Salary Cap Update: UFA Contract Offers
Now that the one of the Jets’ UFAs (Jay Feely) has been signed by another team, they can now start to explore the possibility of signing another UFA.
The rules state that a final eight team cannot sign an unrestricted free agent until they have had one of their own unrestricted free agents picked up by another team and the player they sign to replace that player must not have a first year cap number that exceeds that of the outgoing player. Further complicating matters are the rules whereby 2011′s salary cannot exceed 130% of the 2010 salary, which limits the extent to which you can backload a deal.
The Jets may simply use their new found ability to acquire an unrestricted free agent to sign Feely’s replacement, but – in case that doesn’t happen – it’s worth looking at what they could potentially offer to another UFA, namely Darren Sharper.
I attempt to break this down after the jump…
The first step is to determine Feely’s first year cap number. Unfortunately, we don’t have full details of his breakdown, but Bob Glauber via his twitter feed gave us this:
Jay Feely contract with Cardinals is 2-year, $4.8 million deal, incl. 1st-year salary of $1 million…$500,000 signing bonus, $1.5 million in other roster, escalator, incentives.
Some people were wondering why Feely’s first year salary was so low and questioning whether the Cardinals did this to screw the Jets over. It doesn’t make a whole deal of sense to defer a large chunk of the salary until next year, when there could be a salary cap and from Feely’s point of view, he risks losing that money if he doesn’t perform this year. However, I expect the Cardinals are not a team that will be looking to maximize their spending in 2011 even if there is a cap and Feely does still make out better than he would have by accepting the offer from the Jets because of the bonus money he receives upfront.
Although the salary is only $1m, it is the cap number which is important. The signing bonus money will be prorated over the two years, so that will raise his first year cap number to at least $1.25m. It will be even higher unless all of the rest of the bonus money applies in that second year, which seems unlikely. Let’s work on the basis that this lower figure is the worst case scenario and use that.
The next phase is to work out what Darren Sharper might want. He played last season for $1.7m, which might initially appear to put him out of the Jets’ price range, especially when he outperformed his contract and played more like the guy who previously signed a $30m deal over six years. However, considering his age and the fact he is coming off an injury, I’d imagine his demands will be somewhere in the region of $2.5m (and that’s if he isn’t prepared to accept less for the chance to play with the Jets).
Here’s how the Jets could make an offer that would pay him more than that:
The minimum salary for a guy with over 10 years experience is $860K, so they would have to give him that. This leaves them $390K in potential bonus pro-ration that they could have and still stay below a first year cap charge of $1.25m. Signing bonuses can be pro-rated for up to six years, so the Jets could potentially pay him a signing bonus of up to $2.34m (along with the $860K salary), by giving him a six year contract. Of course, they would have no intention of keeping him for six years and would release him (or he would retire) at the end of the first season, or after the second season if he was willing to play two seasons for a total of around $4.3m.
There are other things they could do. For example, if he was willing to play 2010 for a lower amount, they could potentially give him a completion bonus to get around the fact that compensation is not supposed to increase by more than 30%. However, with a lockout pending, this would appear to be unnecessarily risky on Sharper’s part, especially since he will turn 37 during the 2012 season.
If Feely’s first year cap number is higher than $1.25m, the amount they could potentially offer him as a signing bonus upfront would increase. They might even be able to give him a realistic two or three year deal that would not need to be renegotiated after the first year.
If any of the other Jets UFAs are picked up, I would not expect them to get more than the veteran’s minimum, which would mean that it might be impossible to sign Sharper, because the only Jets UFA with more than 9 credited seasons is Larry Izzo (Dearth and Douglas apparently have 9 each, which would mean that a veteran minimum contract would only pay them $760,000).
In conclusion, if the Jets do have designs on signing Darren Sharper, they should wait before they pull the trigger on Rackers, otherwise they might not get the chance.
24 Responses to Salary Cap Update: UFA Contract Offers
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Bent says:
It doesn’t HAVE to be Sharper, I just used him as an example!
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TOON2388 says:
I still have flashbacks of Lott dropping easy pick 6 in LA Coliseum in game we blew 17-0 lead in 1993…Sharper would be huge mistake
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Bent says:
Devil’s Advocate: When Sharper signed for the Saints last year, he was the same age as when Lott signed with the Jets. What if the Saints had felt the same way you do, Toon? No Superbowl, probably!
Actually, I’m not firmly on the Sharper bandwagon. I favor drafting a safety in round two and letting him compete for playing time with Pool, but this post gives you the full picture in terms of their options.
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Reprocity says:
Any idea what type of money Coles would be looking for?
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Ken Hamlin anybody??? He got cut so it wouldn’t count as a RFA. Never seen the guy play though…
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*URFA
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Bent says:
Repo – Coles would probably command 2-3m, I’d guess, but he was cut, so they could pay him whatever they wanted to.
My sense is that Hamlin is past his best, but at the right price I suppose he might be another option back there, bearing in mind Pool’s concussion issues. I still favor drafting one, I think.
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Shows that statistical outliers will occur. Lott in 1993 was a much more solid signing, on paper, than Sharper was in 2009.
Sometimes sticking on 14 against a picture will work, but over the long haul, taking a card is the play.
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Bent says:
I didn’t understand football as well back then (because I was limited to the UK’s coverage), but (dropped pick six aside) was Lott that bad?
Obviously it was a short sighted move and he wasn’t playing at an all-pro HOF level any more, but I thought he was still pretty good for the Jets. His first season numbers (123 tackles, 4 FF, 3 ints) were good, but was it similar to the Ty Law situation where he had big numbers but didn’t make the team any better? I guess it was a bad financial move and he failed to live up to his contract and it looks like he fell off a lot in his second season, but early in that first season, it seemed like it was a great move, then the fake spike happened (unless I’ve got my dates wrong) and the whole thing fell apart.
I’m not using this to reason whether the Jets should sign Sharper, it’s just something that I’ve always wondered.
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BigKatt wants a ring says:
Nice read Bent, i’m also with you on the idea of going safety in round 2. Burnett, Allen, or either of the Jones boys.
I wouldn’t mind Coles, but i really do like that Sanders kid at WR, hopefully we can get him in the fourth.
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andrew says:
if you sign sharper you can draft his replacement in the second or fourth or fifth rounds
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Robby says:
I wouldn’t mind the idea of sharper given he would just add depth and would be able to take more plays off giving his age. And with the recent success of finding Rhodes in round 4, I believe they would look around there for a guy they can develop for a year or two behind pool and sharper.
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Lott was slightly above average in my opinion and he was a great leader – problem is that you see the name LOTT and you mentally pencil him in to be best safety in the league – which looking back was really unfair as he was clearly on downside of his career
Still hoping we trade down from 29 to get more picks. I really hope Tanny does not trade up – we need depth
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Dylan says:
Yes!!! Sharper in this secondary would be incredible. He is one of the best ballhawks in the entire league. Revis, Cromartie, and Sharper would get an insane amount of picks. Sharper has had nine picks THREE times in his career. He is the one piece missing from our secondary. It would also allow us to focus on other positions in the draft.
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ramble914 says:
IMO, Sharper and Coles is moving in the wrong direction, as far as age goes. Take Rashad Jones with the 2nd pick, and find a way to move into the top of the third round and grab Jordan Shipley, if he’s still there. My gut tells me he goes in the bottom of the second.
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Green Lantern (Dez and Mays's Agent) says:
I think if we sign Sharper we arent drafting a Safety..Thats too many Safeties on our team. Thats why I dont wanna sign Sharper anymore lets just draft a safety there are tooo many Talented Safeties in this Draft! Mays, C Jones, E Thomas, Nate Allen! Come On.
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TJBfan (twitter @infresco4) says:
I don’t think signing Sharper would be moving in the wrong direction. We just made it to the AFC championship, he just won a super bowl. We are in a win now mode with a lockout looming….I say play to win this year with enough to remain a powerhouse should a lockout occur.
I won’t lose sleep over it if we don’t sign him but def an option to keep open. Also who says we can’t wait until after the draft to try to pick him up? The biggest point bent was making is the possibility is gone if they sign another UFA now.
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sharper in this secondary where is the QB going to throw the ball….that will be a amazing pickup since expectations around here is super bowl don’t you guys think?
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QMac says:
Sign Rackers, Nick Folk is garbage…. Jets need a pass rushing DE….Should look into Greg Ellis, Charles Grant as well.
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g. JETson says:
Grab Sharper and Coles, pickup DE/OLB pass rusher in the first round, Shipley in the second, a safety with a later pick, (remeber we got Rhodes in the 4th). Win the Superbowl next year and remain a threat by allowing the youngsters to grow up under the tuteledge of great veteran leadership.
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JetsFan65 says:
I think we are good either way, whether we sign Sharper or just decide to draft a Safety. We should just trust that Tanny makes the right move because Sharper is great and a good rookie can potetionally end up being great. No need to stress this situation!
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Paul says:
Lott was good for us, but the problem became the rest of the D started to play a Ronnie Lott style of football. They would try to hit, and stopped wrapping their arms around the guy with the ball, resulting in a Lott of missed tackles.
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Eddie DiGio says:
I dont think the Jets are drafting a safety until the 4th or 5th rd, Sharper or not
Any safety they bring in will be in the Jimmy Leonhard-Tom Zbikowski mold
NO SHARPER!!!!!!!!!