TBN: Bills spent to the cap in 2011

[Johnny Bugmenot]

Spending on the Bills is on the rise: Bonuses push cash outlay above the cap
by Mark Gaughan


The Buffalo Bills' spending on players is up by more than $12 million this year, and their total cash outlays for players are over the actual NFL salary cap limit for the first time since 2007.

The Bills have spent about $130 million on player salaries so far, according to News calculations. The Bills stand 16th out of 32 teams in cash spending this year, according to ESPN senior writer John Clayton, who tracks leaguewide spending.

That does not mean the Bills have the 16th-most expensive roster overall. Far from it. A News study in August, factoring in the total value of all player contracts, not just money paid in 2011, rated the Bills' roster as the 29th-most expensive in the league. (Buffalo has moved up several spots since then.)

The Buffalo News (http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article682217.ece)

[Skooby]

Whoever believes this, I have a bridge to sell you.

[BLeonard]

But the Bills also say they roll over unspent cash, which allows for the flexibility to spend more in a given year. That is what is happening this season.


The bolded is where I stopped reading... I don't buy a word that the Bills Front Office says.

Show me the baby.

-Bill

[PromoTheRobot]

LIES!! LIES!!! ALL LIES!!!

PTR

[OpIv37]

Most telling part: rated the Bills' roster as the 29th-most expensive in the league.

GM's play games with the cap all day. The reality is that we are not spending as much as our opponents because, to Ralph, winning is secondary to making a profit.

[EricStratton]

What motivation does John Clayton have to massage the numbers?

[BLeonard]

What motivation does John Clayton have to massage the numbers?

The keywords in Clayton's figures is cash spending not cap spending.

In Clayton's figures, any bonuses given (such as Fitz's or Pears') are all counted on this year's cap. In the real world of the salary cap, those bonuses are stretched out over the duration of the deal.

To illustrate: The article mentions that Peyton Manning got a $36 million bonus on a contract that covers 6 years. In terms of salary cap hit, it'll be $6 million per season ($6 million x 6 years = $36 million). However, in cash spending terms (also known as "cash to the cap," they are counting the entire $36 million onto this year's cap.

So, if the Bills had signed Manning to the exact same deal, they would be saying that $36 million of their cap was taken this season, as opposed to the $6 million that the NFL actually counts.

In the NFL's eyes, as it pertains to the cap, Manning's bonus looks like this:

2011: $6 million
2012: $6 million
2013: $6 million
2014: $6 million
2015: $6 million
2016: $6 million

But, if the Bills were paying this, they would count it like this:

2011: $36 million

Under that, the Bills can say they are spending $100 million on salaries (which in cash, they are) but, they constantly are tens of millions (if not more) under the real NFL cap every year. Hopefully, that makes a bit more sense.

-Bill

[Forward_Lateral]

If they spent to the cap, someone should be fired, because that is the worst spent 130 million dollars in the history of sports.

[Skooby]

The keywords in Clayton's figures is cash spending not cap spending.

In Clayton's figures, any bonuses given (such as Fitz's or Pears') are all counted on this year's cap. In the real world of the salary cap, those bonuses are stretched out over the duration of the deal.

To illustrate: The article mentions that Peyton Manning got a $36 million bonus on a contract that covers 6 years. In terms of salary cap hit, it'll be $6 million per season ($6 million x 6 years = $36 million). However, in cash spending terms (also known as "cash to the cap," they are counting the entire $36 million onto this year's cap.

So, if the Bills had signed Manning to the exact same deal, they would be saying that $36 million of their cap was taken this season, as opposed to the $6 million that the NFL actually counts.

In the NFL's eyes, as it pertains to the cap, Manning's bonus looks like this:

2011: $6 million
2012: $6 million
2013: $6 million
2014: $6 million
2015: $6 million
2016: $6 million

But, if the Bills were paying this, they would count it like this:

2011: $36 million

Under that, the Bills can say they are spending $100 million on salaries (which in cash, they are) but, they constantly are tens of millions (if not more) under the real NFL cap every year. Hopefully, that makes a bit more sense.

-Bill

Bottom line is the Bills pad their bottom line every season, all the while gutting the team of talent.