Miguel's Mailbag 09.11.18: How do Pats stack up against rest of NFL when it comes to cap space?

All right, everyone. Let's dive into this week's questions:

Question from Twitter follower Pete: Where do the Pats rank in the nfl in terms of available cap space right now and who has the most to give perspective?



Answer: Near the bottom. The Browns have the most. At this time of the year cap space is extremely fluid, as teams continue to reach injury settlements with players

Question from Twitter follower Priscilla Bilz: If the Pats can get extensions done with a couple of players, do the signing bonuses hit the 2018 cap or does it all get pushed to 2019 and beyond?

Answer: If the Patriots extend a player during the 2018 season, his signing bonus will be prorated over the 2018 season. For example, if the Patriots extend Ryan Allen through the 2022 season giving him a $5 million signing bonus, that $5 million will be prorated $1 million a year for the 2018/2019/2020/2021/2022 league years.

Question: Do players on injured reserve get paid?

Answer: Yes, they will be paid their salary. However, they lose their chance to earn their 46-man active roster bonuses and any incentives.

Question from Twitter follower Z: How does cap works with short-term IR vs season ending IR? (You do an amazing job by the way.)

Answer: A player's cap number will only change if placed on IR if they have the split-salary provision in their contract. There are two minimum salary levels in the NFL: One is the minimum salary for a player on the 53-man roster. The second is the minimum salary for a player who is not. For example, the minimum salary for a rookie this year is $480,000. The minimum salary for a rookie who is placed on IR is $363,000. The split-salary provision says that if the player is placed on IR or PUP his minimum salary will be the lower level. So what could happen this year is that a player will be paid eight weeks at the $363,000 level while on IR, be activated and then get paid at the $480,000 level for the last nine weeks of the season.

Question from BSJ subscriber TM during Chris' latest Q&A – Can you please explain how the NFI List works? I know the Pats have a couple guys on there now and I believe Garcia was on last year. Is it a full season issue? Wasn’t Hollister listed as a cut initially? Does it burn a year off their contracts before they become free agents? How much do they get paid, etc? Anything you can add is appreciated.

Chris's Answer: "Great questions. NFI is like PUP, but for players who suffered their injuries unrelated to football (away from NFL team activities). There are two types….Active/NFI designation means players can return to practice at any time once medically cleared. Reserve/NFI designation is applied to players who will not return to the active roster during the current season. It’s my understanding Hollister is active. (He passed through waivers and reverted back to Pats after that.) Not sure about getting paid, but that’s a great question. I’d check with Miguel, our cap guy, for that one."

Here is my answer on the salary cap as it relates to NFI. The Patriots have two players on NFI, Darren Andrews and Cody Hollister. Both are now on Reserve NFI. The 2018 season will not count as an accrued season for the duo, since seasons spent on NFI do not count in the accrued season calculation. The number of accrued seasons a player has determines their level of free agency.

--A player with zero accrued seasons at the start of the League Year will be an ERFA (Exclusive Rights Free Agent).
--A player with one accrued seasons at the start of the League Year will be an ERFA (Exclusive Rights Free Agent).
--A player with two accrued seasons at the start of the League Year will be an ERFA (Exclusive Rights Free Agent).
--A player with three accrued seasons at the start of the League Year will be an RFA (Restricted Free Agent). This is why newly-signed Corey Coleman is scheduled to be a RFA after this season.
--A player with four or more accrued seasons at the start of the League Year will be an UFA (Unrestricted Free Agent).

Teams are not obligated to pay players who are on their NFI list, but if they do, the player's salaries will count against the cap. The $363,000 salaries of Andrews and Hollister are counting against the cap.

Question from Twitter follower MatteDesmo: If the pats give (Corey Coleman) an original round tender ,they can pay him less than first or second round tender, right?

Answer: Yes, the Patriots can tender Coleman at the lowest RFA tender level in March and will receive a first-round pick if a team makes him an offer and the Patriots choose not to match. In 2019 the low RFA tender (original round) will be somewhere between $2,002,000 and $2,098,000.

Question from Twitter follower Steven DiNisco: Do you have Pats 2019 draft capital available?

Answer:

1. 1st round: their original assigned pick


2. 2nd round: from the Bears as part of a 2018 draft-day trade


3. 2nd round: their original assigned pick


4. 3rd round: from the Lions as part of a 2018 draft-day trade


5. 3rd round: compensatory Pick (Solder)


6. 3rd round: compensatory Pick (Butler)


7. 4th round: their original assigned pick


8. 5th round: their original assigned pick


9. 6th round: compensatory Pick (Lewis)


10. 7th round: from the Eagles as part of a 2018 draft-day trade


11. 7th round: their original assigned pick


12. 7th round: compensatory Pick (Fleming)