Rat
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That certainly seems to be the case. It sometimes feels like we're the only team in the division that ever has to consider whether they have cap space to do things.
JSN @ 40+ million per?
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Here's something to consider...
According to overthecap.com, the Hawks can 'find' an additional $57.4M by potentially (simple) restructuring of all of our eligible players' contracts, which btw do not require the players' approvals. Hypothetically, the team's 'effective 2026 cap space' would increase to a whopping $116.1M... from currently $58.7M.
Link to OTC.com article
The team is in an EXTREMELY enviable position of having multiple young stars on their rookie contracts... and I could easily argue that potentially going into 'cap hell' in 4 to 5 years would DEFINITELY be worth keeping all of our young studs (and some aging vets like Big Cat) together for several years of chasing our 3rd and 4th Lombardi-s.
Keep.The.Band.Together.For.As.Long.As.Possible
According to overthecap.com, the Hawks can 'find' an additional $57.4M by potentially (simple) restructuring of all of our eligible players' contracts, which btw do not require the players' approvals. Hypothetically, the team's 'effective 2026 cap space' would increase to a whopping $116.1M... from currently $58.7M.
Link to OTC.com article
The team is in an EXTREMELY enviable position of having multiple young stars on their rookie contracts... and I could easily argue that potentially going into 'cap hell' in 4 to 5 years would DEFINITELY be worth keeping all of our young studs (and some aging vets like Big Cat) together for several years of chasing our 3rd and 4th Lombardi-s.
Keep.The.Band.Together.For.As.Long.As.Possible
No doubt. JS and his cap people do one hell of a job. There is NO reason to let JSN go. Or Spoon. Trading core players is a disastrous way to run a football team.
I'm no expert on contracts and salary cap but it seems to me that extending JSN now will mean we have to downgrade in other positions.
If we don't sign new contracts to K9, Bryant, Mafe, Jobe and Woolen this year they will need to be replaced. Personnally I want us to let Riq go he still needs to be replaced, ideally I would like us to keep the other 4. With JSN on his rookie contract that might be possible with JSN extended we would probably need to let at least two of them go and replace then with significantly cheaper (and less good) players and/or trade/cut other star players to create cap space. We have complained for years that we have been a fringe play-off team for years with no real chance of going all the way, now we have a SB winning team I want us to keep it as long as possible. Extending JSN risks we are a one and done team, keeping him on his rookie deal means we should be one on the favorites to repeat for at least one more year before we are in a similar position (although the 5th year option for 2027 is obviously a lot more cap space than his 2026 rookie contract)
His contract value will (almost certainly) go up but when comparing the options we need to take account of this years cheap deal if we extend him next year. If we give him $41m p.a. for 5 years now his total income (if we let him go at the end of the 2030 season) will be pretty close to what if would be if we offered $50m p.a. in a 4 year deal next year.
Same applies to Witherspoon although his numbers are not quite as big the same thing applies should we be extending him now or later?
If we don't sign new contracts to K9, Bryant, Mafe, Jobe and Woolen this year they will need to be replaced. Personnally I want us to let Riq go he still needs to be replaced, ideally I would like us to keep the other 4. With JSN on his rookie contract that might be possible with JSN extended we would probably need to let at least two of them go and replace then with significantly cheaper (and less good) players and/or trade/cut other star players to create cap space. We have complained for years that we have been a fringe play-off team for years with no real chance of going all the way, now we have a SB winning team I want us to keep it as long as possible. Extending JSN risks we are a one and done team, keeping him on his rookie deal means we should be one on the favorites to repeat for at least one more year before we are in a similar position (although the 5th year option for 2027 is obviously a lot more cap space than his 2026 rookie contract)
His contract value will (almost certainly) go up but when comparing the options we need to take account of this years cheap deal if we extend him next year. If we give him $41m p.a. for 5 years now his total income (if we let him go at the end of the 2030 season) will be pretty close to what if would be if we offered $50m p.a. in a 4 year deal next year.
Same applies to Witherspoon although his numbers are not quite as big the same thing applies should we be extending him now or later?
Well said. It's going to be very interesting to see how creative they get.
Rat
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He's still on his rookie deal even if he signs an extension.
Yup, the huge jump would likely come in 2027 or 2028. All in how you look at it, but I would take into account how much he has made in his 3 years. MASSIVE bargain. A player becomes all world; he's going to get paid. That's how it works.
Trackhawk
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One thing to consider with the cost of JSN — that money isn’t just going to JSNs production. Like a true, all-star QB, JSN makes other players better.
He opens up the game for other receivers, running backs, and opens it up EVEN MORE for our tight ends. With the team making an obvious move to integrate the tight ends more into the game, he brings even more value to the table.
Keeping him allows us to go with cheaper receivers, tight ends, and running backs without suffering production from those slots.
Thus I think he is absolutely worth top tier money to the Hawks, in a way that K9 really isn’t. Defenses have to respect the Hawk’s running attack, but I haven’t seen them stack the box vs K9 more than they did Charbs
He opens up the game for other receivers, running backs, and opens it up EVEN MORE for our tight ends. With the team making an obvious move to integrate the tight ends more into the game, he brings even more value to the table.
Keeping him allows us to go with cheaper receivers, tight ends, and running backs without suffering production from those slots.
Thus I think he is absolutely worth top tier money to the Hawks, in a way that K9 really isn’t. Defenses have to respect the Hawk’s running attack, but I haven’t seen them stack the box vs K9 more than they did Charbs
No doubt. In a few games where he was almost basically a decoy, he never complained. His body language NEVER changed. He's a team guy. There is no way this team gets better by trading one of their best players and one of the best WRs in the league.
TwilightError
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Yes. We can’t pay him more than his rookie deal’s worth on his fourth year even if we wanted to. So extending him now will be for less than it will be if we extend him next offseason. It will likely be for more if we wait longer into this offseason.
Cap goes up, other receivers get paid. Making him the highest paid receiver, which he deserves, will mean paying even more next year.
I’m sure they come up with a deal that can be readjusted to create more cap space later on.
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I hope they find a way to keep Walker too. But that can be difficult. Even though it is for significantly less money than JSN. His injuries make it a difficult decision.
flv2
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That's the thing - we just won the Super Bowl and to do so we had to have a lot of players who had great seasons - most all of them at bargains. As the best, they now all want to be paid. Rasheed's going to want his as well. And don't forget all the offensive linemen who protected Darnold, and every single member of our #1 defense. Interesting discussions - I'm looking forward to seeing how JS handles it, and which players from other teams want in on our success. Could be a great wide receiver or two.
Welcome to the price of success. Again, you don't just get rid of everyone because it's time for a big contract. What a horrible way to run a team.
3...2.....1........
3...2.....1........
It's a nice place to be. Plenty of other teams have been in our exact situation (worse, actually, since we have so many rookie deals with key players) and kept the ride going. Plenty of history we could be looking at and discussing: the Pete Carroll Super Bowl team, the Chiefs run, the Patriots run. But we kept things going for quite a while after our first Super Bowl win, and I would expect JS to do even better after this one. He knows what's coming.
Okay, time to go sell stuff so I can afford that first payment on the 13th.
pittpnthrs
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And here we go,,,,,,not surprisgnly though. After a Super Bowl win this is what happens. It's also reasons why it's almost impossible for teams to repeat. 40 million is a lot. I'm not sure what I would do to be honest.
pittpnthrs
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How long did they keep things going after the 1st Super Bowl win? One year and that's it. They were never a threat again after that. It was years of purgatory and I never want to see that again.
At this point, i'm in the camp that as long as the defense is set, offensive players are expendable. Spend the money there.
Every day I see comments like the post you reply to and am thankful our GM will never think like them. There is some number I’m sure that is too high for John. But it is only about cap hits in the end. JSN is not easily replaced. Nor is K9.
If they aren’t re-signed, it will only be due to the numbers not fitting in to the cap here. There is a good chance they make JSN the highest paid receiver on paper. Even if only for a day. But so much whining about money when only John can know whether they fit into his and Coach Mikes plan.
'Keeping things going' doesn't mean winning the Super Bowl - in any one game during the playoffs, anything can happen. You lose you go home, no matter how great your team is. Our purgatory did happen, but it took a while. I could name about 28 teams that would be happy (er) with the following run.
TwilightError
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Actually this was false. The rookie scale is only fixed for the first three years. The fourth year can be re-negotiated.
pittpnthrs
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Ask Steeler fans if they were happy for the 17 seasons that Tomlin 'kept them going'. That's the trajectory Pete had the team in.
Fans that are happy for good regular seasons don't compute with me (the "anything can happen in the post season" is BS and rarer than a live dinosaur). I need to see a plan or progress and I couldn't see that with Carroll. "Kept the going" is no way of going through life. I'd rather stink and have a chance at rebuilding than the samething over and over again.
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