https://www.patspulpit.com/2019/9/13/20864002/should-the-patriots-inquire-about-a-trade-for-minkah-fitzpatrick
One thing I don't fully understand is how the upcoming CBA negotiations factor in to this. The current CBA expires after the 2020 season.
Teams can roll-over unspent salary space into next year's salary but as I understand it, that ends with the conclusion of the 2020 season. I believe that even if the new CBA is basically an updated version of the current CBA, the salary cap process restarts with the 2021 season. In other words, teams can not role over unspent salary space from the 2020 season to the 2021 season. I believe that teams have to spend next year. The teams' average salary for the four-year period (2017 - 2020) must be 89% of their annual salary caps.
Not trying to derail the conversation, just pointing out that the Dolphins won't be able to follow the Browns blue-print of drafting hi-talent players and then making their team a destination for free agents. I think the Dolphins are in a process that will require a much quicker turn-around where they will probably have to overpay free agents first and then hope to hit on their draft picks.
Minkah is a valuable asset because he will be cheap for three seasons. The Steelers have been fairly crushed on their cap due to Big Ben and Antonio Brown. (they were crushed in the short term due to Bell last year but got that money back).According to overthecap.com, $10,042,012 of Fitpatrick’s fully-guaranteed, four-year $16,447,768 rookie contract was paid as a signing bonus. That’s just over 61%. When players are traded, signing bonus prorations stay with a player’s original team, meaning that any team receiving Fitzpartick would be getting him for less than 40 cents on the dollar.
If Fitzpatrick were acquired next week, the 2019 cap hit for his new team would be just $1,083,199. His 2020 cap hit would be a meager $1,975,252, and his cap hit in 2021 would be $2,722,878.
One thing I don't fully understand is how the upcoming CBA negotiations factor in to this. The current CBA expires after the 2020 season.
Teams can roll-over unspent salary space into next year's salary but as I understand it, that ends with the conclusion of the 2020 season. I believe that even if the new CBA is basically an updated version of the current CBA, the salary cap process restarts with the 2021 season. In other words, teams can not role over unspent salary space from the 2020 season to the 2021 season. I believe that teams have to spend next year. The teams' average salary for the four-year period (2017 - 2020) must be 89% of their annual salary caps.
Not trying to derail the conversation, just pointing out that the Dolphins won't be able to follow the Browns blue-print of drafting hi-talent players and then making their team a destination for free agents. I think the Dolphins are in a process that will require a much quicker turn-around where they will probably have to overpay free agents first and then hope to hit on their draft picks.