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Bills cap-economics 101
The Bills have some money to play with under the salary cap, but the roster may need some pruning if they want to spend aggressively on free agents
By Mark Gaughan
NEWS SPORTS REPORTER
The bottom line on the salary cap story for Buffalo Bills fans is this: The Bills have plenty of room to improve their team for the 2009 season.
The key questions two weeks before the free-agency season starts are: Will they make the right decisions? How much will they spend in free agency? And how much more space will they create by releasing high-priced veterans?
The Bills have about $24 million in cap space under the league-wide cap figure of $123 million, according to Buffalo News figures.
That should be plenty of room with which to enter the free-agency shopping market and fill a variety of holes, such as: center, tight end, outside linebacker, backup quarterback, pass rushing depth, safety and perhaps a wide receiver.
The team can fill a few needs via the draft in April. But it is going to need to get to work in free agency if it wants to climb out of the basement of the AFC East.
The highest priced player on Buffalo's salary cap list is receiver Lee Evans, who signed a four-year contract extension in October. Evans' cap figure is $9.87 million, and that includes a base salary of $9 million this year.
Each player's salary cap figure is made up of the actual salary and bonus money he will receive, plus any amortized bonus money paid out in previous years. (A $5 million signing bonus, for instance, counts $1 million a year over a five-year contract.)
Behind Evans are defensive end Aaron Schobel ($8.57 million), guard Derrick Dockery ($5.85 million), Chris Kelsay ($5.6 million), and tackle Langston Walker ($5.50 million).
The rest of the Bills' top 10 are: safety Donte Whitner ($4.92 million), cornerback Terrence McGee ($4.37 million), defensive tackle Marcus Stroud ($4.17 million), tackle Jason Peters ($4.05 million), and defensive tackle Spencer Johnson ($3.5 million).
The biggest question at the top of the Bills' salary structure is what they will do with Peters, who wants a new deal and who held out until the brink of the regular season last year to express his displeasure.
Linky for more
Does this match up with what you got CP?
Seems like even considering "cash to cap" the Bills will have plenty of room to spend.
The Bills have some money to play with under the salary cap, but the roster may need some pruning if they want to spend aggressively on free agents
By Mark Gaughan
NEWS SPORTS REPORTER
The bottom line on the salary cap story for Buffalo Bills fans is this: The Bills have plenty of room to improve their team for the 2009 season.
The key questions two weeks before the free-agency season starts are: Will they make the right decisions? How much will they spend in free agency? And how much more space will they create by releasing high-priced veterans?
The Bills have about $24 million in cap space under the league-wide cap figure of $123 million, according to Buffalo News figures.
That should be plenty of room with which to enter the free-agency shopping market and fill a variety of holes, such as: center, tight end, outside linebacker, backup quarterback, pass rushing depth, safety and perhaps a wide receiver.
The team can fill a few needs via the draft in April. But it is going to need to get to work in free agency if it wants to climb out of the basement of the AFC East.
The highest priced player on Buffalo's salary cap list is receiver Lee Evans, who signed a four-year contract extension in October. Evans' cap figure is $9.87 million, and that includes a base salary of $9 million this year.
Each player's salary cap figure is made up of the actual salary and bonus money he will receive, plus any amortized bonus money paid out in previous years. (A $5 million signing bonus, for instance, counts $1 million a year over a five-year contract.)
Behind Evans are defensive end Aaron Schobel ($8.57 million), guard Derrick Dockery ($5.85 million), Chris Kelsay ($5.6 million), and tackle Langston Walker ($5.50 million).
The rest of the Bills' top 10 are: safety Donte Whitner ($4.92 million), cornerback Terrence McGee ($4.37 million), defensive tackle Marcus Stroud ($4.17 million), tackle Jason Peters ($4.05 million), and defensive tackle Spencer Johnson ($3.5 million).
The biggest question at the top of the Bills' salary structure is what they will do with Peters, who wants a new deal and who held out until the brink of the regular season last year to express his displeasure.
Linky for more
Does this match up with what you got CP?
Seems like even considering "cash to cap" the Bills will have plenty of room to spend.
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