How the Patriots would fit Player X onto their salary cap

One of the more frequent questions that I receive on Twitter is whether or not the Pats have enough cap space to acquire Player X.

Right now, with $4,961,084 in cap space, only if the player is really cheap. As I've laid about before, they need some room to operate for the rest of the season (incentives to be paid, practice squad, injured players, etc). And while the salary of any player brought on board would be prorated for the rest of the season, that doesn't leave much room for a big-ticket player.

Let's just cut to the chase. This is what you need to know in terms of what the Patriots can afford:

• Cap hit of less than $2 million: Patriots can afford without doing anything.


• Cap hit between $2 million and $5 million: Will have to create cap space.


• Cap hit more than $5 million: Will have to trade a current Patriot to take on such a player.

• 2018: $12.5 million ($7.75 million of which is fully guaranteed)


• 2019: $14.5 million


• 2020: $12.5 million

• Cut a player;


• Trade player;


• Have player accept a pay cut: a Patriot player has never accepted a pay cut during the regular season under the current CBA which began in 2011;


• Extend player while converting salary into a signing bonus: Patriots have never performed this move during the regular season under the current CBA;


• Convert salary into signing bonus: Patriots have never performed this move during the regular season under the current CBA. The only time the Patriots have performed this move in recent years was in '16 when they converted $3.74 million of Devin McCourty's base salary into a signing bonus the Friday before the Week 1 game against the Cardinals. The Patriots gained $2,805,000 in 2016 cap space in exchange for increasing each of McCourty's future cap numbers by $935,000.

• NFL Players are paid for the 17 weeks during the regular season.


• Most contracts have a clause that allows the team to convert salary into a signing bonus at any time and at the team's discretion.


• Once a player has received cash in the form of a roster bonus or a weekly salary it cannot be later converted into a signing bonus to create cap space. Example, a player with a $1,700,000 salary got paid for Week 1. That $100,000 can't later be converted into in a signing bonus.


• When a team trades a player the new team assumes responsibility for the player's remaining salary and any remaining 46-man active roster bonuses. Let's use Ryan Allen as an example. If traded after the Week 6 Jets game his team would then be responsible for 11/17ths of his $1,200,000 salary and 10 of his 16 46-man active roster bonuses.


• In the first two ways (cut or trade a player) the cap savings will be decreased by the salary of the player who replaces the cut player on the 53-man roster.


• It is rare for a player, especially a veteran who is eligible for termination pay, to agree to a pay cut during the regular season. Why? A player who is eligible for termination pay had his entire salary for the season guaranteed by being on the team's Week 1 53-man roster.


• APY is short for Average Per Year;


• As of 7 a.m. Oct. 15, my Patriots salary cap space number is $4,961,084.