Lombardi Writes Jets Are in ‘Cap Jail’
Mike Lombardi of National Football Post is keeping up his claims on the Jets and their salary cap status.
The ‘Skins, Colts, Jets, Saints and Raiders will be doing a lot of restructuring of contracts and waiving players in the coming days. All those teams are in cap jail, and it will take some creative thinking to get them out. In the case of the Jets and Raiders, they were the two biggest spending teams in UFA last year. And they both had top-10 draft picks. In this system, it’s very hard to have a top-10 pick and be aggressive in the UFA market. When you do that in one year, the next year you have to take off as the salary cap numbers become bigger.
Restructuring? Yes, but only if the Jets want to be serious players in FA. Cap jail? I’m not so sure.
I’m hearing that the Jets aren’t exactly looking to make a big splash and move around a lot of contracts to do so come free agency this year, but at the same time, the term “cap jail” seems erroneous, there’s room and they’ll likely make more. The team is already under if even barely. The Star-Ledger’s David Hutchinson has reported that the team is almost $17 million under the cap, meanwhile Rich Cimini says it’s $10 million and ESPN’s John Clayton says it’s $7.5 million. Jason at NYJetsCap.com says it’s close to the projected cap right now, but still under.
I emailed Mike Lombardi today, asking him the following:
Mike-
I was hoping you could expand upon your assumption that the Jets are in “cap jail.”
I’ve seen it mentioned on the AFC East Blog on ESPN.com that they were $34 million over in your interview on The Herd. Please note that my plan is to publish a reply on my blog about the Jets:
A few things I am trying to understand from your points:1) According to Tim Graham, you have asserted that the $34 million is what the team is over … is that correct?
2) My understanding is that the $34 million comes from guaranteed roster bonus money to players like Rhodes, Pace, etc. … is that what you meant? If not, where did you get the $34 million over the cap figure? Please be specific.
3) By my and many around the team’s best piecing together the data, the Jets are currently under the cap (but not by much) for 2009 with the cutting of David Barrett and the retirement of Brett Favre. More moves would need to be made if they want to be free agent players, but the assumption is that the team is already under the cap … do you disagree?
–
Brian Bassett
www.thejetsblog.com
Mike was kind enough to reply with this:
they are 34 million over, before they got back Favre’s money. they have a lot of incentives that will have to carry forward and they might not be working with a 123 million cap. they will have cost that they occured this year that will be deducted from their cap. I am not makingn this up. they spend like crazy last year and they had a top ten pick. hard to spend money each year…
58 Responses to Lombardi Writes Jets Are in ‘Cap Jail’
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Kyle says:
He is basing it off $123 million cap.
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JesusRevis says:
I find all of this very confusing, but from what we’ve seen, MikeTannenbaum is very good when dealing with cap numbers.
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With quarterback Brett Favre’s $13 million salary officially coming off the books today — the best thing he has done for the team since their 8-3 start, the Jets are a whooping $15.5 million under the 2009 projected salary cap of $124 million.
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Electric Ham says:
Doesnt seem like a very professional response
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sec108 says:
Hutch says we are $15.5 million under?
http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2009/02/jets_sitting_comfortably_under.html
I understand there are incentives met from last years contracts that need to be calculated as well, as Bent has been kind enough to post on several occasions, but how does this explain and almost $50 million disparity between these two “experts”?
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JtotheEtotheTtotheS! says:
So do we have money to play with?
Needs?
1. Inside LB
2. DB opposite Revis
3. WR or keep coles for 1 more?
4…. -
swizzle81 says:
Bart Scott.
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NickyLibs says:
I wanted to try to get exact numbers on the cap,but for right now, this is the best website I can find that explains the cap situation.
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Like many stories, I’m sure the real answer lies somewhere between the two. If the Jets are indeed as far over as Lombardi insinuates, then we will see a lot of cuts and restructured contracts in the next few weeks.
I tend to think the NFL cap is a lot like the old shell game and the better GMs are adept in keeping the ball (cap) moving around before the NFL can get a solid read on it.
Overall, I’m not too worried — aside from the Favre/Pennington move last summer, Tanny has shown an ability to get the team under the cap when necessary without dumping critical talent.
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I think Mike Lombardi has personal vandettas against the Jets and everything he writes is bias and false
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I almost threw up when I saw how much money Gholston is getting.
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steviek says:
alot tbd. but have to figure big name fa’s are out.
target certain positions and should have a pretty good guess what contracts different guys will get (not want), plus have a very solid idea of what the draft picks will cost.
so the trick is to get under far enought to target the (2nd) tier guys you want, the draft and leave some wiggle room.
of course, the league cap number has a big impact on how much restructuring will be needed, how much other teams have to spend and what the market will be. but as we’ve seen time again, the large majority of dollars go to the big names.
i dont know about anyone else, but i dont see much out there in area of needs for the jets in that 2nd tier.
bringing in 5 big fa’s won’t be happening this year. -
Dont blame Gholsten, blame the system. That is why so many veterans have spoken out against this. High draft picks get paid way too much.
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one more thing… have to think franchises are tempted to try to recreate what’s happening in baseball and really drive down prices.
some big early signings and then a dead market. -
Lance Mehl says:
What is Lombardi talking about?
and I agree, that response is about as professional as Bevis and Butthead ..
can anyone write a blog? sure makes me appreciate this one .. thanks for clarifying BB ..
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I’m not blaming Gholson on this one, I just never really paid much attention to what he was making. Now that I know,I can understand why everyone is so quick to call him a bust.
Also, why can’t we cut Baker. If the numbers are right on http://nyjetscap.com/, we will have $2,100,000 more in caproom.
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Baker is a solid Tight end, and since Rex Ryan will put a heavy emphasis on running the ball, and Keller isnt a traditional blocking tight end, I dont think the Jets can afford to just cut Baker without a viable option in place.
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Justin says:
Lets get Ray Lewis and Michael Vick.
Then we can have a dog murderer and a real murderer
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I like Baker too,but 2 Mil would help out the cause greatly. We need the money to spend on rookie contracts or signing a decent FA. Also, what about Brad Smith. That would be another $530,000 in savings. I mean what has that guy done for us besides that awful lateral to Cothery in the rain? And Eric Smith would save us another $530,000 if we let him go. Thats at least 3 million on guys we don’t really need. I could see an arguement for Baker, but not the other two.
I’m not trying to bash players here,but we have to save some money for the cap,and these are just some ideas I’m throwing out to get some responses.
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Chris says:
http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2009/02/jets_sitting_comfortably_under.html
Hutch just wrote an article about this very subject
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Plus backup TE’s can be either picked up for cheap or taken real late in the draft. Look what Kevin Boss did for the Giants.
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brian311 says:
wow – lombardi seems like a total DB.
moore will be restructured – should save a few mil there. the biggest question is ellis. i believe he is the longest tenured jet and fans should feel a sense of loyalty to him for that. but his 2009 cap number is no where close to his worth to the team. and he did not help himself out with the off-the-field problem this year. if the team was truly in cap hell he would already be gone…
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jim says:
tannenbaum’s an idiot for spending like that last year.. he could’ve got the same guys he did for less money and we’d have breathing space to be contenders for guys like ray lewis, bart scott, etc. without having to ruffle feathers and make amends a week before free agency.. these days you gotta be stingy with your money.. ellis is past his prime and is a major cap casualty, i doubt he’d be willing to restructure so he might have leave, long snappers is worth a mil (bye bye) bradon moore has to leave or get restructured.. pace rhodes might have to restructure for the health of the team
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Doctor K says:
I envision trading down even out of the 1st round in order to try to amass lower draft picks and save some money. I don’t know about you, but outside the first 10 picks the rest of the draft is thin.
Also, look for Trader Mike to package a vet or two on Draft Day for a solid pick if available. (We all have been waiting for that in his tenure and maybe this is the year?) -
FernandoQ says:
Justin LMAO!!!!
I cant even respond to that LOL!!!!!!
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Bent says: No – the answer is not somewhere between the two. There is no basis whatsoever to Lombardi’s figures and his response to Bassett smacks of a guy who thinks we’ll believe anything he tells us. He asked for specifics and got a bunch of mumbo jumbo about bonus incentives which from his response I’m not sure he even understands.
Justifying it by saying they spent a lot of money last year (and they don’t “spend money each year” – where on earth did that come from?) and had a top ten pick makes no sense because every $ of those deals is accounted for in the numbers – which, by the way ARE all based on a $123m cap (what – did he think they were working off a $160m cap or something?)
The information of Cimini, Hutch etc comes straight from the NFL Players association and Jason’s figures are accurate, it’s just that the Jets may already have restructured deals that have yet to be announced.
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SackDance99 says:
The 17th pick will cost the Jets about $9-9.5M in guaranteed money. If it’s a QB, the deal will probably exceed the Flacco (18th pick in ’08) contract of $30M over 5 years with $8.75 guaranteed. Gosder Cherilus at 17 was guaranteed a little more, but his 5 year deal was worth half as much. Even believing Hutch, which I do, the Jets will need more than $15M if they want to be big players in free agency. If that’s the case, Moore’s contract should be restructured, Bowens and Baker could be cut. I think Ellis’ contract for his production isn’t that bad. And, as much as I like Dearth, $1M for a long snapper is a huge sum.
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JDB says:
this makes no sense, hell Charley Casserly said during the playoffs that they were what, 7 million to 10 million over. Mike is being very stubbornly stupid. there is no way Mike T would allow the team to be 34 million over, i think he would kill himself
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I find it funny that people are so quick to just dump our players. And what is the solution? Dump our own players who have played well for us for other free agents? Seems like we would probbaly just be getting the same results, why dump the guys we already have? Baker makes 2 million next year, thats not a lot of money, if we cut him we’re just going to have to spend that money on another tight end, and Baker is probably better than any of the free agent tight ends on the market. As far as Brad Smith, saving around $500,000 isn’t a big enough saving to warrant cutting one of our guys.
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Bent says:
Sack – we will only need about 4-5m for the rookies. Remember that 9m would be spread over the life of the contract, so the cap hit for 2009 would only probably be 2-3m. Still – is the remaining 10m or so enough for them to be “big players in free agency”? Well, maybe not compared to last year, where they had over twice as much cap room.
Moore’s contract may already have been restructured. If Hutch’s figures are correct, some contracts have probably already been restructured, although my money is on Pace and Rhodes, which would get the Jets to somewhere near that 15.5m under. There may also be an extension for Ratliff in there somewhere – Cimini reported that he signed a 2 year 855K extension in August, but apparently the NFLPA did not recognize this as recently as a few days ago.
Dearth is going nowhere IMO. He got an 8 year deal for a reason, so they wouldn’t need to worry about that position for a long time.
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ED says:
Ham, you’re being kind.
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Bent says:
Baker becomes entitled to 9m guaranteed if still on the team in the first week of March. That will make it expensive to cut him over the next few years. Expect a decision on him within the next few weeks. How many games last year did he actually have an impact. All I remember is that every time he caught the ball I was like “oh yeah, I forgot about him”.
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Anthony C says:
Listen for a second…
If they cut B. Moore, $5 milllion, Ellis $5million, and Baker, $2 million, possibly even Bowens, $2.6 million..they can cut $15 million, which will only end up costing them 3-4 million in dead money next year.
Moore can be replaced possibly by Turner. Ellis could be replaced possibly by a draft pick or veteran FA., Baker and Bowens could also do the same thing as cheaper talent. And in Ryan’s system…he found a jewel like Jim Leonhard…never know..we could have a similar find here. Possibly even move B. Thomas to DE to unleash the ‘freak’ in Gholston, haha
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Carl Parisien says:
Jean Carl Parisien says I think the cap space wil be a major factor in the draft and any new signings. The Jets are caught between a rock and a hard place.
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Cutting Bowens make sense since his playing time should be replaced by Gholsten. I still cant agree on cutting Brandon Moore. Did we learn nothing from the Pete Kendall fiasco?
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Bent says:
Carl – no they aren’t.
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Joe B. says:
Lombardi is beyond clueless. Why anyone gives what this guy says any credence, I’ll never understand. Peter King has more journalistic integrity than Lombardi. His response to Bassett is both comically and outrageously uninformed and vague. Bassett, let other morons pay attention to this loser. Smart Jet fans know who to listen to.
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Bent says:
They don’t *need* to cut anyone. The only reason they should cut anyone is if they can get a better replacement for the same money or an equivalent replacement for less.
Ellis and Moore’s contracts can be restructured to more cap friendly numbers without affecting the actual money they receive.
Bowens and Baker you may have a point.
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I think his response to Bassett was not only uninformitive and vague, but also disrespectful.
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I dont understand what everones beef is with Ellis? Those of you who would like to cut him, can I have a reason why??
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Nothing against him..he’s just not a DE in a 3-4, he’s better suited I think in a 4-3…I have season tickets, and I don’t remember 1 play he did last year.
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Well he did have 8 sacks, which compared to other 3-4 DE’s would make him an elite player.
If the Jets got rid of Ellis they would have a HUGE hole at DE, and Mike DeVito is NOT the answer. Stick with Ellis.
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If you compare Ellis’ numbers to other 3-4 Defensive Ends I don’t see how you could possibly justify cutting him, or claim that he cannot play 3-4 DE.
Shaun Ellis – 60 tackles 8 sacks 2 FF
Richard Seymour – 52 tackles 8 sacks 0FF
Ty Warren – 41 tackles 2 sacks 1 FF
Igor Olshansky – 29 tackles 2 sacks 0 FF
Luis Castillo – 39 tackles 1.5 sacks 1 FF
Aaron Smith – 60 tackles 5.5 sacks 0 FF
Chris Canty – 37 tackles 3 sacks 0 FF
Marcus Spears – 35 tackles 1 sack 1 FFBased on last seasons numbers it appears Ellis did a great job playing 3-4 DE, actually, his numbers were the best of ALL of the 3-4 D-ends. He probably should of made the pro bowl, or atleast been an alternate.
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MARS says:
Dre Bly was cut today. He will be 32, maybe they can bring him in relativly cheap to compete for the 2nd CB slot
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todd says:
yea why dont we sign anyone who qualifies for an NFL AARP card, ty law and now rumblings about Chris McCaslister and dre’ bly! LOL!!!!!!
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i dont know id just rather try and groom a rookie like lowery or someone like that. i mean can we keep filling in these positions by patch work guys? eventually they need to be filled by a long term solution.
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Great suggestion todd, you think of that all by yourself…
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todd – just because the jets sign a veteran doesnt mean they cant groom Lowery. Veterans usually help in doing this by providing leadership and experience. Ty Law is a bad example because from what I hear he is quite immature and selfish, but I dont think the same goes for Mcalister.
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i understand that im just getting tired of these veterans coming in and being failures (ie: favre and ty law)
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im glad you can use sarcasm MARS…
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largebarge says:
JesusRevis
You are very wise, young grasshopper!!! I could’nt agree more with just about everything you’ve stated above!!! This “Cut Everyone” attitude is just plain assinine!!! The moment Favre announced his retirement, the Jets cap situation became a much improved situation!!! That said, I would really like too see the Jets pick up FA, Jim Leonhard, from Baltimore!!! He’s expressed interest in coming here, he knows Rex’s defensive schemes, and as I’ve stated before, He’s like a Tornado, with legs!!!
As far as the draft is concerned, If he’s still available at #17, I’d take Vontae Davis, CB Illinois! If he’s gone, we should strongly consider Josh Freeman, QB Kansas State!!! But, who “I” truly want in Green next year, is Kenny Britt, WR Rutgers!!! Next too Michael Crabtree, I think Britt is the most talented WR in the ’09 draft…..IMO!!!
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largebarge, thanks for the compliments. As far as free agency goes, I would love Jim Leonhard as well, and I believe he would be moderately priced. I would also like Bart Scott to fill the void left by Eric Barton. And as for the draft, I am a Vontae Davis fan as well, although I have heard he has a reputation for being undedicated. Otherwise, I would take the best WR or RB available. Goodnight everyone
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EddieC says:
what about dre bly?? he was just cut by the broncos- i dont know much about him though…
(btw he was cut along with D-ROB)
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Anthony C -
You can’t remember one play Ellis made last season? I guess you were one of the deserters at the Bills game then?
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joe b., i was thinking the same thing. i mean the guy had 8 sacks as a 3-4 DE. he also had numerous other impact plays over the course of the season. im not sayin hes our best defender, cause i think we all know who that is, but ellis definitely earned his paycheck last year.
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CHris says:
I guess he did make it up. Nice job, loser.
From my own personal knowledge I think Mike Lombardi is wrong about the Jets cap situation but I dont understand why he continues to make these claims? Does anyone have precise, accurate information on the Jets current cap situation? Are you sure Lombardi is wrong?