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One of the hardest things for the average fan to comprehend is how NFL contracts work and how they apply to a team’s salary cap. There are many complicated elements, rules, and exceptions that can be hard to sort out. In this series, my goal is to help you better understand how this whole system works, plus what it means to the Green Bay Packers’ current salary cap and contract concerns.

Before reading, make sure to check out the previous article(s) in the series:

• Part 1: An Introduction to the Basics
• Part 2: A.J. Hawk and Contract Restructuring
• Part 3: Jermichael Finley and the Two-Year Deal
• Part 4: Clay Matthews and Incentives

Our fifth article focuses on B.J. Raji and the use of “escalators” in contract negotiations. Yesterday we detailed how “incentives” work, and there are some similarities between those and escalators. However, there is a major difference that gives teams a lot of financial power when it comes to future roster decisions.

As should be common knowledge, B.J. Raji was drafted in the same year as Clay Matthews (2009), though Raji was a higher first-round pick. If you compare his contract to Matthews’ from yesterday, you’ll notice some obvious differences outside of the generally larger dollar amounts. The difference I want to note today is how Raji’s contract is boosted with escalators, while Matthews is boosted with incentives. Take a look:

   Read more... (741 words + 2 images, estimated 2:58 mins reading time)

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One of the hardest things for the average fan to comprehend is how NFL contracts work and how they apply to a team’s salary cap. There are many complicated elements, rules, and exceptions that can be hard to sort out. In this series, my goal is to help you better understand how this whole system works, plus what it means to the Green Bay Packers’ current salary cap and contract concerns.

Before reading, make sure to check out the previous article(s) in the series:

• Part 1: An Introduction to the Basics
• Part 2: A.J. Hawk and Contract Restructuring
• Part 3: Jermichael Finley and the Two-Year Deal

Our fourth article focuses on incentives, and although we’re going to use Clay Matthews’ contract as an example, the discussion will be oriented in a more general sense. This is something most people should have a simple understanding of, but there are some details on how these incentives are paid out and applied to the salary cap that might be new knowledge.

When Clay Matthews was drafted by the Packers in 2009, the new CBA and its “rookie salary scale” were not in existence. This allowed agents to negotiate larger contracts, especially for the top draft picks. In order to find some middle ground, teams would work in “incentive” pay to ensure they were getting their money’s worth. Even the top picks are a risk, so teams want to avoid being financially handcuffed to “busts.”  Read more... (836 words + 5 images, estimated 3:21 mins reading time)

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How much would trading up for a player like Clay Matthews cost the Packers in 2012?

Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers have a lot of options in the 2012 NFL Draft with 12 overall selections, and they are probably going to need them with some of the defensive holes they need to fill.

Our own “Jersey” Al Bracco spent time presenting some First and Second Round trade-up scenarios that could possibly occur, and Thomas Hobbes looked into Thompson’s trading history in relationship to the Trade Value Chart (TVC).

A lot of people are wondering, though, does the old TVC still apply?

This will be the first draft under the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NFL and NFLPA, and it comes with a shiny new set of rules for a rookie wage scale. Though we haven’t had a draft under these restrictions on pay, the 2011 rookie class did feel the effects of it when they were finally signed.

Below is a comparison of the contracted salaries of the top 10 picks in the 2010 and 2011 NFL Drafts. The numbers shown are in millions of dollars, and for simplicity in numbers, only the guaranteed amount has been recorded. It’s not a perfect barometer of the wage scale’s effects, but it should give you a general idea of what has happened:

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has to be feeling good about his sport as the NFL lockout ends.

Roger Goodell was asked today if there were any damages from the NFL lockout that need to be repaired. He said:

“Well, I would say from the Commissioner’s perspective, we know what we did to frustrate our fans over the last several months. They want football and our job is to give them football. We think that through a 10-year agreement here, we’ve secured the future of the game to ensure that pledge to bring great football to our fans. I think we have some work to do though to make sure they understand that we are sorry for the frustration we put them through over the last six months, but our commitment is to bring them better football going forward. I think we ought to make sure that we understand that our bond with our fans is probably the primary issue that all of us have to keep focused on, whether you’re a player, or you’re an owner or you’re the Commissioner.”

While Goodell was giving this beautifully crafted and politically correct answer, here’s what he was really thinking:

“Hell no there aren’t any damages! Are you freakin’ kidding me?! We’re the NFL, not the NBA, MLB or NHL. Twitter literally melted into a pile of social networking goo once the lockout ended? ESPN basically threw a party live on the air. The NFL Network is covering this news conference like someone just brokered a peace deal in the Middle East. Fans are more excited for the upcoming football season than for any other season in our league’s history.  Read more... (652 words + 1 image, estimated 2:36 mins reading time)

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There has been a wave of cautious optimism about the CBA negotiation over the last few weeks. Oowners met as a group last week to get everyone on the same page as to how the negotiations were going and followed that up with another round of talks with the players.  While both sides are under a court-mandated blackout, reports have trickled out that there wasn’t much resistance from ownership and while the players don’t love the new deal, they will live with it.

Follow that up with reports coming out that another round of talks will be held in Boston/Minnesota and it’s understandable that NFL fans are happy to see significant progress being made.  Amidst all this optimism, some aspects of the new deal have been leaked out.  Will this change the way the Packers do business?  Read more... (1322 words + 1 image, estimated 5:17 mins reading time)

• Players will earn somewhere around 48% of revenue: Perhaps the biggest roadblock between the owners and the players is how much of the pie everyone gets.
  • Effect on the league: Some teams will definitely be hit harder than other teams; while Jerry Jones and the Cowboys probably won’t be affected that much due to their massive profit margins, small market teams such as the Jacksonville Jaguars could feel the financial pressure of keeping up with the rest of the league.

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