress the coaching staff as nine players will be released to free up roster spots to sign the recently drafted rookies. Recently drafted rookies receive a roster exemption until they sign a contract.

The Lions signed Greg Lee (WR) and UDFA Shemiah Legrande (DT) to one year contracts for the league minimum ($295,000). They also released Clark Harris and Isreal Route. They had both originally signed contracts on the 1st of January. The above transactions have a minimal effect on the Lions salary cap (less than $10,000).

Kalimba Edwards - When Edwards was released by the Lions in March, he was designated as a June 1st release. On Monday, June 2nd, the Lions will reap the rewards of that designation when they get an additional $4M of cap space for the current year with $2M of dead cap in 2009. The freed up cap space will be used to sign the bulk of the rookie draft picks.

$4M will not be enough to sign all of the rookie draft picks. Look for the Lions to make at least one significant move to free up cap space before training camp, either in the form of a significant cut, an extension for a player like Jason Hanson, Roy Williams or Dominic Raiola or a contract restructure of Cory Redding. One way or another the Lions will need to free up some cap space before they sign all of their rookie draft picks.

As of Monday, June 2nd, the Lions are about $3.9M under the salary cap.

Trying to find a diamond in the rough . . .

2008-05-15T16:10:00.003-04:00

7:55pm

This is the time of year where teams are looking for guys that could make an impact on their team. Every team would like to find an undrafted free agent that could make an instant contribution to their team, but at this time, what teams are looking for are players that they can develop. They will look at these players during the minicamps and training camp and sign to the practice squad the ones that show the most potential. The hope is that one of these UDFA's will turn into a diamond in the rough.

The Lions have reached their roster maximum with some recent signings and releases. None of the signings will effect their current cap status. Over the past several days, they signed four players that were players invited to tryout for the team. Matt Butler, Justin Sanders, Stephen Howell and Buck Reed all signed one year contracts for the league minimum, $295,000. The Lions also signed 2nd year DT, Jonathan Lewis, to a one year contract for $370,000 and 4th year CB, Ronyell Whitaker, to a one year contract for $520,000.

The Lions also released two players, Bobby Williams and Pacino Horne. Williams was an undrafted rookie that just signed a three year contract a couple of weeks ago. Horne signed a two year contract in early January.

The net effect of all of these transactions will likely have less than a $10,000 effect on the salary cap status for the current year.

Evaluating Marinelli . . .from a Salary Cap perspective

2008-05-14T05:10:00.003-04:00

5:30am

During the off-season, I've seen many posts in the RoarReport Forum and other places that question whether Rod Marinelli is the right man for the job. I've responded to a few, but since a good portion of my answer has to do with the limits of the salary cap, I decided to post a blog entry.

When Rod Marinelli came here in January of 2006, he had a roster of about 70 "Men". Since that time, he's completely overhauled the roster, with only 15 guys remaining since he took over a little more than two years ago. Four starters (Backus, Raiola, Redding, Williams), Three special teamers (Hanson, Harris, Mulbach), and Eight Backups (DeVries, K. Smith, Wilson, Orlovsky, Lewis, Cody, Fitzsimmons, McHugh). By the time of our first regular season game, I could see as many as another third of those guys gone.

Did it need to be overhauled to the extent that he has done it? I can't answer that. I think it obviously needed to be overhauled, but I'm not sure as to what extent. There were only four guys that are gone that had some substantial value to other teams (S. Rogers, Bly, Woody, Bailey). They all signed multi-year contracts with their new teams and/or we got some significant trade value for them. However, most of the guys from the 2006 starting roster have signed minimal salary contracts or are out of football.

There are several problems with overhauling a roster to the extent that it's been overhauled. The biggest is the "dead cap" that is associated with cutting/trading so many players. For a more detailed breakdown of the consequences as it relates to the Lions, refer to my Dead Cap blog entry, where I outline the $50M plus that the Lions have wasted since Marinelli has taken over. I think the bulk of it needed to be done, but none-the-less, it's wasted money and salary cap.

Many people have suggested that Marinelli should have overhauled the roster in one year and been done with it. Here's the problem with doing that. If on June 1st of 2006, the Lions went ahead and cut or traded everyone that is not currently on today's roster. They would have had in excess of $33M of dead cap in 2006 and in excess of $45M of dead cap in 2007, but everyone would be off the books as we were heading into 2008. Technically, it could be more than that, if you factor in guaranteed payments, which is information that I only have limited knowledge of.

The 2006 roster would have only had 24 guys under contract (Kitna, Backus, Raiola, Scott, F. Davis, Roy, Campbell, Fitzsimmons, Furrey, Calhoun, Orlovsky, Sims, Redding, Lenon, DeVries, Cody, Bullocks, K. Smith, Wilson, Lewis, Cannon, Hanson, N. Harris, Mulbach) and we would have had $37M to sign 29 guys or about $1.25M per player. Guys like Paris Lenon, Jared DeVries, Shawn Bryson, Marcus Bell, Rex Tucker, Teddy Lehman and Barry Stokes would all fall into the ballpark of a "$1.25M" player. The even bigger problem come in 2007. If we cut all the players in 2006 (like many suggest) and acquired $45M of dead cap, we couldn't have signed all the players that we signed in 2007, we would have been in excess of $10M over the cap. We could have not signed, White, Furrey, Mulitalo and McDonald and been under the cap . . .but all of those guys were significant acquisitions. This is why a roster overhaul has to be done in phases. In the initial stage, you get rid of the guys that you a positive aren't right for the team that you want (Joey, C. Rogers, D. Wilkinson, etc.) and you give the others a chance to see what they can do. During year two, you clean out the bulk of the ones that need to go (Bly, J. Hall, M. Williams, M. Bell, etc.). Rogers needed to be given a chance in 2007, he was cheap ($1.5M of new money), which he was well worth. Same with Boss ($1.1M of new money), you're not going to get a starting LB for $1.1M.

It is very unrealistic to make over a roster in one year. Yea, it could be done, but I don't think it's the best way to do it. The strain that it places on the cap is one thing, but also you have to find guys to replace the ones that are shipped out. Right now, with the spike in the salary cap, it's harder to find quality guys in the free agent market as teams have more money to keep the plyers that they want to keep.

Miguel keeps track of the Patriot's salary cap. He knows what he is doing and probably keeps the most detailed and accurate salary cap records for any one team on the internet. Here's the link to his site, Patscap.com/, if you look at his records, he has the Patriots with $5.1M of dead cap in 2006, $6M of dead cap in 2007 and currently $8.8M of dead cap thus far in 2008 for a total of $19.9M over the three year span. The Lions, on the other hand have had $52M of dead cap over the same time frame. So what would Billicheck and the Patriots have done if they would have had to operate their roster with and additional $32M of dead cap (52M-19.9M)? Well, it's hard to say. During the three year span, Tom Brady counted almost $36M against the cap . . .how would they have done if they didn't have Tom Brady and had to use Matt Cassel at QB? Or how would they have done without Randy Moss, Mike Vrabel, Adalius Thomas and Laurance Maroney . . .That's about the same amount of cap space to put the Patriots on the same playing field with the Lions.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Marinelli can do when he finally gets to spend the same amount of money as a Belichick or a Dungy, but unfortunately, it won't happen until 2009.

Lions allocated $4,815,910 for the rookie pool

2008-05-07T23:11:00.006-04:00

12:30am

According to John Clayton of ESPN, the Lions were allocated $4,815,910 for the Rookie Pool. The Rookie pool is a mechanism within the Collective Bargaining Agreement designed to limit salaries paid to rookies. Unfortunately, it is designed poorly and consequently doesn't work effectively.

The easiest way to understand the Rookie pool is to understand that it's a "Salary Cap within a Salary Cap". The Lions have a total of $116,729,000 of salary cap space and within that $116,729,000, they are allowed to use a maximum of $4,815,910 of salary cap space to sign current year drafted players and undrafted free agents.

Typically, the Lions and all other NFL teams, sign their lower round draft picks first and sign players in reverse order from when they were drafted. The rationale for signing the players in this order is because there is more flexibility in how you can allocate payments to a first round selection as opposed to a 7th round selection. A seventh round selection will get somewhere under $40,000 guaranteed money where our first round draft pick will get somewhere in the neighborhood of $8M in guaranteed money. It's a lot easier for a team to manipulate the salary cap with an $8M guaranteed contract than it is with a $40,000 guaranteed contract.

Look for the lower round draft picks to start signing in late June or early July, Jordon Dizon to sign a week before training camp and Gosder Cherilus to sign a day before or the day of training camp.

My initial guess is that the Lions will not use all of the allotted rookie pool cap money. They'll still use all of their salary cap money, but instead of using it on rookies, they'll use it on veterans. The Lions are already tight against the cap and if they were to use all their rookie pool allotment, they'd have to cut some veterans or restructure some contracts to free up the necessary cap space to use $4.8M.

The Lions are currently about $450,000 under the salary cap and will get an additional $4M of cap space on June 1st when Kalimba Edwards (designated as a June 1 release) officially comes off the books. Typically, the Lions enter the regular season with about $2M of cap space, this will allow them to sign additional players when injuries occur and to potentially negotiate long-term contracts with players with expiring contracts. Expect the Lions to renegotiate a player contract or two and/or extend a player or two. Candidates that have contracts that could allow the Lions to free up some cap space through an extension or a contract renegotiation are Cory Redding, Roy Williams, Jason Hanson and Dominic Raiola.

Chris Patrick - Patrick was a tryout player at the Lions rookie mini-camp. He signed a one-year contract with the Lions for the league minimum and likely got a signing bonus of a couple thousand dollars. His current year salary cap cost is less than $300,000 and would not effect the Lions current salary cap status.

The Draft and Rookie Minicamp

2008-05-02T13:53:00.008-04:00

3:00pm EDT

The Draft - During the College draft, the Lions drafted 9 total players. Until they sign a contract, they are exempt from the 80 player roster maximum. For salary cap purposes, they count $295,000 against the cap (the league minimum for players with no NFL experience). Under the rules of the CBA, until the 1st regular season game, the top 51 player salaries count against the cap and in the Lions case, the minimum salaries will not effect the Lions cap status. Typically, the Lions begin signing their rookie draft picks in late June or early July, with Dizon and Cherilus likely to be signed just before the start of training camp in mid to late July. The following players were drafted by the Lions, don't occupy a roster spot and count $295,000 against the salary cap.

Gosder Cherilus, OT
Jordon Dizon, LB
Kevin Smith, RB
Andre Fluellen, DT
Cliff Avril, DE
Kenneth Moore, WR
Jerome Felton, FB
Landon Cohen, DT
Caleb Campbell, S/LB

After the draft, the Lions made a couple of Roster moves, by releasing Ben Noll, signing Artose Pinner and releasing Derek Morris.

Ben Noll - Noll spent the entire 2007 season on the Lions practice squad, signed a two year contract on 01/01/08 and was officially released on 04/28/08. The contract was for the league minimum and did not include a signing bonus. Therefore, the Lions will have no dead cap or any other salary cap consequences associated with Noll's release.

Artose Pinner - Pinner was originally drafted by the Lions in the 4th round of the 2003 draft and was waived by Marinelli before the start of the 2006 season. On April 30th, Pinner signed a one-year contract for $605,000. No other financial details were disclosed. Pinner signed for the league minimum for players with four accrued seasons, likely had no signing bonus and his contract will qualify for veteran minimum treatment with the NFLPA subsidizing $160,000 of his contract. Pinner's current year cap cost is $445,000.

Derek Morris - Morris was signed to a two-year contract on 01/01/08 and was officially released on 05/02/08. The contract was for the league minimum and did not include a signing bonus. Therefore, the Lions will have no dead cap or any other salary cap consequences associated with Morris' release.

Undrafted Free Agents - College players that are not selected in the NFL draft are designated as Undrafted Free Agents (UDFA). They are free to negotiate a player contract with any NFL team. The Lions have signed six UDFA's. These players likely signed a three year contract for the league minimum and received a small signing bonus (likely less than $10,000, but some UDFA's can command a larger amount if enough teams are interested). The following UDFA's signed a contract with the Lions in the days following the draft. None of their salaries will count in the Top 51 calculation.

Darrell Blackman, WR
Allen Ervin, RB
Rudolph Hardie, DE
Carroll Madison, G
Tyrone Pruitt, LB
Bobbie Williams, CB

Since Rod Marinelli has taken over as coach of the Lions in 2006, he has held the rookie mini-camp the week after the draft. He brings in a full 53 man roster so that he can run a full practice with the rookies. Players participating in the rookie mini-camp include, the 9 drafted players, 6 UDFA's signed by the Lions, 6 1st or 2nd year players currently on the Lions roster and 31 other UDFA's. The other UDFA's are college players that have not signed a contract with any other NFL team, including the Lions. They are brought in and allowed to compete with the other players and hope to sign a contract with the Lions. If my calculations are correct, we could sign up to 5 of these tryout players. We could sign more and release someone or we could sign less and find someone else to sign, but either way, the Lions will be at the 80 player maximum within a few days. Frank Davis is a former UDFA tryout player that ended up signing an UDFA contract and eventually made the Lions Active Roster. For a complete list of players participating in the rookie mini-camp, visit the Lions website, Rookie mini-camp participants