The NFL salary cap in 2023 was 224.8 million, they’re 53 players on the active roster in the NFL, making the average salary over 4 million per player, but that’s skewed because established QBs make 40-50 million per player.
Nearly ever sport played at the highest level involves some degree of injury risk, it’s impossible to protect everyone from everything, players know the risks going into the game.
The idea they might go into crime if they don’t make it in the NFL or get injured and lose the NFL spot is simply not correct, often they get degrees and go into coaching at some level like HS or some other career field.
Grown men willing to risk injury to compete at the highest level is born into some people, why do we have men who are willing to go into special forces in the military for far less money than professional sports.
The NFL salary cap in 2023 was 224.8 million...
Caps are not what they seem, they constantly change.
As an example, in Jalen Hurts’ $251 million extension with the Eagles, the first- and second-year cap numbers are $6.15 million and $13.5 million. Those are cap percentages of roughly $2.8% and 5.7%, shockingly low percentages for a star quarterback on a veteran contract. Of course, the cap numbers and percentages rise significantly in later years, but the future structure of the deal also prevents high cap numbers and percentages. The Eagles used a structure with team options that push out cap proration into dummy void years that will never materialize. Thus, the cap percentages for Hurts in this contract are alarmingly low for a player of his stature.
There is a difference in cap versus cash. NFL teams have now several people paid to manage their cap books. They may choose management strategies that are team-friendly early and team-unfriendly late or more balanced. Cap can be easily moved around by a first-year NFL cap manager as much as an experienced one. The point is that it can be managed.
So on paper the cap may look high in comparison to what is really being paid. And teams never tell the public what the contracts actually are since they are based on numbers that may never exist long term and the players never get to it due to injury or retirement. Magic Johnson in the NBA had an initial contract of $25M over 25 years. He didn’t play that long so the cap was never in danger.
Let’s change sports for second. Let’s look at the NY Yankees baseball team. While Steinbrenner was alive, the Yankees went over cap almost every year. And to get the top notched players he was willing to spend the cash to get them. But the Yankees normally mde the playoffs and had their own television network beside contracts and when they went over cap, they easily made enough money to pay the fines the public never saw, just heard about. And the owners are not going to clamp down on them as they are making the money for the whole league in the long run. More than one way to skin the cat.
wy69