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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell recently discussed "looking into the integrity of the salary cap," according to Albert Breer's latest mailbag on Sports Illustrated. Plenty of teams have found loopholes to essentially circumvent the current system in place. The Seattle Seahawks' NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers may be at the forefront of the league's reasoning.
A handful of teams have managed to significantly lower cap charges by providing up-front signing bonuses, or tacking on dummy/void years at the end of the contract. These bonuses are often prorated throughout the life of the contract (up to a maximum of five years). Of course, there can be ramifications, with salary cap numbers greatly increasing in the latter years, but teams can then restructure those contracts to spread out the charges.
49ers owner Jed York has been willing to spend aggressively in pursuit of an ever-elusive Super Bowl. York has provided the 49ers with bundles of up-front cash in recent years in an effort to keep the core of their roster together. Most NFL fans don't realize that only a handful of owners are willing to provide the necessary cashflow to operate this way.
Unsurprisingly, the 49ers rank first in dead money this coming season at a whopping $81.3 million, per Over The Cap. They’re scheduled to rank third in that department in 2026. Deebo Samuel will account for $34 million in dead money this season. Trading a player whose contract has been restructured to include void years, or including a prorated signing bonus, leads to massive dead money charges when traded, released, or if the player retires. That's what happened in Samuel's case.
The NFL is allegedly analyzing the integrity of the salary cap. The 49ers have given the league office reason to look into ways to prevent legal measures that circumvent the cap. The Seahawks will be paying close attention.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: NFL salary cap: 49ers could force league to make a rule change
Continue reading...
A handful of teams have managed to significantly lower cap charges by providing up-front signing bonuses, or tacking on dummy/void years at the end of the contract. These bonuses are often prorated throughout the life of the contract (up to a maximum of five years). Of course, there can be ramifications, with salary cap numbers greatly increasing in the latter years, but teams can then restructure those contracts to spread out the charges.
49ers owner Jed York has been willing to spend aggressively in pursuit of an ever-elusive Super Bowl. York has provided the 49ers with bundles of up-front cash in recent years in an effort to keep the core of their roster together. Most NFL fans don't realize that only a handful of owners are willing to provide the necessary cashflow to operate this way.
Unsurprisingly, the 49ers rank first in dead money this coming season at a whopping $81.3 million, per Over The Cap. They’re scheduled to rank third in that department in 2026. Deebo Samuel will account for $34 million in dead money this season. Trading a player whose contract has been restructured to include void years, or including a prorated signing bonus, leads to massive dead money charges when traded, released, or if the player retires. That's what happened in Samuel's case.
The NFL is allegedly analyzing the integrity of the salary cap. The 49ers have given the league office reason to look into ways to prevent legal measures that circumvent the cap. The Seahawks will be paying close attention.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: NFL salary cap: 49ers could force league to make a rule change
Continue reading...
