Ndamukong Suh, Team Glazer, And Bruce Arians Unsure Whether Ownership Will Provide Enough Cash For Free Agency
February 24th, 2021
Team Glazer
Joe shared this quote five days ago and figures today is a great day to explore deeper.
The best head coach in Buccaneers history, Bucco Bruce Arians, joined CBS Radio last week and talked about his desire to keep his Super Bowl team intact.
Arians said the Bucs are in good salary cap shape, which was wonderful to hear, but it included this sentence as a preface.
“Ownership, I think is going to give us enough money,” Arians said without a hint of sarcasm or playfulness in his voice.
So what the hell does that mean as free agency is a shade more than two weeks away?
Well, it may mean that for years the Bucs typically haven’t doled out lots of fat signing bonuses to players. Their trend started years ago, with the Bucs preferring guaranteed money but not a check up front.
This offseason, accomplishing all the goals of the front office might require lots of signing bonus money — for which the salary cap impact can be spread over multiple seasons.
For example, former Bucs scout, Jets personnel chief and linebackers coach Pat Kirwan talked this week on SiriusXM NFL Radio about Tampa Bay re-signing Ndamukong Suh. Kirwan believes Suh earned a raise from his $8 million.
Kirwan knows all about the Bucs’ salary cap crunch, an issue with many Super Bowl winners, and suggested the Bucs sign Suh to a two-year contract to spare them salary cap pain this year. The hypothetical mentioned was Suh getting an $8 million signing bonus and a $2 million salary for 2021, with Year 2 being a non-guaranteed contract that would allow the cap pain of the $8 million bonus to be spread over two seasons.
But to do that, ownership has to cut the check for $8 million. And if you want to do something similar with Lavonte David over three years, then someone might have to sign off on an eight-figure bonus check in a few weeks. Yeah, there could be other players, too.
Joe has heard general manager Jason Licht and Arians say Team Glazer eagerly provides them every tool they need to be successful. Team Glazer was always painted by those guys (and by former head coach Dirk Koetter) as ready to spend if it can lead to eating Ws.
So that’s why Arians’ comment was so stunning to Joe, who had to put down the Bromosa and rewind the radio show recording.
“Ownership, I think is going to give us enough money.”
February 24th, 2021 at 5:50 pm
Maybe overthinking Arian’s statement.
February 24th, 2021 at 5:58 pm
Did you say eating W’s Joe? Man, that gets Jay Miss and his nuthugger Ndog really excited!
February 24th, 2021 at 5:59 pm
“Ownership, I think is going to give us enough money.”
I can easily understand why BA might not want to venture to put words in the mouth of ownership & represent a position of certainty to a national audience, Especially on the subject of money, contracts and negotiation. All of those are business matters. Not football matters. He is the coach. Not the GM. and not the Glazers. Perhaps he’s just not comfortable speaking on money matters when it’s not his money and wants to exercise a level of prudence.
Now pick up that Bromosa and decompress.
February 24th, 2021 at 6:02 pm
The championship window is open for 2021 & 2022.
The ’21 cap is low (185m) but should be higher (200m) in ’22.
I can see signing bonuses for whatever is needed to keep the team together but not spead beyond two years.
The last thing we need is to get into cap jail after the championship window closes.
February 24th, 2021 at 6:17 pm
We all know BA likes to talk, very rarely does he make sh#$t up.
February 24th, 2021 at 6:18 pm
There is no way BA would commit the Glazers to anything they hadn’t already agreed to….and it’s probably too soon for that.
The signing bonus works well for longer contracts because it can be spread over 5 years….not so good for 1 or 2 year contracts.
I wouldn’t read too much into BA’s comment.
Joe, go ahead and pick the Bromosa back up (you probably have already done that)
February 24th, 2021 at 6:28 pm
Life and times when you have a super team. Nothing to see here
February 24th, 2021 at 6:50 pm
February 24th, 2021 at 6:02 pm
The championship window is open for 2021 & 2022.
The ’21 cap is low (185m) but should be higher (200m) in ’22.
I can see signing bonuses for whatever is needed to keep the team together but not spead beyond two years.
The last thing we need is to get into cap jail after the championship window closes.
I agree, I wouldn’t getting a little loose with the cap structure we use, but not beyond next year, and only if you are looking at a younger player replacing a higher priced one in two years to alleviate the cap
February 24th, 2021 at 6:51 pm
Suh. David. Yes. Do it.
February 24th, 2021 at 7:20 pm
I don’t see how Bucs can keep both Shaq Barrett and Godwin, even with a tag. Adios Fournette, Brate, Gholston and possibly Suh.
February 24th, 2021 at 7:36 pm
Glad to see that Pat Kirwan went to bat for Ndamukong Suh earning $8 mil per year. IMO it doesn’t make a bit of difference HOW they do it, just as long as they do it. Can you imagine how the Bucs’ defense would’ve done this past year without him after Vea went down?
February 24th, 2021 at 7:40 pm
This is one of those overblown things…
February 24th, 2021 at 7:52 pm
I am absolutely convinced that we need to do everything we can to keep this defense together….we have a fantastic mixture of youth and vet talent….If it means losing Godwin…..well, that hurts but we can still repeat if we have the defense.
February 24th, 2021 at 7:55 pm
One thing a lot of folks don’t seem to appreciate IMO is the ‘pedigree’ of our defense. For starters, just look at the round when each of our starters was drafted:
o Vea … Rnd 1
o Suh … Rnd 1
o JPP … Rnd 1
o White … Rnd 1
o LVD … Rnd 2
o Davis … Rnd 2
o SMB … Rnd 2
o Winfield … Rnd 2
o Whitehead … Rnd 4
o Gholston … Rnd 4
o Shaq … Undrafted
Most of our Front-7 in particular are bonafide superstars right now. Hard for me to get my mind around why some seem to believe that our 1st Rnd & 2nd Rnd picks can be replaced by middle-of-the-pack draft picks. Players like Suh & LVD were the cream of the crop when they came out of college, and they’ve spent years honing their skills & becoming LEADERS within their position groups. There are very few FAs out there who come close to their level of performance, much less to their level of leadership. Players like Suh & LVD need to be re-signed if we expect to make a run for another SB title this year.
February 24th, 2021 at 8:30 pm
Isolating the “I think” part to turn the statement into something more than it is… I’d love to hear it in the actual context to see if he said it with hesitancy or in a nonchalant manner. I have doubts that there’s anything to see here.
February 24th, 2021 at 8:43 pm
I do have to say, watching non-stop offseason talk about the Bucs and NOT about the Bucs draft is sort of fun.
February 24th, 2021 at 9:38 pm
No way the Glazers take a dump on free agency. They want the stadium packed and people will get disgruntled if they half ass it trying to save money.
The Glazers are some smart folks. They will give the coaches every dollar they need to keep the key pieces.
February 24th, 2021 at 11:06 pm
At the ring presentation dinner, dessert should be little cakes in the shape of a W.
February 24th, 2021 at 11:43 pm
it would be stupid to pull back at this point with the potential this team has this in small window of success…
yet the glazers could say “fugg it, we won”…thus pull back asap, and live off the laurels for a few years…
also saying “we’ve got TB so we will sell out…let’s save and make money now”…
it could go either way depending on the business plan…
it’s either about glory or money…not both
February 25th, 2021 at 12:58 am
Ndog lol is that clown still around ?
February 25th, 2021 at 7:00 am
Nickle and diming it brought us the prior two decades of crap. Please don’t do that to us again!
February 25th, 2021 at 7:38 am
This article is ridiculous on the premise. Ponying up for large bonuses hasn’t been a practice locally, bc it’s usually a bad idea if a player goes Ghost Johnson, Anthony Collins or Eric Wright on you. Not bc ownership doesn’t want to lay the cash.
If you give out a large bonus and then need to cut the guy for performance or injury history 2 years later, then you get dead cap money and wind up in cap jail.
This is why Mike Greenburg’s praises have been sung lately is bc he’s helped Licht avoid jail and we now have the cap freedom we have.
February 25th, 2021 at 8:24 am
Let’s face it, winning a second SB might not be as easy as it seemed two weeks ago! Bringing most of the free agents back is more complicated then meets the eye!
February 25th, 2021 at 8:29 am
A lot of these guys just won’t be able to be kept that is fact. If you look at the salary cap if it stays at 180 million. The Bucs have like 13 million and they still have to pay rookies for this year. So basically we don’t have much of any money at all. We will be lucky to keep 1 or 2 of are own guys where majority of them will walk wanting huge contracts.
February 25th, 2021 at 9:07 am
This is what happens when you win.ownership is probably looking at the way the Patriots do business. For anyone not familiar, they’re notorious for low balling players. They place a value number on each player, if the player wants more than the assigned value typically that player is gone. They won 6 bowls that way. The other teams have drooled over this model. Now you need the qb to play ball. Brady never made more than 13% of the cap. Let all these players go. You’ll be able to sign guys that are late in they career who want a ring. If they sign Godwin to a big deal it’s a mistake. Big number receivers almost never live up to the deal. Scotty miller and AB can more than pick up the slack. I’d also let Shaq walk. Again you can find a cheaper option. Not as good but good enough.
February 25th, 2021 at 11:25 am
Ben Green That’s the problem bro if they let Shaq walk and bring in another guy that’s not good as Shaq . Then the pass rush won’t be good . Wich means we will lose Brady doesn’t play defense or do he kick the ball . You need all of that to win one game all 4 phases not just a quarterback .