Bucs Will Shell Out About $110 Million
August 7th, 2011
Now Joe has yet to read the new labor agreement — nor does he ever intend to — but it seems this news means the Bucs are committed to spending close to the new salary cap even with relative peanuts being shelled out to their power trio: Josh Freeman, LeGarrette Blount and Mike Williams.
According to figures I just obtained, Tampa Bay’s current salary-cap figure is $108,086,940. That’s 88 percent of the $123 million salary cap. In other words, the Bucs have $14,857,394 in cap space.
Yasinskas went on to write that his data does not reflect Tim Crowder’s new contract.
Frankly, Joe doesn’t care all that much. Joe doesn’t aspire to be an accountant or a salary capologist, and Joe prefers to watch football rather than spreadsheet data. Considering the Bucs are under the cap, which means they can keep every player they want, there’s little intrigue here.
Regardless, cue the music in the comments below for those crazies who’ll craft 10 million+ reasons why Team Glazer hates their team.
August 7th, 2011 at 11:31 am
Yasinskas has this, and ProfootballTalk says the Bucs are the furthest team under the cap. tinyurl.com/3znrame
August 7th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Joe, either you are setting another record or there is something wrong with my PC…
This does not sound like the “cheap” owners Thomas always refers to.
I know he does not agree with who is getting paid, but maybe Capt Tim will come back from the dark side after reading this report.
August 7th, 2011 at 11:42 am
Cash spending and the salary cap arent the same thing:
”
While committed to spending at least $119 million, the Chiefs are well under the NFL’s salary cap of $120.4 million. The Chiefs’ cap stood at $99.5 million, or $20.9 million under the limit.
Cash spending and salary cap are figured differently under NFL rules, accounting for the difference in totals.
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/08/05/3059933/salary-figures-show-chiefs-have.html#ixzz1UMGityFB
August 7th, 2011 at 11:56 am
If we are really this close to the floor already then we must be doing something wrong. When teams like the eagles aren’t over the cap, why are we this close?
August 7th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Gary…see TD32’s post above.
August 7th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
The team did exactly what they said they were going to do and until they let Freeman or Williams go after their first contract I’m going to say that we can’t call them cheap. I read comments on TBO and can’t believe how blind some people are. We continue to watch Washington crash and burn, Dallas has stunk it up lately. All I can say is to give ’em time. If they really have a 5-10 season or regress then criticize. If not shut up and enjoy the young team for what they are- young and fun to watch.
August 7th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
We have the highest paid oline, and as a unit they rank as one of the worst in the league. That’s money well spent. Plus they front load contracts so that numbers not a true representation of our cap figure. It does allow them to try and save face in the eyes if the fans, but no one’ s buying it.
August 7th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Its for two reasons…they front-loaded the contracts so that it raises the numbers now, but becomes more manageable later.
They also included hard to reach incentives in most of the contracts.
Bare in mind though, that a lot more money is guaranteed now too.
August 7th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
I also think they’ve sent a message to the team that if you play well and you play hard…they’ll pay you.
August 7th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
@TD32 — Don’t think it’s possible with the new CBA, since this is year 1, that the Bucs cap number could possibly be more than what they’re spending this year. There’s no holdover contracts like Luke Petitgout, Mike Clayton or Mike Nugent, etc. unlike the Cowboys.
Care to offer a counter argument. The story you linked doesn’t.
August 7th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
Dave,
You asked, and you shall receive:
“The cash spend is different than the Salary Cap in that signing bonuses are fully counted against cash spend, while for the Cap, the signing bonus is divided over the total years of the contract. In an odd result of this difference, teams that are over the Cap that restructure contracts will likely both reduce their Cap number and increase their cash spend at the same time.
The typical method used to restructure a contract is to provide a significant signing bonus, which is spread over the length of the contract. So a $10 million signing bonus on a five year contract counts $10 million towards cash spend but only $2 million per year towards the Salary Cap.
http://proplayerinsiders.com/nfl-salary-cap-scorecard/
August 7th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
except ESPN reported the Bucs weren’t paying signing bonuses at all. That was news the other day. can’t see how any of this applies to the bucs.
August 7th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Kyle,
Doesnt McCoy have a rather large roster bonus this season? In the $10-12 million range. I dont know why I have to defend multiple media outlets. If ESPN had reported the opposite, and PFT and the Kansas City paper had reported the Bucs were spending cash, you’d all be questioning ESPN. I’m just pointing out that there is an article that contradicts ESPN.
August 7th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Its supposed to seem like the wise and frugal Glazers are only stealing $15 million from the player’s salary pool. That would be correct if they were to keep all 90 players under contract for the whole year. They’re not. They must fire about 37 players in the next month. What are they going to do with all that money?
Don’t forget that the owners get to keep over 50% of the take to begin with, say $125 million, add $15 million stolen, add $10 million from cut players, that’s $150 million before you add advertising income, local radio and TV contracts, merchandising, concessions, parking and much more. I would say that they gross every year, more than they paid for the team.
Don’t cry for those money grubbing trolls, they would sell your sister for a ten dollar bill.
Remember, these are they guys who previously owned trailer parks and would squeeze every nickel out of the tenants that was legally possible. If your Grandmother’s social security went up, her rent went up. If she had a dog her rent went up $15 a month, or $180 a year. A cat $10 a month. If she had an extra car, they would add $30 monthly .
Don’t cry for the Glazers, they should be in prison, not fawned over by the likes of Steve Duemig.
Go Eagles!
@GringoDave — If you’re going to call anyone recognizable a criminal in this comment space then you must provide some sort of evidence, via court links, confirmed media reports, etc. Ultimately, and you’ve been warned before, Joe is responsible for the content here, not you. If it’s here, then in the eyes of the law Joe is stating it, for it is Joe’s site. Pretty simple concept. Therefore, Joe has removed the portion where you state the Glazers stole $50 million to help purchase the Bucs. –Joe
August 7th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
Go Gringo Dave! 🙂
Be careful, the apologists will go right after you for questioning the Glazehouses.
August 7th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
Gringo Dave, all the owners are the same, get over it. Have fun rooting for the Eagles. GO BUS!
August 7th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
As the core of young players here continues to grow & mature the salary cap numbers will increase. That’s been the plan all along since Dominik took over as GM.
Once this team reaches something close to maturity you’ll see the number get very close to the cap. They aren’t cheap…they’re rebuilding and doing it the right way. You don’t load up on free agent contracts when you’re trying to emulate the Packers & Steelers.
There’s a solid plan and they aren’t going to waver, no matter how much the crybabies accuse them of “stealing”. Go home.
August 7th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
FLBoy,
While I agree that the Glazers arent “stealing”, and you have a valid point about younger players salaries going up and reaching the cap through that, an argument can be made that the Glazers have been cheap. USA Today has the #’s, and going back 5-7 years, the Bucs are consistently at the bottom of payroll, and are right at the bottom in overall spending over those years.
So, it is easy to see why some are suspicious about the current lack of spending, considering this has been an ongoing issue for more then the past 2 years.
August 7th, 2011 at 3:29 pm
td32: I understand the past numbers, but for that trend to continue into the forseeable future they would have to eventually release some of their up and coming young stars at some point due to salary concerns. I simply don’t see Dominik doing that. He’s kept his word so far that they want to keep their own core players and reward them with new contracts when the time comes. I see that trend continuing to the point where the numbers are greatly increased.
He kept his word with Penn, Black & Joseph, and soon he will give large contracts to Freeman, Williams, Blount, Benn, Larsen and potentially Hayes, Biggers & maybe even TJax. They have a LOT of money that will be spent coming up in the next 3 seasons and there’s simply no way they can do that and still stay at the bottom of the league. I believe Dominik will keep his word.
August 8th, 2011 at 2:40 am
Blows my mind how some people want to rip the Glazers when they brought this town a Lombardi trophy. Short memories I guess. If you think that would’ve happened under the previous caretaker, you’re delusional. Gringo Dave seems to have a problem with something called capitalism. The potential to make an ulimited amount of money is pretty much why people start a business or buy a business in the first place.
August 8th, 2011 at 8:45 am
Matt B…Right on the money my man. I figure most of the people ripping them were either too young or too old to remember the late 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s. Not to mention, Gringo Dave wrote “Go Eagles” on a Bucs site. He must not realise as a Buc’s fan you should hate the Eagles. It also shows he is not a Bucs fan.
August 8th, 2011 at 10:50 am
I couldn’t find the nefarious actions of the IPO Zap.com, the inter webs have been scrubbed clean, I believe I got my info from the St Pete Times. I did find some curious quotes about the Glazers from Bill Poe, the former mayor of Tampa and Malcolm’s own lawyer and sister.
74. Bill Poe, the former mayor of Tampa says Glazer has been a bad owner for the city. He has, he says, �taken every advantage that he could have taken and put very little back in�. Poe is so incensed he has broken a 10-year silence to warn United fans against the Bucs� boss. �The British government and its citizens have been great allies and friends of America,� said Poe. �I would question whether I would want someone like Glazer representing American business in Britain.�
75. Tom Ajamie is a lawyer who worked for the Glazer family for seven years – until they fell out over unpaid fees. He said recently: �He [Glazer] is very aggressive. He will do what he sets out to do. He is determined to take over Manchester United and will continue until he is absolutely defeated. He is hard nosed. On the upside he is orientated towards winning. There is no question about that. But he is very much driven by money and there is no question he will drive up ticket prices. He did it at Tampa Bay and he also extracted very severe concessions from the City of Tampa Bay, tax breaks and other types of monetary concessions. At one point he even threatened to pull the team out of Tampa Bay which was really disheartening for the whole city because they love their football team. He doesn’t care whether fans like him or not. I guarantee you that. He will do what he wants to do. Other people’s opinions are the last things that concern him.”
76. Ajamie took Glazer to court but the case was settled before it got to court, with Ajamie receiving 85 cents for every dollar owed. �If he had asked for that discount in the first place, I would have given it to him,� said Ajamie. He said that during his time with the Glazers all serious negotiations took place with Malcolm. Other former advisers said Malcolm preferred to operate behind the scenes and that his sons checked everything they did with their father first.
77. Glazer’s sister comments about the litigation over their mother�s will: �The family were all so close but he just made mincemeat of them all. He made sure they ended up with virtually nothing. He would rather have spent the money on court fees than give them a cent. It was incredibly mean, but also incredibly sad.�
78. Glazer’s sister comments “No one he has ever worked with has a good word to say about him. He can appear very charming but it’s all a front.”
79. Brother-in-law Morris Krovetz said: “Malcolm Glazer is not a man – he’s an animal. He’s done so much damage to the family that it pains me to even mention his name. As far as I’m concerned he no longer exists.” Mr Krovetz, who was married to Glazer’s sister Evelyn, blames his brother-in-law for destroying his wife’s life.
80. Marisa Bowe, former editor-in-chief of the pioneering internet magazine Word.com, first met Avram Glazer in 1998 when Zapata bailed out her company. Word was one of 30 websites that Zap bought. ‘He was an idiot,’ said Bowe, ”and I’m not the sort of person who uses the word idiot lightly.’
To read more enlightening stuff, follow this link.
http://www.bbs.tbaybucs.com/index.php?/topic/3000-like-father-like-sons-glazer-past/
August 8th, 2011 at 11:20 am
Gringo…No one gets as rich as these guys without stepping on a few people and worrying about other opinions of their actions. If you think for one minute the owners are not in it for the money, than you are simply fooling yourself. Family issues get complicated as well. I have seen many families fight over pennies after the death of a parent. It is sad but it happens to the rich and the every day Joe alike. Go look up how wonderful a person Hugh was. Show me a super wealthy business man, and I am sure you can dig up all sorts of stuff on them as well. What do you think the St Pete mayor is going to say about the Rays owners, he is already bashing them while he is in office. of course they started bashing him. All the charities in the Tampa Bay area may disagree as well. The Glazer Foudation has done a great deal of work…now, I am sure that is for the tax benefits more than anything, but at least it is something. I never thought these guys were boy scouts, but the are head and shoulders above the preiouse owners.
August 8th, 2011 at 11:21 am
Not sure if I want to go to the BBC for all my Bucs news anyway…
August 8th, 2011 at 12:52 pm
If you’re looking for a clean billionaire to buy the Bucs you’ll be looking for eternity. They don’t exist. Get over it.
August 8th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
FlBoyin Dallas, That summed it up in alot less words then mine…nicely stated.
August 8th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
I would have liked the Outback Steakhouse guys who wanted the Bucs or a Mark Cuban. The Glazers weren’t billionaires, they couldn’t afford to buy the Bucs. They were in the trailer park business. They couldn’t afford the down payment and promised to pay for half of the new stadium. They backed out of the stadium deal and threatened to move the team if they didn’t get a new stadium and all the revenue.
Nobody will destroy their own family over a $1 million inheritance unless they are an evil and dishonest troll. (see Hugh Culverhouse)
Charities are usually a racket and used as a tax dodge.
August 8th, 2011 at 4:16 pm
The Outback guys were hit pretty hard by the economy, so we may be in the same place with them…Glazer’s also made a fortune in food service and malls, not just their slum lord property…besides, it is a moot point, welcome to the world of business in the free world. If you hate them so much, and you seem to like the Eagles, the choice is clear…become an Eagles fan. Of course I bet the owners have plenty of skeletons as well. Make no mistake about it, the NFL owners are an exclusive clube. They would not let the Glazer’s in if they could not afford it. This is my last post on this moot point. GO BUCS!
August 8th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
Hey Gringo, nothing fot nothing, you still have one the great screen names on JBF.com.
August 8th, 2011 at 9:05 pm
Gringo Dave – did the Glazers molest you as a child?
This entire conversation, which has surprisingly developed over the past few years because of the rebuilding period, should have been put to rest by two simple facts:
1. The Bucs were constantly working around the cap, similar to what the Redskins have done for years, basically spending money like crazy during the glory years in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. How do we forget the major contracts and, HELLO, the 8 mil we gave up to the Raiders for their COACH. How does everyone forget about that so easily?? We had cap issues for years because we spent so much money for nearly a decade!!!
2. Gringo Dave: they BOUGHT one of the must successful soccer clubs in the world a few years ago and continue to pour money into it.
Honestly, HOW IS THIS STILL EVEN A DEBATE?! Dom says a guy will get paid when he deserves to get paid and he’s followed through on that so far. Actually, he’s followed through on just about EVERYTHING he’s said so far.
On a side note, how the hell is our team salary that high? Even with the front-loaded contracts (which are a fantastic idea, btw, and definitely NOT CHEAP), we should still have plenty of room. I’m skeptical of Yasinskas’ research.