After the Super Bowl we enter salary cap season

[MightyGiants]

There will be plenty of articles, podcasts, and TV commentary about the salary cap and the Giants' salary cap space.  I think it's worth addressing some very common misconceptions, even among people who should know better.

1)  It doesn't matter which player's contract is restructured to borrow money from the future.  Far too often, I hear debate and discussion about which player should be restructured.  THE PLAYER DOESN'T MATTER.  When you restructure, you are borrowing future cap dollars.  That borrowed money all counts the same because dead cap money (cap hits from players no longer on the roster) counts equally against the cap as the cap hits from players on the roster.

2) There are two very distinct ways of "creating cap space."  One is real reductions in the cap costs by either cutting a player or getting a player to take a pay cut.  This is what I would call real cap space creation, as there is no shifting of costs.  The other way of creating cap space is by restructuring contracts (this can also involve adding voidable years).  While you are technically adding cap space, what you are really doing is borrowing money from future seasons.

3) When you talk about cutting a player to create more cap space, look at their base salary and consider what another team might sign a player for.  If the player's base salary is much higher than a likely contract with another team, that player is primed for a pay cut.   The challenge is that if you ask a player to take a cut and they refuse, you need to be prepared to cut the player.   A player who fits this category this season is Darren Waller. He has a $10.5 million base salary.  With his age and injury history, he would be lucky to sign for $3 million or $4 million.  If NYG cuts him, they save $6.7 million minus the cost of his replacement.   Waller is a prime candidate for a pay cut.



If you want to know more or just want to see the cap details, I recommend these two sites


https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/new-york-giants

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/

[Ed Vette]

Glowinski is a definite cut. Waller is a shadow of his former self but there isn't another FA that I would say is an improvement except for Dalton Schultz. The Draft might be the way to go but not in the first round. Slayton is expensive but he played to his value. Perhaps he can be restructured.