[die cowboys die]

i am reading that the redskins only have a couple million $ left in cap space... i'm wondering, do players we select in the draft still have to fit under that? i've heard there is some sort of "rookie pool" or "sub-cap" pertaining to them, does that still have to fit under the $2M we have left?

thanks for any answers.

[BossHog]

The draft isn't until April. So... I don't think I'd be worrying about it quite yet.

Yes the draft counts against the cap... almost everything paid to a player does.

The rookie pool just means that a set amount of the annual salary cap is dedicated to the rookies (based on the selections that you have)

Of note from the CBA:

Drafted Rookies’ Salaries shall be tendered automatically at the Rookie Minimum Active List Salary as of the day of the Draft and shall be included in Team Salary until (1) the player is signed, (2) the Team’s rights are relinquished through waivers, or (3) the Tuesday following the tenth week of the regular season (if the player is unsigned).

Which means that on Draft Day... the rookies each get the MINIMUM ACTIVE SALARY attached to them UNTIL they reach an actual deal or release him on waivers.

There is also the 'Rookie Pool' which is basically a cap within the cap and automatically creates a MAXIMUM number for all rookie contracts signed to a team. Based on a percentage of the league's revenues (5% in 2004 through 2007 as per the CBA), it gives the NFL a static number of dollars that thery then distribute throughout the teams accordingly (based on the number and position of draft picks that they have.)

Here are the numbers from 2004:

1. San Diego . . . $6,024,776
2. Oakland . . . $5,170,440
3. Jacksonville . . . $5,050,059
4. Arizona . . . $4,706,896
5. Tennessee . . . $4,702,937
6. Cincinnati . . . $4,639,928
7. Detroit . . . $4,580,926
8. Houston . . . $4,449,138
9. N.Y. Giants . . . $4,370,100
10. Atlanta . . . $4,329,933
11. Denver . . . $4,296,669
12. San Francisco . . . $4,143,162
13. New England . . . $4,130,090
14. N.Y. Jets . . . $3,999,265
15. Pittsburgh . . . $3,904,326
16. Philadelphia . . . $3,748,154
17. Chicago . . . $3,738,616
18. Buffalo . . . $3,640,573
19. Cleveland . . . $3,612,999
20. Minnesota . . . $3,538,788
21. Tampa Bay . . . $3,289,627
22. Indianapolis . . . $3,129,590
23. Seattle . . . $3,106,600
24. Washington . . . $3,098,865
25. New Orleans . . . $2,960,636
26. Dallas . . . $2,895,414
27. St. Louis . . . $2,763,323
28. Green Bay . . . $2,733,855
29. Kansas City . . . $2,704,631
30. Carolina . . . $2,608,614
31. Miami . . . $2,491,245
32. Baltimore . . . $2,202,960
Total . . . $120,763,185