Tale of the Tape | Dallas @ Washington | Week One

I've spent my afternoon trying to figure out how to get my analysis tables into this blog, as blogger's posting interface was far from helpful.  That said, I finally found a way that presented the tables in a legible manner; given that I'm a former programmer this shouldn't have been this painful.

Anyway, this entry marks the first installment of "Tale of the Tape."  I apologize to my non-Redskins readers, as this series (exclusive to Inside the Cap) over the course of the season will compare the Redskins' current guaranteed money commitments to their starters versus the current guaranteed money commitments to the Redskins' weekly opponent's starters.  Hopefully, the numbers allow the reader to see how the Redskins compare to their opponents via the compensation metric that is most important in the NFL player contract landscape, guaranteed money.  Guaranteed money is the chosen metric for this analysis because it's telling of the perceived quality of the player.

Couple of notes regarding the content below.  The next to each starters' name you will see how the player was acquired by the club (thanks to Ourlads.com).  Also, players whose contracts have been traded to their current team may or may not have guaranteed money that is the responsibility of the current team.  For example, Donovan McNabb's contract contains 3.5M in guaranteed salary that is the responsibility of the Redskins; conversely, Adam Carriker's contract contained guaranteed money, but that money has been paid and was the responsibility of the Rams.

The second table takes a cumulative look at guaranteed money committed to position groups.  The first comparison looks at a group seven players versus the opponent's group of seven; on offense this group of seven consists of the 5 starting offensive linemen, fullback, and quarterback versus the defense's group of defensive linemen (in the case of a 3-4 defense, three down linemen) and linebackers (four in the case of a 3-4).  The second comparison looks at the four offensive and defensive starters on the perimeter; so for the offense the group consists of the wide receivers, running back, and tight end versus the defense's group of cornerbacks and safeties.

If guaranteed money is the indicator of perceived quality of a player, then Jerry Jones' Cowboys are perceived to be a better team than Dan Snyder's Redskins.  It will be interesting to see over the course of the season, which team or teams consist of quality players with little guaranteed money committed to them.

TALE OF THE TAPE: GUARANTEED MONEY
REDSKINS				COWBOYS
Pos	No	Player	Guar $	Guar $	Pos	No	Player
Offense			$87,975,500	$147,061,368	Offense
LWR	84	GALLOWAY, JOEY U/Pit	$0	$27,000,000	LWR	11	Williams, Roy T/Det
RWR	89	MOSS, SANTANA T/NYJ	$10,000,000	$18,000,000	RWR	19	Austin, Miles CF06
LT	72	Williams, Trent 10/1	$36,750,000	$425,000	LT	68	Free, Doug 07/4
LG	66	DOCKERY, DERRICK 03/3	$8,200,000	$5,000,000	LG	63	KOSIER, KYLE U/Det
C	61	RABACH, CASEY U/Bal	$4,200,000	$10,000,000	C	65	GURODE, ANDRE 02/2
RG	75	HICKS, ARTIS U/Min	$1,000,000	$17,750,000	RG	70	DAVIS, LEONARD U/Arz
RT	77	Brown, Jammal T/NO	$0	$11,500,000	RT	75	COLOMBO, MARC SF05
TE	47	Cooley, Chris 04/3	$14,000,000	$12,000,000	TE	82	Witten, Jason 03/3
QB	5	MCNABB, DONOVAN T/Phi	$3,500,000	$29,294,118	QB	9	ROMO, TONY CF03
FB	45	SELLERS, MIKE CF98	$1,000,000	$92,250	FB	34	Anderson, Deon 07/6
RB	26	Portis, Clinton T/Den	$9,325,500	$16,000,000	RB	24	Barber, Marion 05/4
Defense			$70,900,000	$102,847,000	Defense
LDE	94	Carriker, Adam T/SL	$0	$0	LDE	96	Spears, Marcus 05/1
NT	96	KEMOEATU, MA'AKE CC/Car	$300,000	$8,000,000	NT	90	Ratliff, Jay 05/7
RDE	64	Golston, Kedric 06/6	$0	$8,000,000	RDE	99	Olshansky, Igor U/SD
LOLB	98	Orakpo, Brian 09/1	$12,100,000	$6,407,000	LOLB	93	Spencer, Anthony 07/1
LILB	59	FLETCHER, LONDON U/Buf	$10,500,000	$8,000,000	LILB	56	James, Bradie 03/4
RILB	52	McIntosh, Rocky 06/2	$0	$2,500,000	RILB	51	BROOKING, KEITH U/Atl
ROLB	99	CARTER, ANDRE U/SF	$9,000,000	$40,000,000	ROLB	94	Ware, Demarcus 05/1
LCB	22	Rogers, Carlos 05/1	$0	$21,895,000	LCB	41	NEWMAN, TERENCE 03/1
SS	30	Landry, LaRon 07/1	$17,500,000	$1,000,000	SS	43	Sensabaugh, Gerald U/Jax
FS	37	Doughty, Reed RFA/2	$0	$0	FS	20	Ball, Alan 07/7
RCB	23	Hall, DeAngelo SF08	$21,500,000	$7,045,000	RCB	21	Jenkins, Mike 08/1
Special Teams			$0	$3,448,500	Special Teams
P	6	BIDWELL, JOSH CC/TB	$0	$2,500,000	P	1	MCBRIAR, MAT SF03
PK	4	Gano, Graham SF09	$0	$148,500	PK	18	Buehler, David 09/5
LS	57	Sundberg, Nick SF10	$0	$800,000	LS	91	Ladouceur, LP SF05
TEAM TOTAL			$158,875,500	$253,356,868	TEAM TOTAL

Notes from the Individual Starters Analysis:
- I'd bet you'd be hard pressed to find another team in the NFL that has committed more guaranteed money to its starters than the Cowboys at $253M

- The battle between LT Trent Williams and OLB DeMarcus Ware represents $36M guaranteed versus $40M guaranteed.

- 8 of the Cowboys' 11 starters have contracts guaranteeing them in excess of $10M

- Players with $0 guaranteed represent players who have higher desire to perform well, as they're seeking the all important next contract with some level of guaranteed money.  To this point, the Cowboys have 2 players with no money guaranteed, while the Redskins have 10 players (inclusive of their K, P, & LS).

TALE OF THE TAPE, POSITION GROUPS: GUARANTEED MONEY
REDSKINS		COWBOYS
Offense		Defense
Trenches + QB	$54,650,000	$72,907,000	Front 7
Skill	$33,325,500	$29,940,000	Back 4
Total	$87,975,500	$102,847,000	Total
Defense		Offense
Front 7	$31,900,000	$74,061,368	Trenches + QB
Back 4	$39,000,000	$73,000,000	Skill
Total	$70,900,000	$147,061,368	Total
Special Teams		Special Teams
Total	$0	$3,448,500	Total
Team Total	$158,875,500	$253,356,868	Team Total
Definitions: Trenches + QB = OL, TE, FB, QB; Skill = WRs, TE, RB; Front 7 = DL, LBs; Back 4 = DBs; Teams = K, P, LS

Notes from the Position Group Analysis:

- based solely upon guaranteed money, the only position group the Redskins have an advantage is their skill players versus the Cowboys' secondary; this comes in large part to Cowboys safety Alan Ball currently playing on an exclusive rights 1-year tender, and cornerback Mike Jenkins and safety Gerald Sensabaugh both have a million or less in guaranteed money.

- the Cowboys' offense easily doubles the Redskins' defense in total guaranteed money.

- the Cowboys have committed 63% more in guaranteed money to their starters than the Redskins have to their own starters; the HUGE caveat being that Albert Haynesworth's $41M guarantee is not included in this analysis.

- the difference in guaranteed money between the Redskins offense and Cowboys defense is only approximately $15M, so one could assume the the Redskins offense should be able to fare decently well against the vaunted Cowboys defense.  However, if guaranteed money is an indicator, then Redskins defense simply doesn't have the horses to compete with the Cowboys offense.

Rams, Redskins, & the 85% Rule: Is Loophole Exploitation Wrong?

On Football Outsiders and here on Inside the Cap, I’ve discussed rules such as the 30% rule and how it has impacted contract extensions, as well as the 25% rule and how it plays a major role in the structuring of rookie contracts. This week the obscure 85% rule came to light when, after trading with the Rams for 5^th round linebacker Hall Davis, the Redskins released the linebacker the next day.

On page 54 of the CBA, the 85% rule is explained as such:

“In League Years for which no Salary Cap is in effect, 85% of any amount contracted by a Team to be paid from the Team’s Rookie Allocation to a Rookie, but not actually paid by the Team to that player, either as a rookie, or as a re-signed first year player or practice squad player, which amount was not paid because that player was released, will be distributed to all rookies on such Team promptly after the end of the season on a pro rata basis based upon the number of downs played.”

Before explaining this rule, keep in mind that Rams EVP of Football Operations Kevin Demoff and Redskins GM Bruce Allen were the cap guys in Tampa, and therefore have a great relationship. Moreover, both Allen and Demoff are rightfully & to their credit known for their creativity in pushing the envelope of the CBA and player contracts (ie, their work on Bucs QB Josh Johnson’s rookie contract guarantee; which is another story for another day), so it’s not exactly surprising that the two worked together in this instance.

Applying the above rule to Hall Davis, one would find out that the amount allocated to Davis from the Rams’ rookie pool was $367,220 ($320,000 salary + $67,220 in signing bonus proration) and that 85% of this amount is $312,137. One can assume that the Rams were going to release Davis; given this scenario, $312,137 would then go into a year-end pool that would be divvied amongst the rookies originally drafted & signed by the Rams who end up making the team.

In the rule above, I’ve highlighted “which amount was not paid because that player was released,” it is this language that has been leveraged. Since Davis was traded and not released, the 85% rule is rendered null, thereby providing the Rams a way to avoid an additional $312,137 player payroll expense.

The same rule and mechanics apply to 2010 sixth round tight end Dennis Morris, who the Redskins traded to the Rams in exchange for Davis, amongst draft pick compensation received by both clubs. In the case of Morris, his rookie pool allocation was $349,482. Therefore, the 85% rule calculation and amount avoided by the Redskins is $297,060.

To a certain extent, this is reminiscent of the Poison Pill controversy involving the Seahawks and Vikings a few years back. Interestingly, while not formally breaking any CBA rule regarding restricted free agency, the Poison Pill has never been used since. Similarly, while the Rams and Redskins did not break the 85% rule, they most certainly found a work around.

Teams and agents are always looking for work arounds. The supercede signing bonus used by the 49ers (another team known for their creative contracts & cap management) in the lucrative extension of Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Willis is a work around of the 30% rule. While the union I’m certain has an eye on the 85% rule work around, since it deprives their constituents of money, the union is not going to complain about a work around that allows its constituents to get paid when they otherwise would not be able to do so.

So work arounds are sought on both sides of the negotiating table. However, it’s debatable whether a creative idea that violates the spirit of a rule without technically violating the rule is wrong, when, again, both agents & teams are seeking and exploiting these work arounds to their respective benefits.

FO: Analysis of 1st Round Deals, Gerald McCoy & Joe Haden Lead the Way in Pre-Lockout Cash Flow

With a lockout looming in 2011, and with that lockout, the prospects of players not receiving paychecks until the lockout is over, Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and Browns cornerback Joe Haden look best prepared from a cash flow perspective to weather the lockout storm.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/under-cap/2010/under-cap-top-10-draft-picks