FINALLY! - A National Columnist Gets it Right

[Schneed10]

Peter King:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...417/index.html

2. Now we know how the Redskins play Houdini with the cap every year.
I hear it every winter -- from editors, readers, people in line at Starbucks. (True story: I got asked at an Orlando Starbucks during the league meetings how the Redskins were able to sign 10 guys to gigantic contracts every year.) The answer: They don't. It's 70 percent funny money. Take the case of linebacker Andre Carter, signed to a reported seven-year, $32.5 million contract on March 15. It's more accurately a one-year, $5.85 million deal, or a two-year, $10.18 million contract, or a three-year, $13.5 million deal. See, the Redskins sign players to long deals, but the contracts are back-loaded, meaning they would get most of the money in the final years of the contracts, if they get the money at all. And if Carter turns out to be the defensive force the Redskins hope he'll be, they'll almost certainly just let him play the first two years, then re-do the deal before the fat money kicks in. Specifically, in Carter's case, he has two major slices of money he may never see: $13.4 million, combined, in five separate roster bonuses to be earned if he's on the roster in 2008, '09, '10, '11, and '12; and salaries totaling $8.9 million between 2008 and 2012. Collectively, that's $22.3 million of a $32 million he may never see. Now the other question you have is this: Well, won't the Redskins get killed on the salary cap if they release Carter, say, after two years? The answer is not really, because the only part of his contract that's guaranteed is the signing bonus, which is $5 million.

He stops short of saying it's a smart cap strategy, but from this little excerpt hopefully he spreads a little understanding to all those ignoramuses who love to bash the 'Skins' cap management.

[redskinsskickazz]

and its peter king of all people.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Shocking.

[MTK]

I'm in shock right now

[amorentz]

I just signed on to post this same excerpt...I guess I was late doing it because I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. My exact thought as I read it was "Finally! Some sanity!"

But as I heard once, the Redskins are probably sitting there laughing at the media making such a fuss about our contracts. It is absolutely in their interest for the players, agents and free-agents-to-be out there to think that we are giving away absurd contracts. Then we can just sit there knowing that we have well-protected interests and top-notch players. Go Skins!

[skinsguy]

My question is, do these players willingly know this is going to happen to them down the road, and figure that getting any money at all is better than getting no money (hard to believe), or do they have the mindset to believe that this is an incentive for them to play "up to the contract" in hopes it won't get renegiotated down the road? I think it's great cap strategy, but if I was a player, I'm not sure I'd go for this. I'd like to know exactly what is being said to the players and their agents that make them go for this type of deal. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining one bit, but I just find it interesting that players and their agents don't pick up on this stuff.

[724Skinsfan]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

My question is, do these players willingly know this is going to happen to them down the road, and figure that getting any money at all is better than getting no money (hard to believe), or do they have the mindset to believe that this is an incentive for them to play "up to the contract" in hopes it won't get renegiotated down the road? I think it's great cap strategy, but if I was a player, I'm not sure I'd go for this. I'd like to know exactly what is being said to the players and their agents that make them go for this type of deal. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining one bit, but I just find it interesting that players and their agents don't pick up on this stuff.

I was thinking the same thing back when it became clear that a lot players won't see the money they are reportedly signing for. Perhaps they know, but really you here comments like "I let me agent take care of all that". So, some of them may well be ignorant to this.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

My question is, do these players willingly know this is going to happen to them down the road, and figure that getting any money at all is better than getting no money (hard to believe), or do they have the mindset to believe that this is an incentive for them to play "up to the contract" in hopes it won't get renegiotated down the road? I think it's great cap strategy, but if I was a player, I'm not sure I'd go for this. I'd like to know exactly what is being said to the players and their agents that make them go for this type of deal. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining one bit, but I just find it interesting that players and their agents don't pick up on this stuff.

I think the answer to your question is Yes they do know the chances of playing out their contract is very unlikely. Its an ego thing that they got such a big contract when in fact they will never see most of that money. So what we are doing is paying them what they are worth but they get the satisfation of hearing about the big contract they received. How we manage the cap has come to lite the past few years but I myself wish everyone was still guessing. Other teams will start to use these stratgies which will make them more competitive in the free agent market.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

My question is, do these players willingly know this is going to happen to them down the road, and figure that getting any money at all is better than getting no money (hard to believe), or do they have the mindset to believe that this is an incentive for them to play "up to the contract" in hopes it won't get renegiotated down the road? I think it's great cap strategy, but if I was a player, I'm not sure I'd go for this. I'd like to know exactly what is being said to the players and their agents that make them go for this type of deal. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining one bit, but I just find it interesting that players and their agents don't pick up on this stuff.

Yeah the players know but they don't care. They know if they make a deal like this that either they will rework the deal to get the money if they have played well or will get released if they have only played ok. That backend money forces the skins to pay the guys who have played well and get rid of thsoe who haven't. Most players are willing to bet on themselves being able to "earn" that backend money. The skins build in the dead money from the players who don't "earn" the money on a yearly basis.

[MonkFan4Life]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

My question is, do these players willingly know this is going to happen to them down the road, and figure that getting any money at all is better than getting no money (hard to believe), or do they have the mindset to believe that this is an incentive for them to play "up to the contract" in hopes it won't get renegiotated down the road? I think it's great cap strategy, but if I was a player, I'm not sure I'd go for this. I'd like to know exactly what is being said to the players and their agents that make them go for this type of deal. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining one bit, but I just find it interesting that players and their agents don't pick up on this stuff.

I know your post has been quoted a lot of times but they do in fact know about the back end money. That's the real reason Smoot left. The final numbers had Minnesota edging Washington by $500,000 making the Skins look bad to the media. I heard my man Czaban ripping the Skins over $500,000 when it was that Minnesota gave him most of his money early and Washington wasn't. The Skins know what they are doing and for the folks who come aboard there is a lot of money to be made if they stay. They are so good even Peter King had to bow down show respect. Like Joe Gibbs said, Everyone can do what we are doing, they just choose not to !


F'n HAIL !!!!

[BigSKINBauer]

Originally Posted by MonkFan4Life

I know your post has been quoted a lot of times but they do in fact know about the back end money. That's the real reason Smoot left. The final numbers had Minnesota edging Washington by $500,000 making the Skins look bad to the media. I heard my man Czaban ripping the Skins over $500,000 when it was that Minnesota gave him most of his money early and Washington wasn't. The Skins know what they are doing and for the folks who come aboard there is a lot of money to be made if they stay. They are so good even Peter King had to bow down show respect. Like Joe Gibbs said, Everyone can do what we are doing, they just choose not to !


F'n HAIL !!!!

That is exactly who i was thinking of. Smoot left because all the money was "back ended". I was always pissed about that but really is it possible that current players on the team have seen this stuff happen will be much more less likely to agree to these deals when it comes time to become free agents? We do an amazing job reworking contracts and just tacking on years and pushing back signing bonuses and money but if we do let a player become a free agent it must be hard if they really have seen what has happened.

We all know what we do. We all said this about brunell. We knew he wouldn't see a lot of his money. He reworked his contract but if he didn't i think he would have been cut this next year.

The rest of the league should be taking notes. The way we divide signing bonuses and push back money may not make us friends but it got us a hole lot of damn good players

[724Skinsfan]

Think of it this way. If a player wants to get paid before he proves himself would you consider that guy a "core" player? If you have a guy that is willing to work hard and then has a chance to be well rewarded then you have a guy worth having on your team. I foolishly believe that there are some players out there that are willing to prove their value.

[MTK]

Now the other question you have is this: Well, won't the Redskins get killed on the salary cap if they release Carter, say, after two years? The answer is not really, because the only part of his contract that's guaranteed is the signing bonus, which is $5 million.

For all the cap hell theorists, this is exactly how the Redskins are able to avoid cap hell year after year.

Finally some sanity, from Peter King no less.

Again, I'm still in shock.

[celts32]

I was annoyed by that kind of. PK sort of seperates himself from those that have predicted cap doom for all these years. I wanted him to acknowledge in there that he had been wrong all these years. I guess that's to much to ask.

[jbcjr14]

This is the beginning of the "bandwagon jump" where all the national media will start saying how smart the deals were, blah, blah and how good of a team they knew they would be and Mark Brunell is not too old. We saw glimpses of it last year as the season went along. I call bullshit, keep hating like you have the last 10 yrs and piss off!

Maybe I should start a F...the National Media thread?