Good questions this week -- topics include compensatory picks, Rob Gronkowski, Stephen Gostkowski, Jacoby Brissett, Jonathan Jones ... and more. Let's get started.
A question from Twitter follower Laynara Biccirè:If we had used the franchise tag on Stephen Gostkowski, how much that would’ve cost?
Answer: $5.98 million
Answer: That is correct. As of now, compensatory pick guru Nick Korte projects the Patriots to receive two third-round comp picks and two sixth-round comp picks.
Answer: If Gronk decides to un-retire during the regular season, his cap number would be $9 million divided by 17 times the number of weeks remaining in the season plus $46,875 times the remaining number of games. (Per Mike Reiss, the deadline for him to un-retire is Week 13.)
Week 1 - $9,609,375
Week 2 - $9,079,963
Week 3 - $8,550,551
Week 4 - $8,021,140
Week 5 – $7,444,853
Week 6 – $6,868,566
Week 7 – $6,292,279
Week 8 – $5,715,993
Week 9 – $5,139,706
Week 10 – $4,610,294
Week 11 – $4,034,007
Week 12 – $3,457,721
Week 13 – $2,881,434
Answer: Under the current CBA, 2020 is the last league year for teams to franchise tag one player and transition tag another, which means Brissett would be eligible for either. Unless he plays well in 2019, I can't see him getting a large contract (at least $10 million APY) in free agency in 2019. There's a chance he will be competing with Jameis Winston and/or Marcus Mariota in free agency. Young backup quarterbacks have been maxing out at around $7.5 million in recent years.
Answer: $300,000 ($150,000 signing bonus, plus his $150,000 reporting bonus).
Answer: No. Jones has seen former teammates Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler get paid very well in free agency. His next contract is his best chance to set up himself and his family up for the rest of his life.
Answer: To help ensure teams are spending money on the players rather than continue to roll over large amounts of cap space.
Answer: There is no perfect allocation. Brady has a $27 million cap number this year. If he provides $10 million of production, then it is bad for the Patriots. If he provides $27 million, that is good. If he provides more than $27 million, that is great. Teams do not get into trouble paying players lots of money. They get into trouble when several of their highly-paid players underproduce.
Answer: Because of the Top 51 rule, $2,158,854. Please look for an updated version of my rookie pool post the morning of the draft.
Answer:[table id=132 /]
The 71 players include 17 of 22 SB LIII starters, 41 of 53 SB LIII active players, and 7 of 13 players that were on IR/NFI.