The NFLPA wants to make sure teams are spending enough money on players, and they’re going to release their own set of numbers to try to encourage just that.
Via Tom Pelissero of USA Today, union boss DeMaurice Smith said they would release their own salary cap projection next month, since they feel the league has tried to deflate the market with low-ball estimates.
Last year, the salary cap rose from $123 million to $133 million, and the league’s management council told teams to expect next year’s to fall between $138.6 million to $141.8 million. But Smith said he thinks the final figure will be higher than that.
“Look, I’m thrilled when the salary cap goes up 10 million dollars,” Smith said. “I’m ecstatic when they’re paying 8.5 (million) of that. . . .
“The last few years, you have seen various stories reported by some of you in the room … where you have reported things about the salary cap from ownership that has turned out to not be true. We believe that that not only misrepresents the economic reality of how the salary cap works, but our concern is that those inaccurate projections may have a negative consequence on some players who are trying to negotiate new contracts.”
Smith also pointed to 10 teams that didn’t spend required the 89 percent cash spending minimum in 2013, the Browns, Texans, Jaguars, Patriots, Saints, Giants, Jets, Raiders, Steelers and Washington.
“Let’s be blunt: it’s not overly titillating,” Smith said. “But the reason why I think it’s interesting to look at those 10 teams that were under the 89 percent -- and there were a couple that were hovering around the 80 percent – (is) they’re going to be in a situation where hypothetically, if the cap continues to rise as we expect, on the back end of this deal, they’ve got to spend 110 and 120 percent of a salary cap that’s 20 million dollars higher than it was three years ago. To that, I say, ‘Fantastic.’”
While Smith’s right that the math won’t grab headlines, the fact that the salary cap is rising at a rate higher than expected will force teams to spend more, which is what he’s after.