The New York Jets are in a strange situation for them. They need salary cap space, and they can make it. Three prime candidates to help them out are Quinnen Williams (restructure), Haason Reddick, and D.J. Reed (contract extensions).
Let’s dive into the cap situation for the Jets.
Salary Cap Primer: Where the Jets Stand After the Draft
Cap components of a contract
Let’s look at one contract:
Aaron Rodgers
The base salary (or what he will make for playing) is $1,838,888. When he was traded to the Jets, he re-worked his deal, and that included a $35 million signing bonus. That gets prorated over the length of his contract, and as a result, $7 million will count this season. He also has a workout bonus of $50,000, bringing his total cap chargers to $8,888,888.
What is the Salary Cap?
The cap is the maximum amount of money the roster can cost a team for a given season. Everyone begins at the same number, but there are things that help a team gain cap space. The initial cap for 2024 is $255.4 million.
Rollover/Adjustments
Any unused cap from the previous season can be rolled over into the next season.
Incentives are broken into two categories: likely to be earned, and not likely to be earned. LTBE counts against the cap for the year in question, and NLTBE doesn’t. Unearned LTBE incentives are credited back to teams, and earned NLTBE incentives are taken away the following season.
According to Over the Cap, the Jets cap number stands at $260,174,058.
Who counts against the Cap?
When the season begins, each team will have a 53-man roster. All 53 count against the cap (during the offseason, only the top 51 salaries count). The 16-man (maximum) practice squad and any player on injured reserve or PUP count as well.
Practice squad weekly salaries:
0-2 accrued seasons: $12,500
3+ accrued seasons: $16,800 – $21,300
Up to 10 players can make $12,500 per week, and up to six can make $16,800 – $21,300. Practice squad players get paid for all 18 weeks during the regular season. That means the maximum total salary at the beginning of the season is $4,550,400. If a practice squad player gets elevated, he counts against the cap for the league minimum, until he’s released.
Dead cap
Since a player’s signing bonus is prorated, when that player is released (or traded) the prorated signing bonus is accelerated. That counts as “dead cap” because the player is no longer on the roster.
53-man roster projection
Quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers, Tyrod Taylor, Jordan Travis
Running backs: Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, Israel Abaninkanda
Wide Receivers: Garrett Wilson, Mike Williams, Malachi Corley, Allen Lazard, Xavier Gipson, Irvin Charles
Tight Ends: Tyler Conklin, Jeremy Ruckert, Kenny Yeboah
OL: Tyron Smith, John Simpson, Joe Tippmann, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Morgan Moses, Olu Fashanu, Carter Warren, Max Mitchell, Wes Schweitzer, Jake Hanson
DL: Haason Reddick, Quinnen Williams, Javon Kinlaw, Will McDonald IV, Michael Clemons, Solomon Thomas, Leki Fotu, Tanzel Smart, Leonard Taylor III
LB: C.J. Mosley, Quincy Williams, Jamien Sherwood, Chazz Surratt
DB: D.J. Reed, Ahmad Gardner, Michael Carter II, Isaiah Oliver, Ashtyn Davis, Chuck Clark, Brandin Echols, Tony Adams, Jarrick Bernard-Converse, Qwan’tez Stiggers
Specialists: Thomas Morstead, Greg Zuerlein, Thomas Hennessy
Jets’ Cap situation right now
Let’s take a look at the breakdown of the Jets’ current cap situation.
Salary Cap: $260,174,058
Active Roster Projection: $202,681,352
Practice squad max: $4,550,400
Dead Cap: $52,050,639
Projected Cap Space: $891,667
As you can see, the current number doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room.
Quinnen Williams Restructure
The Jets could do a simple restructure of Quinnen William’s contract. This converts the base salary to a signing bonus. In doing so, the Jets would save $10.62 million in cap space.
Haason Reddick Extension
One way to extend Reddick would be to offer him a new two-year deal.
2024 Base salary: $1.21 million
2025 Base salary: $16 million ($8 million guaranteed)
Signing bonus: $13.04 million
2024 Cap hit: $4,720,000
2024 Cap savings: $9.78 million
D.J Reed Extension
2024 Base salary: $1.125 million
2025 Base salary: $16 million ($6 million guaranteed)
Signing bonus: $9.375 million
2024 Cap hit: $8,604,926
2024 Cap savings: $7,028,250
That would clear up $27,428,250, bringing the projected total to $28,319,917. That’s a more feasible number to work with for the Jets moving forward. Currently, the Jets still have some depth pieces they can sign. They also clearly need to make some contract adjustments. For now, the cap number isn’t a good one. However, Joe Douglas will make some moves before the season to make sure it’s feasible.
Main Photo: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
