Greg discussed the implications of Brown's release on the Patriots roster in this piece. I will cover its salary cap implications.
Background:
Using 2020 as an option year made Brown's 2019 cap number $5,750,000. It consisted of:
-- $1,000,000 salary. His salary over a 17-week season was $1,062,500 or $62,500 per week. Brown was scheduled to be on the Patriots roster for sixteen games. $62,500 times 16 = $1,000,000.
-- $4,500,000 signing bonus proration from 2019 $9 million signing bonus
-- $250,000 in 46-man active roster bonuses. Note any per-game roster bonuses that are part of a deal signed after the final preseason game are prorated over the life of the deal. This is a salary cap quirk intended to make it easier to reach extensions right before the start of the regular season. For each active game, Brown would earn $33,333.33 — $33,333.33 times 16 games, equals $500,000.
Brown had three $1.5 million NLTBE incentives. They were for 105 receptions, 1,298 receiving yards, and 16 TDs. If he had reached any of them, then the Patriots 2020 salary cap would have been debited.
Brown's 2020 cap number was $25,250,000. It consisted of:
-- $20,000,000 allocated between his salary and the option bonus. This could have been a $15 million roster bonus and a $5 million salary. Still do not know.
-- $4,500,000 signing bonus proration from 2019 $9 million signing bonus
-- $500,000 in 46-man active roster bonuses
-- $250,000 signing bonus proration in 46-man active roster bonuses
What are the salary cap implications of Brown's release?
Let's break this into two parts. This first part will detail what I am very confident in at the present moment. The second part will involve some educated guessing on my part.
What I am confident in:
Since Brown was on the Patriots roster for two Tuesdays he earned $125,000 ($62,500 times two) in salary.
Since Brown is eligible for the termination pay benefit ("The Termination Pay under this Article of any player who is terminated from a contract which was signed after the beginning of the regular season in which he is terminated shall be limited to an amount equal to the greater of: (i) the unpaid balance of the initial 25% of such player’s Paragraph 5 Salary") another $125,000 will remain on the Patriots salary cap.
Since Brown was active in the Dolphins game, he earned his 46-man active roster bonus for that game earning him $33,333.33. Update - September 22, 2019 7:30 AM Learned for the time being this roster bonus will remain part of his 46-man active roster bonus bonus proration.
The texts sent this week to an artist made his 2019 salary guarantee null and void since he took action that materially undermined the public's respect for the Patriots, Patriots' ownership, coaches, management, operations or policies.
Since the CBA says "in the event that a Club receives a refund from the player of any previously-paid Salary, or the Club fails to pay any previously allocated portion of a signing bonus (including any amount treated as signing bonus), such amount as has previously been included in Team Salary shall be credited to the Club’s Team Salary for the next League Year" Brown's 2019 $4.75 million signing bonus proration will remain on the Patriots salary cap and any credit will hit the Patriots 2020 cap.
Therefore, Brown's minimum 2019 dead money will be $5,033,333. $5,000,000.
What I am taking an educated guess on:
On Monday the Patriots will not pay the $5 million installment of Brown's signing bonus that is due. Brown's representatives will then file a grievance. The Patriots will win the grievance because something we, the general public, do not currently know, happened to allow the Patriots to invoke the clauses within Brown's contract that nullify the signing bonus.
Why do I feel this way? Learning something from Friday's practice best explains the timing of the release. If Brown had suffered a serious injury during practice, the Patriots would not have been able to release him. Another plausible explanation for the timing of the release is the Patriots learned Roger Goodell was planning to place Brown on the commissioner exempt list. If on the list, Brown would still get paid. The grievance will take months to conclude. During that time the Patriots will have to carry his 2019 signing bonus proration of $4.75 million on their cap.
If I am correct, the Patriots will receive a $4.75 million credit on their 2020 cap while the 2020 signing bonus proration will be removed from the cap.
Other scenarios and their salary cap implications are in no particular order:
- Patriots pay Brown his entire signing bonus: His 2019 dead money would then be $5,033,333 and his 2020 dead money would be $4,500,000. There would be a $466,667 credit on the Patriots 2020 adjusted cap number for the unearned 46-man active roster bonuses.
- Patriots and Brown compromise on the signing bonus: Doing so would lower the 2020 signing bonus proration amount of $4.5 million and there may also be a credit on 2020 cap.
- A cushion for the million in NLTBE 46-man active roster bonuses that could be earned by 10 players.
- A cushion to extend players during the regular season — usually between $1 million and $4 million.
- A cushion to replace injured players during the preseason and regular season. This total is usually between $3 million and $5 million. Under the new CBA, the Patriots have ended their seasons with the following amounts of players on Injured Reserve, PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) or NFI (Non-Football Injury):
2011: 12
2012: 11
2013: 13
2014: 10
2015: 20
2016: 6
2017: 17
2018: 10
Answer: We shouldd learn how Brown's 2019 dead money number is initially calculated by the NFLPA and the NFL's Management Council next week. The NFLPA has a public salary cap page Since they are still using the Top 51 rule its current Patriots salary cap space number is $10,468,963. A change from that number should tell us Brown's new 2019 salary cap number. It may not be until the middle of March when we will learn Brown's official 2020 cap number. It is not until right before the league year we learn each team's adjusted cap number. The 2020 League Year begins on March 18.
Answer: No.
Answer: No, since they were classified NLTBE (Not Likely to Be Earned) in 2019.
- Extend a player with a high cap number. The most likely candidates are Kyle Van Noy, Dont'a Hightower and Devin McCourty.
- Stay healthy. Right now, they are paying the salaries of 53 active players, Ben Watson, Isaiah Wynn, and N'Keal Harry. If they do not place a player on IR before Watson comes back from his suspension on Week 5, the Patriots will then be able to release a player who is not eligible for the termination pay benefit from the 53-man roster. Releasing that player will remove 13 weeks of his salary from the Patriots salary cap. If they do not place a player on IR before Harry comes back from IR on Week 9, the Patriots will then be able to release a player who is not eligible for the termination pay benefit from the 53-man roster. Releasing that player will remove nine weeks of his salary from the Patriots salary cap. If they do not place a player on IR before Wynn comes back from IR on Week 11, the Patriots will then be able to release a player who is not eligible for the termination pay benefit from the 53-man roster. Releasing that player will then remove six weeks of his salary from the Patriots salary cap.
- Not have a 10-man practice squad.
- Pay all new practice squad members the minimum.
Answer: If Rob Gronkowski 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. As Bedard illustrated in here, the deadline to unretire is Week 13.
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:
[table id=132 /]
The 74 players include 16 of 22 SB LIII starters, 31 of 53 SB LIII active players, and 3 of 13 players who were on IR/NFI.
