-- Zorn to Talk to Lloyd Before Cutting Him --

[jdlea]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Yes, the net cap hit is lessened every year we keep him on, but every year we keep him on he gets to see more and more of his contract value.

So cut him out of spite? Because he's not worth the money? Here's a thought...don't give a very mediocre player that much $$ in the first place. Is anyone really that surprised that this prima donna didn't work out? Now, as far as I can tell, you're stuck with him.

IMO, you don't start cutting guys and eating big cap hits when you're trying like hell to get under the cap. If they had something like 10 or 12 million in cap room, sure knock yourself out, cut the guy, but at this point I just don't think it makes any sense. Why waste the cap space.

I'm not saying he should ever get to cash another check from this team, but my opinion is that we don't have many other options. I mean, the guy can't possibly do any worse than he's done since he got here. He can only try to contribute...the problem with that is, I don't even know that he's interested in doing that.

So, I guess, what I'm saying is, the guy is a waste of money and I don't want him, but it doesn't make sense (financially) to cut him. Cutting him because he's an @$$hole isn't a good enough reason for me, especially not when you're already over the cap.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by jdlea

So cut him out of spite? Because he's not worth the money? Here's a thought...don't give a very mediocre player that much $$ in the first place. Is anyone really that surprised that this prima donna didn't work out? Now, as far as I can tell, you're stuck with him.

IMO, you don't start cutting guys and eating big cap hits when you're trying like hell to get under the cap. If they had something like 10 or 12 million in cap room, sure knock yourself out, cut the guy, but at this point I just don't think it makes any sense. Why waste the cap space.

I'm not saying he should ever get to cash another check from this team, but my opinion is that we don't have many other options. I mean, the guy can't possibly do any worse than he's done since he got here. He can only try to contribute...the problem with that is, I don't even know that he's interested in doing that.

So, I guess, what I'm saying is, the guy is a waste of money and I don't want him, but it doesn't make sense (financially) to cut him. Cutting him because he's an @$$hole isn't a good enough reason for me, especially not when you're already over the cap.

I'm preety sure we're under the cap actually

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by jdlea

So cut him out of spite? Because he's not worth the money? Here's a thought...don't give a very mediocre player that much $$ in the first place. Is anyone really that surprised that this prima donna didn't work out? Now, as far as I can tell, you're stuck with him.

IMO, you don't start cutting guys and eating big cap hits when you're trying like hell to get under the cap. If they had something like 10 or 12 million in cap room, sure knock yourself out, cut the guy, but at this point I just don't think it makes any sense. Why waste the cap space.

I'm not saying he should ever get to cash another check from this team, but my opinion is that we don't have many other options. I mean, the guy can't possibly do any worse than he's done since he got here. He can only try to contribute...the problem with that is, I don't even know that he's interested in doing that.

So, I guess, what I'm saying is, the guy is a waste of money and I don't want him, but it doesn't make sense (financially) to cut him. Cutting him because he's an @$$hole isn't a good enough reason for me, especially not when you're already over the cap.

Okay, I was a bit unclear. Money is cap. Cap is money. Roster bonuses and base salaries are not guaranteed, and as the cap lingo goes are not earned until said player accomplishes the tasks.

Your points are correct from a purely 2008 perspective. It's tougher to create cap room in 2008 if we release B. Lloyd before his roster bonus than if we just leave him on the 53 man.

But that's not the whole picture. It's important to understand the factors of contract: 1) Money that has already been counted against the cap in previous years, 2) Money that is guaranteed/earned, but has not been counted against the salary cap yet, and 3) Money that is not guaranteed and has not been earned. Here's how B. Lloyd's contract breaks down:

Contract: 7 years/$29M/$5M SB/$5M SB in 2007/$1.8M RB in 2008

So the day after Lloyd signed the deal:

Money counted against cap (beginning of time-2005)= $0
Money that is guaranteed/earned= $10 million (both SBs)
Money that is unearned= $19 million

Here's those same specs one year later (March, 2007):

2006 Cap Number ~ 1.5 million
Money counted against the cap (2006)= $1.5 million
Money that is guaranteed/earned= $10.75 million (Signing bonuses plus 2006 earnings)
Money that is unearned= $18.25 million

And those specs right now (today)
2007 Cap Number ~ 2.33 million
Money counted against the cap (2006-2007)= $3.83 million (2006+2007 cap number)
Money that is guaranteed/earned= $11.50 million (SBs + 2006 base earnings + 2007 base earnings)
Money that is unearned= $17.50 million

Remember how Redskin contracts are backloaded? Basically, if we let Lloyd play this year, we owe him not only his $853,000 base salary, but also a $1.8 million roster bonus. Now, we never have to pay either of those if we cut Lloyd today, and we save the $17.50 million that is unearned. If Lloyd is still on the roster a week from today, his roster bonus becomes earned and that $17.50 million becomes $15.70 million. If we leave him on through the season, that number becomes $14.90 million.

Eventually, that number keeps dwindling until it becomes zero, and the contract expires. The point is this: the sooner you get him off your roster, the less he takes off the total value of your cap.

And yes, it's a $7 million cap hit to cut him before the bonus is due, but you are paying $7 million against this year's cap, saving $4,238,000 instantly, and $17.50 million in total contract value. So it's definately in our benefit to eat it now, much like we did with Arch last season.

The only way a team can prevent a player from earning unearned money is to release him, period.