(03-26-2018, 01:43 PM)Beaver Wrote:Would this be done NHL-style where the bonuses count against the following season's cap? For example:I think that's a good idea. I hadn't considered it, nor did I specify, but I don't think that would be as bad for the league as it would be for the GMs of that team. It's an element of planning that I think would make the job more interesting and immersive. Plus the players would benefit. They could always (assuming the no cap trading rule doesn't pass) trade for more space if necessary. So while it might cost them to pay those consequences, if they have a real shot at making the playoffs I don't see a team not what they need to in order to continue allowing their preferred players to stay on the field.
Player X has a contract that gives him a $1m bonus for hitting 1000 TPE and a $1m bonus for throwing 30 touchdowns. In Season 11 Player X hits 1000 TPE and throws 29 touchdowns so he gets his $1m and his team has $1m that counts against Season 12's cap. The following season he throws 30 touchdowns so he gets paid and they have $1m that counts against Season 13's cap.
Because if it counts in the season it's earned then a team that spends all the way to the cap and one of their players with a bonus clause has a surprise season would be in a tight spot (of their own making). I'm a big fan of natural consequences for poor planning but this could be harmful to the league in situations like the following:
Player X has a contract that gives him a $1m bonus for throwing 30 touchdowns and 5 of his teammates have similar clauses. In Season 11 Player X's team budgeted $5m for bonuses but they're on track to having $6m worth of payouts due to a few surprise performances. With Player X at 29 touchdowns after Week 12 they play a backup for the final 2 weeks to avoid him hitting the performance bonus and thus sending the team over the cap. If they do this without the player's acquiescence then it would lead to a schism almost certainly and even if the player agrees to help out the team it would likely sour the relationship and isn't good for the league. Depending on the standings and schedule that could impact who gets into the playoffs or who gets home field advantage, etc.
Follow up: what's even the penalty for going over the salary cap? I don't see it in the rulebook so maybe it's light enough that teams will just accept it if they have a good enough season to warrant a ton of bonuses.
The penalty in the past has been future cap penalties.
