NFL Noise:

• So the salary cap for 2021 is $182.5 million.
  • That is a $15.7 million decrease from the 2020 cap of $198.2 million. 
    • Since it had risen on average $10 million per year per year, teams went into the 2020 season basing their signings on an estimated $210 million cap for 2021.
  • This is going to cause some needed negotiations in future between the owners and the owners & union.
    • Like the long-rumoured QB exception to the cap.
    • Also, this likely affects long-term planning, as most deals signed this year will be one-and-done’s, so the player can cash in next year if the cap rises.
  • According to Spotrac, there are (as of today) eight teams over the cap.
    • The worst-off are the Rams (+ $32.1 million) and the Saints (+ $29.7 million)
    • The best positioned teams are the Jags, Jets & Patriots, who each have $70 million in cap space.
  • Free agency officially starts at 4:00pm ET next Wednesday, but the “legal tampering” period begins on Monday.
    • The best perspective on this?

This free agency Gon be wild. Gonna be a lot of REALLY good players take one year rentals because that salary cap. Super teams type. IMO we Gon see tho👀

— Chase Edmonds (@ChaseEdmonds22) February 17, 2021

• More proof the new league year starts next week? Salary cap cuts & adjustments!
  • The Chiefs released Patrick Mahomes’ starting OTs, Eric Fisher & Mitchell Schwartz.
    • It saves them a combined $18.3 million against the cap while costing just $3 million.
    • With Laurent Duvernay-Tardif also on leave, it means Patrick Mahomes is soon going to find out how DangeRuss a high-value contract can be on the team around you.
  • The Saints released veteran CB Janoris Jenkins.
    • The math on this is almost Bonilla-like:
      • He was owed $11.2 million this year, with a cap hit of $14.2 million.
        • Cutting him before March 17 – League-year start – saves the Saints $7 million on the salary cap with $7.2 million as a dead-money hit.
      • He was also owed a $1.2 million fully guaranteed roster bonus.
        • Before releasing him, the Saints turned it into a signing bonus and spread it out over two years, saving them an additional $600,000 against the cap.
  • The Panthers restructured the deals of RB Christian McCaffrey and LB Shaq Thompson, saving themselves $11 million against the cap.
    • They saved $5.6 million in space on McCaffrey by converting his 2021 base salary of just over $8 million into signing bonus.
    • They saved $6.126 million on Thompson by reducing Thompson’s base salary of just over $10 million in 2021 to the league minimum of $990,000 for a player with at least four years in the league, and converted the rest to a signing bonus.
      • It’s a trick the Patriots used with Tom Brady for over a decade.

Finally, as proof that all sports media is HYPE and PAGEVIEWS, you have the Houston Texans.

• nfl.com – Deshaun Watson is our starting quarterback, for now
• pft.com – Deshaun Watson is available for trade
• espn.com – Deshaun Watson is our starting quarterback

All of these positions come from the same podcast interview new head coach David Culley gave to Jim Trotter. It’s a refreshing break from the “WHERE’S RUSSELL WILSON GOING?” noise, until the two storms of bullshit merge & become a superstorm. Likely, just before the draft.

Remember kids – being able to sift through all the bullshit is half the battle. The other half?

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL:
  • Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo – 7:30pm | Sportsnet
• NBA:
  • Boston vs Brooklyn – 7:30pm | TNT / Sportsnet1
  • Atlanta vs Toronto – 7:30pm | TSN5
  • Golden State vs LA Clippers – 10:00pm | TNT / Sportsnet1
• NCAA:
  • AAC First Round: East Carolina vs. UCF – 7:00pm | ESPNU
  • Big East Quarterfinal: DePaul vs. UConn – 9:00pm | FS1
  • Texas Tech at Texas – 9:30PM | ESPN2
  • Pac-12 First Round: California vs. Colorado – 11:30pm | ESPN

There aren’t enough words to use at how crushed we all are that Duke got Corona’d out of the ACC tournament. I know Seamus is looking up and smiling.