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Howard Balzer
http://www.101espn.com/category/hbalzer ... ookie-Cap/
[wrapimg=left]http://www.101espn.com/images/authors/medium/hbalzer.jpg[/wrapimg]The Rams created over $20 million of salary-cap space when they released seven players at the start of the league year March 13.
With the signings they have made since then, their overall cap space has been lowered to around $4.2 million.
Based on what players in the Rams’ slots were paid last season, the Rams will have a rookie pool of about $7.15 million this year, assuming they draft with the exact choices they have now. It isn’t known how much the rookie pool will increase, but it could be very little considering the overall cap this year increased from $120.375 million to $120.6 million.
The actual slots for last year’s rookies was actually $7.033 million, but the $7.15 total above reflects an increase for the rookie minimum salary from $375,000 to $390,000. For eight picks, that’s an additional $120,000.
While that $7.15 million seems daunting, only the top 51 players count against the cap until the start of the regular season. Picks from the third round on will have a negligible effect, if any, on the cap when they are signed.
The cap charge for the second pick in the third round last year was $549,394. Add $15,000 to that, and the cap hit this year for that pick will be around $564,000.
Currently, the Rams have 56 players counting against the cap: 51 under contract and five with restricted or exclusive-rights free-agent tenders. Including the tenders, the Rams have 28 players that count $566,000 or less against the cap. That includes numerous players counting $390,000; $465,000 and $540,000; the minimum for players with zero, one, or two credited seasons.
By the time the draft picks start signing, there will also be numerous rookie free agents under contract, most of whom will count a shade more than $390,000, depending on the minimal signing bonus they receive. Last year, the bonuses for undrafted free agents that received them from the Rams were between $2,500 and $5,000. However, none of those players are expected to be in the top 51.
The picks from the sixth round on would have a cap figure of $422,000 or less, so when they sign, that figure will likely be less than whatever player is in the 51st spot.
For that third-round pick, if the 51st player counts $465,000, the latter player would be pushed out of the top 51, but for only an added total of around $100,000 to the cap.
The sixth overall choice last year, Atlanta wide receiver Julio Jones, had a cap figure of $2.94 million. The Rams’ first three choices this year – sixth, 33rd and 39th overall – had a combined cap hit of $4.8 million. If those three players replace three players at $465,000, that lowers the net cap addition to around $3.4 million.
So, that figure is approximately what the Rams will need to sign their draft choices. When the regular-season begins, the 53-man roster counts, plus any players on injured reserve, the eight-man practice squad and “dead” money for players released with signing bonus proration remaining. Practice-squad players are paid $5,700 a week for an eight-man, 17-week total of $775,200.
The Rams have slightly more than $9.1 million of dead money, covering 32 players. Of those players, 20 are undrafted free agents that have very low bonus prorations on the cap. Jason Brown ($4.4 million), Jacob Bell ($2.39 million) and Ron Bartell ($1.4 million) account for $8.19 million of the dead money total.
http://www.101espn.com/category/hbalzer ... ookie-Cap/
[wrapimg=left]http://www.101espn.com/images/authors/medium/hbalzer.jpg[/wrapimg]The Rams created over $20 million of salary-cap space when they released seven players at the start of the league year March 13.
With the signings they have made since then, their overall cap space has been lowered to around $4.2 million.
Based on what players in the Rams’ slots were paid last season, the Rams will have a rookie pool of about $7.15 million this year, assuming they draft with the exact choices they have now. It isn’t known how much the rookie pool will increase, but it could be very little considering the overall cap this year increased from $120.375 million to $120.6 million.
The actual slots for last year’s rookies was actually $7.033 million, but the $7.15 total above reflects an increase for the rookie minimum salary from $375,000 to $390,000. For eight picks, that’s an additional $120,000.
While that $7.15 million seems daunting, only the top 51 players count against the cap until the start of the regular season. Picks from the third round on will have a negligible effect, if any, on the cap when they are signed.
The cap charge for the second pick in the third round last year was $549,394. Add $15,000 to that, and the cap hit this year for that pick will be around $564,000.
Currently, the Rams have 56 players counting against the cap: 51 under contract and five with restricted or exclusive-rights free-agent tenders. Including the tenders, the Rams have 28 players that count $566,000 or less against the cap. That includes numerous players counting $390,000; $465,000 and $540,000; the minimum for players with zero, one, or two credited seasons.
By the time the draft picks start signing, there will also be numerous rookie free agents under contract, most of whom will count a shade more than $390,000, depending on the minimal signing bonus they receive. Last year, the bonuses for undrafted free agents that received them from the Rams were between $2,500 and $5,000. However, none of those players are expected to be in the top 51.
The picks from the sixth round on would have a cap figure of $422,000 or less, so when they sign, that figure will likely be less than whatever player is in the 51st spot.
For that third-round pick, if the 51st player counts $465,000, the latter player would be pushed out of the top 51, but for only an added total of around $100,000 to the cap.
The sixth overall choice last year, Atlanta wide receiver Julio Jones, had a cap figure of $2.94 million. The Rams’ first three choices this year – sixth, 33rd and 39th overall – had a combined cap hit of $4.8 million. If those three players replace three players at $465,000, that lowers the net cap addition to around $3.4 million.
So, that figure is approximately what the Rams will need to sign their draft choices. When the regular-season begins, the 53-man roster counts, plus any players on injured reserve, the eight-man practice squad and “dead” money for players released with signing bonus proration remaining. Practice-squad players are paid $5,700 a week for an eight-man, 17-week total of $775,200.
The Rams have slightly more than $9.1 million of dead money, covering 32 players. Of those players, 20 are undrafted free agents that have very low bonus prorations on the cap. Jason Brown ($4.4 million), Jacob Bell ($2.39 million) and Ron Bartell ($1.4 million) account for $8.19 million of the dead money total.
