Jason Licht Explains Bucs’ New Salary Cap Situation
August 9th, 2024
“You’re not the only one who can talk money, Greeny.”
The salary-cap-obsessed crowd will love this.
It’s like sizzling bacon over their stale avocado toast.
General managers rarely share meaty comments on their salary cap publicly. That wasn’t the case yesterday when Buccaneers Ring of Honor GM Jason Licht sat down for a can’t-miss interview on the Ira Kaufman Podcast.
Joe asked Licht about the $22 million in cap room for 2024 that the Bucs now have available after handing Tristan Wirfs a record contract extension last week.
Might that change how the team’s pro personnel department approaches the next several weeks before the NFL trade deadline?
The Bucs are in position to grab a high-priced veteran via trade or free agency.
That feels like a new phenomenon after years of living to the edge of the salary cap during and after the Tom Brady era, which effectively borrowed cap room from future seasons.
Adding an expensive veteran this season is not the plan, Licht explained.
“First of all, we need just to function through a season, you need about $10 million in cap going in just for [injured reserve], contingencies; we’re not counting the practice squad yet, and they don’t count the 52nd and 53rd player yet, you only count the top 51,” Licht said. “So with all that stuff, … you need about $10 million just to go into the season.
“You’ve seen us in the past years having no room and then we restructure somebody so we can get $10 million. And then there’s going to be a little extra [in 2024] that we have to count on rolling over for next year because we took $14 million in dead money on Shaq [Barrett] and [Ryan] Jensen this year, but we split it into two years and next year we’ve got to take $29 million. So we still have a big dead money cap hit on those two next year that we purposely did — spread it out only to $14 this year — so that we could do [new contracts for] Mike [Evans] Baker [Mayfield], Lavonte [David], [Antoine] Winfield and Tristan.
“So next year, that’s probably the end of the big [contracts] that we have to do and then we kind of see ourselves getting out of the situation that we put ourselves in intentionally after we won the Super Bowl.”
Joe pressed Licht on possibly breaking from the plan and using the available cap room this year if a situation arises like the team has a very strong start and there’s a significant injury.
“We have some flexibility. Yeah,” Licht said.
Now Joe realizes a lot of fans read that and nearly freaked out thinking, ‘but what about next year’s pending free agents, like Chris Godwin, Lavonte David and K. J. Britt?’
It’s a fair point, as the Bucs were not high-fiving after the free agency departures of Alex Cappa, Jordan Whitehead and Rakeem Nuñez-Roches in recent years. But Joe has no concern about the Bucs manufacturing room for Godwin, David and Britt if they think the team is still a contender.
Special Guest Jason Licht On The Ira Kaufman Podcast; Plus Ira Talks Saturday’s Bucs-Bengals Game, His Birthday Party & More
August 9th, 2024 at 7:24 am
We got a living legend GM who’s playing chess at all times, especially with the media.
August 9th, 2024 at 8:02 am
It almost feels like the salary cap is just a mirage or a suggestion based on how some teams manipulate it. Exhibit 1 your Honor: The New Orleans Saints.
August 9th, 2024 at 8:02 am
So….in other words….We have some cap space”
August 9th, 2024 at 8:16 am
Glad to see their intention this year is to stand pat. IMO, We are not quite ready for prime time ie: a Super Bowl run. After acquiring an impressive rookie haul this year, and allowing them a year of growth, we should be in an excellent position for a run next year. At that point, picking up a premium player and a solid player may be enough to put us over the top
August 9th, 2024 at 8:20 am
the money does not mean anything at the end of the day, its what you get with the money.
August 9th, 2024 at 8:56 am
…..and there will be a salary cap increase next year as well. While there’s no way of knowing at this point how much that will be, I have seen estimates of $15 to $18 million.
August 9th, 2024 at 9:20 am
UP UP and UP….. Most teams just manipulate the numbers until they can’t anymore and then take the hit. Licht is just playing the game like they all do.
August 9th, 2024 at 9:31 am
… but I believe Licht (& staff) plays the game better than most.
August 9th, 2024 at 9:35 am
Nice job asking the question, and give Jason some credit, he answered with a more detailed analysis than anybody would have anticipated. Interesting to hear some of the factoids.
August 9th, 2024 at 9:39 am
Always good to have options, but certainly a good idea for the future prospects of the team to be able to carry some of the cap space forward and be in the best position to capitalize with the development of the core of the team.
August 9th, 2024 at 10:08 am
Jason Licht is a strategic GM. We are lucky to have him.
August 9th, 2024 at 10:15 am
So what JL is saying is so far so good!
August 9th, 2024 at 10:16 am
I agree with every single bit of this from start to finish 💯.
August 9th, 2024 at 10:46 am
Jason knows best. All others don’t matter.
August 9th, 2024 at 11:00 am
Hello guys its good too be back football is here cant wait for the live chat tmrw trask is starting lets see how hes developed after a year learing from future bucs hall of fame QB baker mayfield 😎
August 9th, 2024 at 11:10 am
He not sure understanding the game has changed. Players are not horses or individuals who don’t speak there minds. Not dumb males that’s scared to express feelings.
August 9th, 2024 at 11:24 am
Puleeze. Do you really think he isn’t hedging on the truth? Why would he say what he said? Think!
August 9th, 2024 at 11:27 am
“DONE WITH BIG CONTRACTS” + LVD, BRITT, & GODWIN
My crystal ball says:
1. LVD retires. He’s playing this year to secure his HOF resume.
2. Britt will be inexpensive. The team needs to overhaul MLB in the draft. Licht typically drafts duplicates at positions of need which will reduce Britt’s price tag.
3. Godwin is the mystery. If he crushes this year (which he will), CG will be in line for a big payday. If JMac develops, can he replace CG? Do the Bucs want +$50M into two WR? It’s complicated.
August 9th, 2024 at 12:01 pm
If they can roll that over to cover half the dead cap next season great. That’s probably what they should do. If we start 4-1 and there’s an opportunity to add a player that helps us contend for a SB this year, I am sure none of us will be mad that they spend it and go for it. I am inclined to believe it’s better used next year though, when these last 2 draft classes have more experience and we should be contending.
In JL I trust. I don’t trust that Godwin is back and I love Godwin but I think that will be for the best. That $20 million will be better spent on a MLB is Lavonte retires. Hopefully Evans McMillan Palmer proves to be a dangerous trio this season.
August 9th, 2024 at 1:36 pm
20 million will be a bargain rate for quality receivers in 2025. Godwin will retire as a Buccaneer years from now, as will Mike Evans. This is absolutely the best receiver tandem in franchise history. They love playing and living in Tampa. Appreciate what we’ve got for as long as it lasts.
August 9th, 2024 at 2:26 pm
I’m not so sure Godwin will get a contract next year. Certainly, he is good enough to get one, but I would think it depends if one of the younger, cheaper guys explode this year.
If a young guy shows he is as good as Godwin, the smart move is to cut bait and save 20+ million.
Godwin is good, but he’s not great.
August 9th, 2024 at 2:50 pm
it’s possible he meant next year is the end of the big contracts, not that he wouldn’t have to do any big contracts next year. he might have meant year AFTER next year it gets easier
August 9th, 2024 at 3:55 pm
I definitely read that as next year is the end of the big dead money, not that players won’t get paid big deals if they earn them. CG is definitely coming back next year, you don’t let a guy like that walk in his prime. He’s already making this season what he’ll probably make next season, which again will be with a higher cap. The better question next offseason will be does Mike ask for a raise after seeing what the market did after he re-signed here. I could see a one year extension (two seasons total) with another $5-7M added to the deal for him, especially if he puts together another Mike Evans season. He’s only about 2-3 of those away from solidifying himself as a Top 5 WR ever. There’s no chance the team will let him finish off career records in a different uniform. It’s just a matter of how much does he want.
August 9th, 2024 at 4:01 pm
Who in the world is worrying about Britt? Lets see him actually not be benched by game 6 before we worry about him being resigned.
Not rooting against the guy, but he has a ton that he needs to prove to even stick on the roster as more than a deep depth / special teams player – mainly that he has the speed needed to play the position. I think he’s going to get exposed big time, but I honestly hope that’s not the case, but the idea of anyone freaking out about him getting resigned at this point is literally insane.
August 9th, 2024 at 4:03 pm
Good story – I wish there was more salary cap talk as this stuff is interesting as there is so much fake news out there, and so much misinformation, it’s nice to actually hear some numbers directly from the team.
August 9th, 2024 at 5:52 pm
I think Godwin is great when he is used properly. I want him to stay as much as I wanted Mike.
August 9th, 2024 at 7:19 pm
Godwin really has to prove himself this year to get a big deal, and Britt needs to play out of his mind to get one (I doubt LvD has another contract in him). And don’t forget the cap keeps going up every year based on revenue, and football’s more popular than ever.
August 9th, 2024 at 7:21 pm
JL’s taking a very strategic approach to our salary CAP situation. There’s a lot of smoke-and-mirrors involved (as always), but at the end of the day the last thing we want to do is end up in salary CAP he11 like the Saints (#28), Panthers (#31) and Falcons (#32).
Like all teams, Bucs have pushed a bunch of salary down the road, BUT … it looks like JL’s also attempting to mitigate that this year as best he can. Looking at just the Top-10 Bucs on our CAP Hit list:
o Godwin: $20 mil/yr average salary … $27.5 mil CAP Hit
o Vea: $17.8 mil/yr average salary … $21.0 mil CAP Hit
o Dean: $13.0 mil/yr average salary … $14.7 mil CAP Hit
o LVD: $8.5 mil/yr average salary … $8.5 mil CAP Hit
o Winfield: $21.0 mil/yr average salary … $8.0 mil CAP Hit
o Mayfield: $33.3 mil/yr average salary … $6.9 mil CAP Hit
o Wirfs: $28.1 mil/yr average salary … $6.6 mil CAP Hit
o Evans: $20.5 mil/yr average salary … $5.6 mil CAP Hit
o Nelson: $5.0 mil/yr average salary … $5.4 mil CAP Hit
o McLaughlin: $4.1 mil/yr average salary … $5.0 mil CAP Hit
So 5 Bucs in our Top-10 (Godwin, Vea, Dean, Nelson, McLaughlin) have a CAP Hit GREATER than their average salary (like money in the bank for the Bucs?). One Buc (LVD) has a CAP Hit EQUAL TO his average salary. And 4 Bucs (Winfield, Mayfield, Wirfs, Evans) have CAP Hits that are substantially LESS than their average salary (the difference is getting kicked down the road IOW?).
Just on those Top-10 guys, we’re $13.7 mil to the good on 6 of them (yeah), but $43.8 mil to the not-so-good on the other 4 (rats). Throw in the $29 mil Dead CAP that we owe to Jensen & Shaq in 2025 but then subtract the $22 mil carryover and we’d be sitting at someplace around $37 mil in the red already for next year it looks like. That’s actually quite an improvement over 2023 & 2024 (remember when we took a $35 mil hit on just Tom Brady in 2023?). Looks to me like JL is playing a very nice strategic salary CAP game right now.
August 9th, 2024 at 7:27 pm
Good work Defense Rules – I always appreciate the numbers and showing your work.
August 9th, 2024 at 9:03 pm
Rod … Acceptable for a ‘glue sniffer’?
August 9th, 2024 at 9:42 pm
Oh I’m just having some fun with you.
But yeah, you were clearly high on something when you defended Ryan Smith and Chris Conte.
August 9th, 2024 at 11:40 pm
Fun factor gets lost on some on this here site.
Too many humorless wannabes doing the mega-scribe thing.
Meanwhile, I’m going with Jason Licht.
August 10th, 2024 at 10:57 am
Lynch, Howie, kc guy Jason and tge gb guy is my top 5 gm
August 10th, 2024 at 4:26 pm
Dead cap hit in 2024 was $55M
Dead cap hit in 2025 is $52M.
2026 Dead cap owed – $22M
2027 Dead cap owed – $26M
Bucs are paying off (or extending) $155M in debt over the next 4 seasons – much of it from the Brady years.
Still squarely in “cap hell” at least through next year….
But at least Licht & Co are being somewhat responsible towards the future and paying off large chunks of the debt this year and next…. unlike the Saints who keeping pushing debt to the future. New Orleans is going to be so F’ed financially very soon…
Dead cap hits already owed by the Saints
$41M 2024
$44M 2025
$60M 2026
$52M 2027
$24M 2028
August 10th, 2024 at 6:22 pm
Don’t forget salary cap goes up every year also that that how then can do new contracts as needed