Happy Days Lois & Clark Posted February 19, 2005 Posted February 19, 2005 from pro football talk CBA STATUS CAUSING CAP CRUNCH Kudos to Mike Sando of the Tacoma News Tribune for pointing out an important point that many of the NFL media might have forgotten as free agency approaches. With the CBA between the NFL and the players union set to expire after the 2007 season, signing bonuses on any new contracts may be spread over a five-year period only. As a result, the cap hit resulting resulting from the signing bonus paid to Seahawks left tackle Walter Jones will be $1.01 million greater than previously reported in 2005. This phenomenon could cause serious problems for teams who hope to sign multiple players to long-term deals this offseason. Put simply, each deal will chew up more cap space than in prior seasons, making it even harder to stay under the total salary cap. The five-year rule also will affect the signing of players drafted high in the first round, where the signing bonuses end up consuming a significant chunk of the rookie pool, and the salary cap. The other thing to keep in mind is that, even though the current CBA has three seasons remaining, any extension likely will be hammered out before 2007, when the CBA calls for an uncapped year (translation -- the Redskins will sign every available free agency to one-year, $10 million contracts).
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