Shaq Mason and Trey Flowers will now earn $1.907 million in cash this year

Now that the 2018 league cap amount has been revealed, we now know how much cash Shaq Mason and Trey Flowers are now due to earn in 2018.



According to the CBA, an eligible player (a player drafted in the third through the seventh rounds) will qualify for the Proven Performance Escalator in his fourth league year if: (1) he participated in a minimum of 35 percent of his club's offensive or defensive plays in any two of his previous three regular seasons; or (2) he participated in a "cumulative average" of at least 35 percent of his Club's offensive or defensive plays over his previous three regular seasons.

Both Flowers and Mason meet these requirements:

They were selected in the 2015 draft.

Flowers, the 101st overall pick in 2015, played in 0.4 percent of the defensive snaps in 2015, in 54 percent of the defensive snaps in 2016 and in 75.6 percent of the snaps in 2017.

Mason, the 131st overall pick in 2015, played in 65.7 percent of the offensive snaps in 2015, in 91 percent of the offensive snaps in 2016 and in 99.6 percent of the offensive snaps in 2017.

Their 2018 cap numbers are now as follows:
Flowers: $2,046,733 ($1,907,000 salary + $139,733 signing bonus proration)
Mason: $2,017,881 ($1,907,000 salary + $110,881 signing bonus proration)

Answering some logical follow-up questions:

Question: Are these salaries guaranteed?
Answer: No.

Question: Can the Patriots reach extensions with these players?
Answer: Yes. Here are my latest projections.




Question: What has happened to past Patriots who have earned the Proven Performance Escalator?
Answer: Alfonzo Dennard was waived on May 5, 2015. Chris Jones was waived on April 15, 2016. Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon played out the 2016 season.

Question: What current Patriots are on their way to earning the Proven Performance Escalator?
Answer: Joe Thuney has done enough already to earn the PPE raising his 2019 salary to the minimum of $2.002 million. Deatrich Wise needs one more season of at least 35 percent playing time to earn the PPE for the 2020 season.

Question: Is the Proven Performance Escalator new?
Answer: Yes. It is a new feature of the CBA added in 2011.

Question: What is your latest estimate for the Patriots 2018 cap space number?
Answer:
League cap: $177,200,000
Prior year carryover: $3,012,602
Adjustment: (-$105,613)
Patriots adjusted cap: $180,106,989
2018 cap commitment: $165,456,435 with 63 signed players
2018 CAP SPACE: $14,650,554

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