The most quoted paragraph on Washington Redskins message boards and any other discussions about the Redskins leading up to the start of Free Agency was from the Washington Post.
It read:
"The Redskins still have one of the worst salary cap situations in the NFL. They could be roughly $10 million under the cap by restructuring a few more contracts and releasing a player such as veteran cornerback Shawn Springs, but that might not be enough for the Redskins to sign a high-profile player when bidding on free agents officially begins Friday at 12:01 a.m."
What was so odd about this statement was the fact that they had also noted the Redskins had just reworked defensive end Andre Carter and wide receiver Antwaan Randle El’s contracts to create cap room and were working on contract extentions for Chris Samuels and Cornelius Griffin in the same article. Prior to all of this the Redskins had released linebacker Marcus Washington and had reportedly freed up about $4 million against the salary cap. OK the Post article wasn’t just odd it was wrong. The piece was written Wednesday, February 25, 2009 and by that time Washington had made enough moves to be well under the projected salary cap of $123 miliion for 2009.
Here is a look at what the Redskins did leading up to 12:01 a.m Friday, Febuary 27th.
Punter Ryan Plackemeier was released which saved $535,000 on the 2009 cap.
Andre Carter converted $2.5 million of his 2009 roster bonus to a signing bonus and agreed to take $500,000 less in base salary for 2009, this turned into a $2.4 million cap savings this year.
Antwaan Randle El converted $2.5 million of his 2009 salary into a signing bonus which was also a $2 million cap savings this year.
Long snapper Ethan Albright was signed to a one year contract for $845,000 but the Redskins only added $510,000 to the 2009 cap.
Marcus Washington was released which saved $4.5 million minus $385,000 (wide receiver Marques Hagans moved into the top 51).
At this point the Washington Redskins were roughly $3.4 million under the cap.
Chris Samuels converted $3 million of his 2009 salary into a signing bonus which was a $2.4 million cap savings this year.
Cornelius Griffin converted $2.8 million of his 2009 salary into a signing bonus saving almost $3 million cap space this year.
The Redskins made tender offers to Defensive Ends Anthony Montgomery (5th round tender or $1 million) and Kedric Golston (2nd round tender or $1.5 million) Kicker Shaun Suisham was also received a $1 million tender.
As the clock struck midnight Defensive End Phillip Daniels contract voided and cleared another $2.3 million in cap space. The Redskins adjusted cap number was just under $124.5 million including bonuses that were not met last year, and the NFL added $4 million to each teams 2009 cap. The Redskins were sitting at roughly $13.7 million under the cap and ready to go shopping.
And shopping they did:
The Redskins provided the NFL with it’s first $100 million defensive player five hours into the 2009 free agent signing period, when they signed former Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to a seven year deal that can be worth as much as $115 million. Before landing the most sought after defensive tackle on the market, they re-signed the teams top priority going into free agency when the agreed to a six-year, $54 million deal with cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Late Friday night the Redskins reached agreement with former Redskins/Bills guard Derrick Dockery on a five-year, $26 million.
So with no way of making a play for any of the top free agents according to one longtime league official with knowledge of Washington's cap problems who said that “he could not envision any scenario, even with creative cap management, in which the Redskins could make a big offer to Haynesworth, bring back Hall and bolster the offensive line in free agency”, the Redskins offered $180 million in contracts to sign Haynesworth, bring back Hall and bolster the offensive line in free agency.
How did the do it, you may ask, in the past the easy answer would have been “backloaded” contracts. The Redskins did have that option this year, with the league operating as if this is the final capped year under the current CBA. Assuming the Collective Bargining Agreement will not be extended or replaced the Redskins had to structure new contract differently than what had been the norm. In past years they would sign players to huge contracts with split signing bonuses, low base salaries in the early years and huge base salaries as the contract ages. This allowed the team to restructure these deal as the base salaries got out of hand. With 2009 being the final capped year the CBA limits increases of base salary to increase no more than 30% of the salary of the final capped year (2009). They could continue offering large signing bonuses but paying the veteran minimum base salary in year one would prevent them from adding millions in base salary at the end of the contract. Under the 30% rule, salaries include base salary, roster bonuses, and likely to be earned incentives. Signing bonuses will not count in calculation for the 30% rule, but the pro-rations of any option bonuses will. The rule applies to every contract that extends from the final capped season into an uncapped season - this includes restructures, extensions, and new contracts written in 2009.
The Redskins adjusted to these new limitations by continuing to offer large signing bonuses, but spread them out over three years instead the normal two year “split”, the first year’s base salary is generally twice the amount that it will be in year two. According to the NFLPA Albert Haynesworth will have a salary of $6 million dollars in 2009; this allows the Redskins to increase his base salary by as much as $1,800,000 in any year of the deal. If his 2009 base had been $2 million the maximum increase per year would only be $600,000. Haynesworth’s base will drop to $3,600,000 in 2010, and he will receive the maximum increase in 2011 ($3,600,000 + $1,800,000 or $5.4 million). In 2012 the base will increase by $1,300,000 to $6.7 million and he’ll get the maximum increase in 2013 and 2014. The final year of his deal the increase will be the smallest of the deal at $1.2 million.
The Redskins managed to squeeze more than 30% of the total value of the contract into base salary over the last three years of the deal because the first year’s base was so high. That’s $30,030,000 in a contract that will more than likely be reworked well before any of it is paid. Haynesworth will receive $41 million over the first three years of the contract in guaranteed bonus money, $22 million in 2009, $9 million in 2010 and $10 million in 2011. The final capped year also played a part in the way the guaranteed money is structured, a signing bonus paid in 2008 could be pro-rated over six years but teams are now limited to just five years to account for these payout. With $22 million being paid in 2009, the Redskins will only have to account for $4.4 million of it this year. The 2010 payout is $9 million or $1.8 million for cap purposes, the final $10,000,000 will be paid in 2011 and will add $2 million against the cap over the remainder of the deal. Haynesworth can earn another $15 million through incentives in the first four years, and there is a $3 million roster bonus for 2013 thru 2016.
News reports stating that this seven year/$100,000,000 deal is really only a four-year, $48 million deal is based on Haynesworth having $26.9 million cap hit in 2013 plus a $3,000,000 roster bonus payout. True this no more than a four year deal but with $41 million guaranteed in the first three years and base salaries totaling $21.7 million the first four years, it’s more like four years and $63 million. Come 2013 the Redskins will have to decide if they want to take an almost $30 million cap hit and payout a $3 million bonus or simply carry $11.6 million in dead cap money, if there is a salary cap at that time.
DeAngelo Hall’s deal is worth $54 million over six years, he will receive $23 million guaranteed. The NFLPA site hasn’t release the yearly salary breakdown but you can bet it is structured like Haynesworth. He’ll get a $4-$5 million Roster Bonus in 2012 but that’s the last cash payout. Then again he’ll pocket $30,000,000 in the first few years of the contract.
Derrick Dockery signed for five years and $26.5 million with $8 million guaranteed. His contract is a mixture of the old and the new. As stated above in past years players that receives split signing bonuses from the Redskins were paid in full over two years, they also would get big roster bonuses each year for three years, not including the first year. Dockery will get the split bonus over two years ($4 million each year), but like Hayneworth and Hall he won’t see a roster bonus until 2012. Dockery’s base salary will also drop in year two from $3,200,000 in 2009 to $2,910,000 in 2010, which again allows the Redskins to increase his 2011 base more than the 30% (up to $3,783,000) that the CBA allows, and give him a base of $3,815,000. In reality they could have went as high as $3,870,000 in year three because again the 30% rule is based on the $3,200,000 in 2009 (meaning no more than $960,000 per year. He will get the max increase in 2012 when his base goes to $4,775,000. With his $2,000,000 roster bonus due the same year his cap hit will be $7,042,000. If they choose to cut him before his last cash payout, he would be released and the Redskins would carry a $4 million cap number for him (or save just over $3 million in space). Regardless he’ll be paid 11.5 million over the first two years of this deal, but it could be read as a three year/$17,925,000 deal.
After the signing of Haynesworth and Hall the Redskins felt comfortable in releasing cornerback Shawn Springs which saved $6 million in 2009 cap space, Jason Taylor’s released freed up another $8 million (not $8.5 million as reported because the $500,000 bonus they wanted renegotiate was never on the books because it had not been paid).
With the free agency talent drying up as the days go by, the Washington Redskins need to address holes not yet filled. The Washington Times is reporting that the Washington Redskins have “limited flexibility” to address these needs. This is another head scrather because almost a week after the Post said they wouldn’t be players in the 2009 free agency market, they signed a Pro Bowl defensive tackle in Albert Haynesworth, re-signed cornerback DeAngelo Hall, brought back former starting guard Derrick Dockery and signed punter Dirk Johnson.
They are currently courting free agent offensive tackles Ray Willis and Elton Brown, still talking to guard Pete Kendall about resigning, and expected to resign defensive end Phillip Daniels and maybe linebacker/special teams ace Khary Campbell. They may not get Ray Willis and Elton Brown, but not counting Dirk Johnson, the Washington Redskins are more than $11 million under the 2009 salary cap on March 5th and are anything but limited in what the can do between now and the 2009 NFL Draft.
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