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You are here: Home / NFL / 2016 Los Angeles Rams Complete Offseason Salary Cap Update

2016 Los Angeles Rams Complete Offseason Salary Cap Update

February 23, 2016 By Frank "Dubs" Dobozy 2 Comments

With the release of James Laurinaitis, Chris Long and Jared Cook last Friday, the Rams cleared close to $23 million in salary cap space. The new league year (and Free Agency) opens on March 9. What does the Rams’ financial position look like heading into the new league year?

2016 Player Contracts & Salary Cap Calculations

The accompanying chart presents the Los Angeles Rams’ detailed current offseason salary cap position as of February 24, 2016. It includes all current contracts, dead money and a breakdown of all related costs used in determining the Rams’ available salary cap space for 2016. It also includes all 10 of the Rams’ ERFA’s and the six players who were signed to reserve/future contracts in December.

PlayerPositionBase SalaryProrated BonusOther BonusCap HitRelease Savings
Robert QuinnDE7,777,777955,3542,424,24211,157,3735,867,065
Nick FolesQB1,750,0001,000,0006,000,0008,750,000750,000
Michael BrockersDT6,146,000006,146,0006,146,000
Greg RobinsonOT2,354,9183,449,83605,804,754-6,772,213
Rodger SaffoldOG4,500,0001,000,000156,2505,656,2502,656,250
Kenny BrittWR3,600,00001,250,0004,850,0004,850,000
Lance KendricksTE3,250,0001,250,0004,500,0003,250,000
Tavon AustinWR2,143,7731,913,3644,057,1370
Akeem AyersOLB2,000,0001,300,0003,300,0003,300,000
Todd GurleyRB1,063,3262,078,3063,141,632-8,168,242
Aaron DonaldDT1,341,5001,423,0002,764,500-3,225,250
John HekkerP2,444,444151,5512,595,9952,141,340
Alec OgletreeOLB675,000873,187688,6382,236,8251,363,638
Garrett ReynoldsOL1,050,000950,0212,000,0212,000,021
Lamarcus JoynerDB877,289494,5781,371,867352,711
Rob HavensteinOT615,455286,822902,277-286,822
Tim McDonald Jr.SS730,037162,000892,037730,037
Jake McQuaideLS775,000100,000875,000675,000
Stedman BaileyWR690,123127,972818,095690,123
Tre MasonRB641,146159,375800,521481,771
Jamon BrownOG575,575188,704764,279198,167
Sean MannionQB582,285156,449738,734269,387
Maurice AlexanderSS600,000116,065716,065483,935
Eric KushC675,000675,000675,000
David ArkinOG675,000675,000675,000
Andrew DonnalOT525,000124,234649,234276,532
E.J. GainesCB600,00026,918626,918573,082
Demetrius RhaneyC600,00011,474611,474588,526
Ethan WestbrooksDT600,0006,668606,668600,000
Marcus RobersonCB600,0005,000605,000600,000
Trey WattsRB600,000600,000600,000
Doug WorthingtonDT600,000600,000600,000
Nick ToonWR600,000600,000600,000
Justice CunninghamTE600,000600,000600,000
Cody WichmannOG525,00022,621547,621479,758
Bryce HagerMLB525,00018,035543,035488,930
Darrell WilliamsOT525,0002,500527,500522,500
Bradley MarquezWR525,0002,166527,166522,832
Cameron LynchOLB525,000666525,666524,332
Christian BryantFS525,000525,000525,000
Louis Trinca-PasatDT525,000525,000525,000
Matt LongacreDE525,000525,000525,000
Eric PattersonCB525,000525,000525,000
Isaiah BattleOT525,000525,000525,000
Troy HillCB525,000525,000525,000
Isiah FergusonWR450,000333450,333449,666
Malcolm BrownRB450,000450,000450,000
Zack HodgesOLB450,000450,000450,000
Zach LaskeyFB450,000450,000450,000
Matthew WellsOLB450,000450,000450,000
Deon LongWR450,000450,000450,000
Kain ColterQB450,000450,000450,000
Total Active Contracts90,659,977
Total Top 51 Contracts90,209,977
Roster Detail
52 Players Under Contract
Dead Money
Jared Cook2,600,882
Chris Long2,500,000
James Laurinaitis900,000
Isaiah Battle124,125
Barrett Jones111,300
Bud Sasser85,302
Martin Ifedi53,332
Brandon McGee47,790
Louis Trinca-Pasat10,000
Malcolm Brown5,667
Alex Bayer3,334
Imoan Claiborne3,334
Jay Hughes2,667
Matt Longacre2,667
Zach Laskey2,000
Trey Watts2,000
Terrence Franks1,667
Montell Garner1,667
Tyler Slavin667
Keshaun Malone667
Jacob Hagen667
Total Dead Money6,459,735
Total Salary Cap Hits
Total Top 51 Contracts90,209,977
Total Dead Money6,459,735
2016 Total Salary Cap Hits96,669,712
Team Salary Cap
2016 Unadjusted Salary Cap (Est.)155,000,000
2016 Salary Cap Rollover2,178,544
2016 Accrued Workout Bonuses0
2016 Prior Year Adjustments0
2015 Adjusted Team Salary Cap157,178,544
Available Salary Cap Space60,508,832

Descriptions And Terminology

2016 NFL Salary Cap – The league-wide salary cap has not yet been determined for 2016. In December,

2016 Salary Cap Carryover – The Rams have $2,178,544 million in salary cap space available for carryover and/or application against year-end salary cap charges from 2015.

Net League Adjustments – Adjustments include proven performance escalators, earned incentives and accrued workout bonuses.

Regular Season Adjustments – Adjustments include salary cap charges for Likely To Be Earned Incentives and game day roster bonuses.

Adjusted Team Salary Cap – The adjusted team salary cap is calculated by taking the league salary cap figure and adding/subtracting carryovers and net league adjustments.

Net “Top-51” Contractual Obligations – In the offseason, only the top 51 contracts in terms of cap hits (plus outstanding dead money) count against the Rams’ adjusted team salary cap.

Current Available Salary Cap Space – Current available salary cap space only takes into account obligations incurred to-date. It doesn’t account for additional financial obligations counting against the salary cap at various times during the year.

Additional Financial Obligations – Are obligations incurred by the Rams at varying times throughout the year. They must be budgeted for, as they count against the salary cap at different times during the year: Practice squad salaries – during the regular season, season-opening reserve – September, signing the rookie draft class – June, and 2 players added to make up the 53-man roster – September.

Available Salary Cap Space – The amount of money the Rams have remaining to spend on player contract obligations, without exceeding the salary cap. The calculation to determine the available salary cap space is: the dollar amount of the adjusted salary cap, less the total dollar value of current active contracts (cap hits) less any “dead money”.

Dead Money – The amount of money counting as cap hits in the current year, for players that are no longer with the team. These amounts consist of guaranteed money/bonuses/prorated amounts outstanding for 2016 (in some cases beyond 2016).

Salary Cap Figure (Hit) – Any contractual obligation counting against the salary cap in a particular year. It’s the sum of a players base salary, signing and/or other bonuses, and any incentives/escalators deemed to be earned.

The Salary Cap – The maximum amount a team can have in total cap hits, plus dead money, without incurring penalties imposed by the NFL. These penalties can be financial in nature and/or include the loss of draft picks.

Signing/Prorated vs Other Bonuses – A signing bonus can be defined in its literal sense. The signing bonus is spread out – prorated for cap purposes – evenly over the life of a contract. Other bonuses include roster, incentive, option, etc. bonuses that occur in different years of a contract, and in varying amounts.

Accrued Workout Bonuses – Are adjustments charged by the league, reducing a teams available salary cap space. These bonuses will reduce the Rams’ salary cap space by $506,600 on March 9. From the 2011 CBA:

“…all players will earn $175 a day for each day they participate in 2013. That per day number changes every other year, with the next increase slated for 2015. The NFL charges each team at the start of the 2015 league year a cap fee of $506,600 for minimum workouts on top of the contracted bonuses, so any reported cap space number between now and the start of the regular season needs to be reduced by $504,000. At the end of the workout period teams have their salary cap credited for money that was not earned.”

Prior Year Adjustments – The league adjusts/charges a teams’ current year salary cap for player incentives and performance escalators earned in the previous year.

Unadjusted Salary Cap – The base salary cap amount ($143.28 million in 2015) for each of the 32 NFL teams. As noted, I expect the 2016 league-wide salary cap to come in at $155 million.

Adjusted Team Salary Cap – The actual salary cap (after adjustments) for a particular team in the current league year. Each team will have a different figure for cap purposes.

Roster Detail – Currently, there are 52 players under contract for 2016 (this figure presumes the re-signing of all ERFA’s). Contracts run concurrently with the league year. The new league year begins on March 9.

Methodology – To derive salary cap figures and information, two main sources are used: the NFLPA and the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The NFLPA only publishes team salary cap details as team totals. Once the totals are established, I then compile information for individual contracts, ensuring they collectively add up to match the NFLPA totals. At last count, 83 sources have been used to compile data on the Rams’ individual contracts.

2016 NFL Salary Cap

On December 1, 2015 (at the NFL owners meetings), the NFL Management Council announced an estimate of the NFL league-wide salary cap for 2016:

Club executives and cap managers given projection for 2016 salary cap today: $147 million-$153 million.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 1, 2015

The NFL league office is notorious for underestimating the following years salary cap at their December meetings. A lower estimate discourages team salary cap managers and executives from spending too much money on long-term contracts before the actual salary cap figures are announced in late February. At the December 2014 meetings, the owners were given an estimate of $138.6 million-$141.8 million for the 2015 salary cap. The actual figure (announced in late February, 2015) was $143.28 million.

The stable, continued growth of television contract revenues throughout the life of the current CBA ensures similar growth in the salary cap from year-to-year. In addition, the NFLPA recently won a case against the NFL (re withholding up to $120 million in shared revenue). It could add an estimated $1.5 million to each teams 2016 salary cap. With all of that in mind, I estimate the 2016 salary cap will come in at $155 million when announced in late February.

Compliance with the minimum cash spending requirements of the 2011 CBA could have an impact on how much money is spent by teams this offseason. The minimum cash spending requirement is in relation to the salary cap “floor” instituted in the new CBA. The final eight years of the CBA are broken out into four-year periods (2013-2016 and 2017-2020). In each period, teams are required to spend up to 89% of the salary cap, with a guaranteed league-wide spending amount reaching 95%.

The consequences for non-compliance with the minimum cash spending requirements? The league/clubs must pay the difference to the players. Compliance will likely put upward pressure on salary commitments and increase demand for players in Free Agency this offseason.

St. Louis Rams’ 2016 Offseason Salary Cap Space

The Rams currently have 52 players under contract for 2016, with salary cap hits totalling close to $96.7 million. In addition, the Rams will incur the following estimated costs counting against the salary cap in 2016:

Consideration (Estimated)Cost ($)
Net League Adjustments1,700,000
Net Cost Of Signing Rookies3,000,000
Season-Opening Reserve3,000,000
Roster From 51 To 531,100,000
Practice Squad Salaries1,200,000
Total Cost10,000,000

As noted, my estimate for the 2016 league-wide salary cap is $155 million. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Rams will also carry over $2,178,544 million in salary cap space from 2015 to 2016 (making the Rams’ Adjusted Team Salary Cap $157,178,544 million).

The Rams will have an estimated $50.5 million ($157.2M less $106.7M) in Available Salary Cap Space this offseason for re-signing their own Free Agents and/or Free Agents from other teams. If the Rams can successfully structure their new contracts without backloading them, they will likely be able to re-sign as many of their own Free Agents as desired.

The so-called salary cap experts rarely, if ever, account for these additional costs in determining available salary cap space. You can be certain Kevin Demoff accounts for/factors in every penny that is (and will be) spent in 2016.

2016 Los Angeles Rams Salary Cap Summary

Consideration$ Amounts
2016 NFL Salary Cap (est.)$155,000,000
Plus: Los Angeles Rams 2015 Salary Cap Carryover$2,178,544
Los Angeles Rams Adjusted Team Salary Cap$157,178,544
Less: All 2016 Contractual Obligations$96,669,712
Los Angeles Rams Current Available Salary Cap Space$60,508,832
Less: Additional 2016 Financial Obligations (est.):
Practice Squad Salaries$1,200,000
Season-Opening Reserve$3,000,000
Roster To 53 Players From 51$1,100,000
Net League Adjustments$1,700,000
NET Cost Of Signing Rookie Draft Class$3,000,000
Total 2016 Additional Financial Obligations (est.)$10,000,000
Los Angeles Rams Actual 2016 Available Salary Cap Space (est.)$50,508,832

 

St. Louis Rams 2016 Free Agents

The following 28 players are currently eligible for Free Agency in 2016 (after this season). ERFA’s (Exclusive Rights Free Agents) have two or less accrued years in the league (the Rams have total control over these players). RFA’s (Restricted Free Agents) have three accrued years in the league. UFA’s (Unrestricted Free Agents) have 4 or more accrued years in the league. In each instance, their contracts will have been fulfilled at the end of this season. Each type of Free Agent designation is accompanied by a certain level of team control. Included in the chart is an estimate of what each player can expect to earn (average per year) in their next contract. Who will the Rams attempt to re-sign?

PositionPlayerFA StatusAvg. Per Year
QBCase KeenumRFA3,500,000
RBBenny CunninghamRFA1,250,000
RBChase ReynoldsRFA1,200,000
RBMalcolm BrownERFA525,000
TECory HarkeyUFA2,000,000
WRBrian QuickUFA1,500,000
WRWes WelkerUFA1,000,000
WRNick ToonERFA525,000
CTim BarnesUFA750,000
OTIsaiah BattleERFA525,000
OLEric KushERFA525,000
OLBrian FolkertsERFA525,000
KGreg ZuerleinUFA1,750,000
DTNick FairleyUFA4,750,000
DTDoug WorthingtonERFA525,000
DTLouis Trinca-PasatERFA525,000
DEEugene SimsUFA2,000,000
DEWilliam HayesUFA6,250,000
DEMatt LongacreERFA525,000
OLBDaren BatesRFA1,100,000
CBJanoris JenkinsUFA10,000,000
CBTrumaine JohnsonUFA9,250,000
CBEric PattersonERFA525,000
CBTroy HillERFA525,000
SSMark BarronUFA4,750,000
FSRodney McLeodUFA3,650,000
FSChristian BryantERFA525,000
FSCody DavisRFA875,000

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Comments

  1. Tru-bleu says

    February 24, 2016 at 11:41 am

    Dubs.  Who would have ever thought that word would ever be used as a singular proper noun!  A la Madonna, Ali and Jesus:)  LOL!

    Anyway. Incredible detail and bookkeeping my friend.  Your abacus on steroids again!  While it was a very tough decision cutting those three, well with two of them anyway, it was  the absolute right thing to do.  Puts us on incredibly fertile ground moving forward, and even helps mitigate the bone-head early Foles extension.  What was Demoff thinking?  Of course that begs the question, will they be able to spend it wisely and productively on producing players.  We have a legit shot if the FO can make the right calls, we could be instant “players” in the playoff hunt.

    IMO, our priorities with our current free agents are Tru and Barron to 4 yrs deals;  Hayes, Sims due to age 2 yr deals; Fairley, to keep his motivation, 2 yrs at most; I would resign Keenum to 1-2 year deal.  I would let JJ walk, and replace with EJ and not only do we save money big money we improve IMO as well.  Undecided at this point with McLeod.   I would NOT draft a QB, I don’t believe any QB in this draft is worthy of using a No 1 on, and after that we would not be upgrading our current stable of QB’s.  The three headed trioka of Keenum, Mannion and Foles is a good blend of youth, potential and experience.  I believe with the vastly more experienced OL, and the offensive tools this draft MUST net (WR’s and TE’s), plus another OC, I would like to see what they can do before devoting more draft capital to that position.  But again, it’s a weak year for QB’s as well as WR I think but a little deeper for TE’s.   At the end of the second round, which we have 3 picks in, we must have a WR, DE and ILB.  In the third I think we can pick up a really good TE to pair with Kendricks.   Once again, I’m hopeful of trading down and picking up extra second and third round picks.  Glad to have you back Dubs, was getting worried:)

     

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  1. Los Angeles Rams Salary Cap Update: Pre-Free Agency Edition - Rams In Perspective says:
    March 6, 2016 at 5:00 pm

    […] a week ago, I published a complete salary cap update, one where the Rams had $60,508,832 in Available Salary Cap Space at that point in time. With an […]

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