The final gun at the Super Bowl ends the NFL playing season, but begins the second season — free agency.
There is no rest in the NFL, even in the offseason. The Super Bowl may have been played on February 6, 2005, but all teams must be under the 2005 salary cap by March 1, just three weeks later.
Since the beginning of the salary cap era in the NFL, the end of the season has meant the next news item would be the release of several high-profile players that have become too expensive for teams to keep and stay under the cap.
Over the years, several high-priced but proven players have been shown the door and begun their search for millions more with other teams. Over the years, some teams have come to realize that signing the big-name, big-price tag payers is an all-or-nothing approach to cap management.
The Washington Redskins have spent millions and millions and haven't seen the playoffs in years. The San Francisco 49ers just matched a franchise-worse season record for wins and show no signs of recovery yet. This kind of "salary cap jail" has haunted some teams over a number of years as they continue to have players count towards the cap yet they play in another city or are out of football entirely.
Often, the number of big-name players that are released by a team is an indication of how well the team manages the salary cap. Looking at the names of the players who have been released, it looks as if almost every NFL team has adapted to the salary cap-style NFL.
The players are also coming to realize that teams will cut instead of paying a big salary or take too big of a salary cap hit.
Marshall Faulk, Super Bowl champion and previous NFL MVP, has been relegated to second string as the Rams' RB. Faulk was also scheduled for a $5.2 million salary. That is not good value for a second string RB and the Rams and Faulk knew it.
Instead of trying to hold the Rams to his salary and test the free agent market for a past-his-prime RB, Faulk did what is fast becoming the norm in the NFL. Faulk re-structured his deal. The result is a $2 million salary for him and a reduced cap number for the Rams.
Only a few years ago, Faulk may very well have demanded the Rams pay him or cut him. The Rams would most certainly have cut him and a big name would have been on the open market. A few years ago, some other team (Redskins) would have paid big money to acquire him. But not this year.
Faulk knows that the NFL now is value conscious. Big money means big cap problems and few teams are willing to experience what the 49ers are going through.
While some players won't take the salary reduction with their team, the next strategy is for the team to give permission for the player to seek a trade. The message from the team here is: "We are not going to pay your big salary. If you don't want to be cut or agree to a salary reduction, go find a team that will take you with a deal you are happy with."
What often happens in this case is that the player tests the market for his services. More often than not, the player will find out that it is not only his team that is not interested in paying his big money. No one else is, either.
The player then has a choice. He can stay with his team and try to keep the salary reduction as small as his agent can, or he can try to strike a better deal with another team. And have his agent get the right compensation for the team his player is leaving.
In this case, the player and agent do all the work. They get the best deal they can and arrange for compensation for the other team. This scenario is more common because more and more teams are not willing to go shopping in the high-end stores.
Cleveland Brown DT Gerard Warren is finding this out the hard way. His salary number is the highest in the league at his position. The Browns have told Warren he can seek a trade. How big a name is Gerard Warren? Not a $6.1 million dollar name, that is for sure.
There is no way Warren makes anywhere near that money next year even if he signs with another team. Good thing Warren's nickname is "Big Money" because that is the only way he is going to see it.
Some players, though, stick to their guns. They will not re-structure, take a pay cut, or have their agent seek a trade. These players get cut.
Ty Law, New England Patriots starting CB, tied for team lead in all-time interceptions, team leader in interceptions three times, four-time Pro Bowler, and the player who returned an interception for a touchdown in the Patriots' first Super Bowl win, has been cut.
Law had the second highest cap number of all CB with a salary of $8.7 million. The Patriots of course won the Super Bowl this season without Ty Law. Law, only 31, still could command a deal that would see him get paid some significant dollars. A three-year deal could have done that but that would have meant some salary cap structures to manage the cap hit.
However, Law had no other cap money with the Patriots except his $8.7 million this year. So, if the Patriots can win without Law, why put together a deal that will have future salary cap implications and Law may not be playing in a year's time if he gets injured or released or retires? The answer is that there is no reason to do so. So Law is released.
How smart is this way of thinking? The Patriots' record speaks for itself. Three Super Bowl championships over the last four seasons. How well are the Patriots managing the cap? Here is the list of players released other than Law: Earthwind Moreland, Buck Rasmussen, Wilbert Brown, and Zeron Flemister.
Not exactly household names. And that is the point. The Patriots don't need to release their core players because of salary alone. They are managing the cap quite nicely.
Need more proof? Look at the Philadelphia Eagles.
Although the Patriots are continually given a great deal of credit for the success they have had, the Philadelphia Eagles manage their cap just as well at the Patriots.
The Eagles have been criticized for not spending enough over that last few years and yet they have reached the NFC Championship Game four years in a row, getting to the Super Bowl just this year.
The Eagles released DT Hugh Douglas in a controversial move. And yet, after one season, Douglas returned to Philadelphia from Jacksonville (where he was considered a huge bust even before the injuries) for a much smaller amount of money. The Eagles had Douglas, value rated properly.
The Eagles also took a great deal of heat for releasing half of their starting secondary prior to this season. Yet the Eagles actually advanced farther in the playoffs than they did with Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent.
The Eagles, with their current players being paid good value, then can sign big impact players like Jevon Kearse and Terrell Owens.
While many teams have already learned the lessons of salary cap futures, one team that is starting to pay for the sins of past is the Tennessee Titans.
The Titans are the NFL's third winningest team since 1997. While this is exciting for fans during that window of time, eventually, there is a price to pay.
Just this week, the Titans released: WR Derrick Mason, CB Samari Rolle, DL Kevin Carter, FB Robert Holcolmbe, RT Fred Miller, and K Joe Nedney. Don't forget that last year, the Titans also released Jevon Kearse.
With the exception of Nedney, who has been injured and perhaps Holcombe, whose job may already be in the hands of younger Troy Fleming, the released players are contributing starters.
Mason, who led all NFL receivers in receptions last season with 96, in particular is a player no team wants to try to replace. Rolle is also considered be one of the top CBs in the NFL.
These players were cut because the Titans are $27 million over the salary cap and even with these significant cuts, still have another $5 million to go.
The Titans have been successful, but made the mistake of trying to win by keeping pricey yet proven veterans. This method of madness in the salary cap NFL will eventually lead to the type of purge that Titans fans are witnessing.
Over in Indianapolis, many thought that the Colts would have several problems keeping their trio together. Yet, Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison are both under contract. That allowed the Colts to place a franchise tag on Edgerrin James. For the Colts, they have almost assured that they keep their version of the triplets together at least one more year.
Next year, who knows? Maybe another RB becomes available. The Colts can then let James go and they only have to manage the cap numbers of Manning and Harrison.
In fact, many more teams are using the franchise or transition tags on players and with much more success.
Many teams are hesitant to sign another team's franchise tagged player, as then they must compensate the other team with two first-round draft picks. For many teams, giving up those two draft choices and paying the player at least the average of the top five salaries at the position means that a franchised player isn't worth the steep price.
It may have taken several years, but NFL teams are learning how to manage the cap and stay competitive. Players will still change teams and teams will not be able to keep all the players they wish, as the cap will not allow it.
However, the players are still getting paid well and fans can hold out hope that a quick turnaround in the NFL is very possible with the playing field being fairly leveled.
There is also a place for some teams to be perennially successful and this is possible whether the team is located in Dallas, Texas or the small state of Massachusetts.
Anyone in the NHL listening?
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