OMG! Washington Redskins continue to OUTSPEND everybody!!

[Michael82]

In a deal that clears the way for his trade to the Washington Redskins later this week, Denver Broncos tailback Clinton Portis reached agreement Monday on a contract that makes him the highest-paid running back in league history, ESPN.com has learned.

Portis will sign an eight-year deal that is worth $50.5 million and includes $17 million in combined signing and option bonuses, several league sources confirmed for ESPN.com.

The agreement is a blockbuster not only in terms of the millions of dollars negotiated by agents Drew Rosenhaus and Jason Rosenhaus, but also because the Redskins were not under any pressure to reach a new deal with Portis. The lack of negotiating leverage on the part of Portis, who had said over the weekend that he would not hold out of training camp even if he did not get a new contract, certainly adds to the achievement of netting such a deal.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1748249

[Ebenezer]

it's Snyder's money.

[Mr. Miyagi]

How can they do this year in and year out? They're the New York Yankees of football except they don't ever win.

[Michael82]

I'm trying to figure out how much money they have. How come the Redskins are mentioned to be going after Woody, Sapp, Winfield, and even Kearse. How much money do they have under the cap?

[Novacane]

Snyder is an idiot.

[lunatic_bills_fan]

Originally posted by Mikey82
I'm trying to figure out how much money they have. How come the Redskins are mentioned to be going after Woody, Sapp, Winfield, and even Kearse. How much money do they have under the cap?

I hear ya man, the last couple years I thought I was starting to get this cap thing figured out, but then I see teams like Miami who everyone keeps saying they are headed for cap jail, (we've been saying this for like 2 years now) and Washington, even though its Snyders money, he is still only allowed to spend so much, just continue to go along. I mean on paper right now, Miami looks in better cap shape than us. I dunno how it works.

[Mr. Miyagi]

CLUMPY???!!!

[Valerie]

I think it's hysterical how the Skins keep trying to buy a Super Bowl caliber team and how they keep failing miserably!!! They go through coaches and big name players like water and it gets them no where except financially screwed. lol I just can't wait until the end of this season when Joe Gibbs realizes he's too old and not in the best health to continue coaching and leaves and takes Dan's money with him. I'm just going to Danny.

[Mr. Miyagi]

I think they're loaded this season and will be ready make a serious push. With Gibbs, Brunell, Portis, Coles, and I heard they're going to pursue TE Jim Kleinsausser, they'll be stacked on offense.

[don137]

I can see them going after Kearse since GW is there now.

[Michael82]

Originally posted by Mr. Miyagi
I think they're loaded this season and will be ready make a serious push. With Gibbs, Brunell, Portis, Coles, and I heard they're going to pursue TE Jim Kleinsasser, they'll be stacked on offense.

This is what I don't understand. How can the Skins' sign Kleinsasser, Kearse, Sapp, Winfield, Woody, and many more?

I keep reading that the Redskins are going to pursue all the big name players and it makes me wonder. How much damn money do they have under the cap? $20 million!??!? Where did all this cap money come from?

[Jsyn]

Because there really isn't a salary cap. There is one in principle but there are ways around it. John Clayton at espn explains it best:

"Here's the problem:

To fit in a $4 million a year contract that includes a six-year contract, teams have no trouble giving a free agent a $6 million signing bonus and a low base salary of $500,000 to produce a cap friendly $1.5 million number. A $1 million pay hike the next year produces a manageable $2.5 million cap. Year Three is the problem. To get the average up, the base salary jumps to
$3 million to $4 million, so the $4 million or $5 million cap causes a team to either replace the base salary with signing bonus to free up cap room or simply cut the player and take the cap hit.

More than 100 players became cap casualties as a result. With the cap going up only $5 million a season, a player two years into his contract has to be very good to be able to remain on the roster for a $2 million or $3 million
increase."
--------------------------------------------------------

The signing bonus portion can be done like this:

"Because salaries have continued to grow at a rate outpacing the salary cap, teams have found ways to circumvent the cap. Signing bonuses don't count toward a team's cap for a given year. A player who receives a signing bonus gets more money for that year than his recorded "salary," leaving more room in the cap for the other players.

Say, for example, a player wants a seven-year, $60-million contract. Let's say that the owner decides to give that player an $11-million signing bonus, which is all paid out in the first year but gets factored into the cap as prorated over the course of the seven-year contract ($11-million / 7 years = $1.57-million per year). Most NFL contracts are "back-ended" -- most of the base salary is located in the last two or three years of the contract. If we suppose that our player's contract is structured so that he has a base salary of $2-million the first year, with higher base salaries in the final two years of the contract, the $13-million (base salary + signing bonus) paid out in the first year appears as $3.57-million to the cap! The advantage of signing bonuses for the owner is that he now has more money to spend under the cap. This is how the Washington Redskins ran up a total payroll of $92.41-million in the 2000 season when the cap was $67-million. The advantage for the player is that all signing-bonus money is guaranteed to be paid, whereas an NFL contract is not guaranteed.

There are drawbacks to signing bonuses for the owner, however. Because the bonus is guaranteed to the player, if the player is released, traded or waived, all of the bonus money that was being prorated throughout the length of the contract is accelerated to the present year. So, if our team released its star player after the third year of his contract (before June 1) for whatever reason, the entire remainder of the bonus, almost $6.3-million, will have to count toward the cap the next year (if the team releases the player after June 1, only the yearly $1.57-million will count the next year, and the remainder will count the subsequent year). "

[Jsyn]

Sorry to double post, but it basically comes down to how much the owner has in his budget, they use the salary cap as a scapegoat.

[THATHURMANATOR]

good thing there is a salary cap right Mikey?

CALM DOWN!!

[Throne Logic]

In theory, it should all come back to bite the abusers, however, some seem to have found ways around that bit, too. Like Washington.