The Patriots cap performance stands out, but not in a good way.
The Patriot's cap performance 2023 stands out from the rest of the NFL clubs, besides having the second-lowest value of contracts ($194M APY) beginning the 2023 season. Those contracts also had the highest cap charges of any club.
The Ram's contract value was the lowest- only $.5M APY lower. The Rams traded off high-cost players. The Rams staffed up with low-cost draftees and street-free agents. The Rams have a high-cost elite quarterback. The Rams were the fifth youngest team. The Patriots do not have a high cap cost for an elite quarterback, have eighteen free agents compared to two for the Rams, and are the sixth-oldest club.
The NFL salary cap has two components.
I went back into history to see how the Patriots performed. Here is what I found.
In the 2021 season, The Patriots had contracts with a total value of $205M. The Patriots had 14-player contracts valued at + > $5M. The cap cost on those contracts was 81%, which is around average in the NFL. The Patriots had three contracts where cap charges exceeded the contract value.
Fast forward to the 2023 season.
New cap money available to the Patriots increased from $183M in 2021 to $225M in 2023, with $9M less dead-cap charges. The contract value for the Patriots players declined by $22M to $183M APY. The Patriots had three less player contracts = > $5M. (The Patriots made a trade mid-way in the season for J.C. Jackson, which distorted the values. The numbers quoted are without Jackson.)
The Patriot's contract value declined because the corresponding cap charges for these contracts increased. In 2021, the cap charge was 81% of the contract value; in 2023, it grew to 105%, the highest in the NFL.
Eight of the top fifteen Patriot contracts (excluding Jackson) have cap charges exceeding the contract value. (In 2021, it was three.) The competitor, the Bills, has three.
I attached a detailed PDF with the Patriot cap status in 2021 and 2023.
MM
The Patriot's cap performance 2023 stands out from the rest of the NFL clubs, besides having the second-lowest value of contracts ($194M APY) beginning the 2023 season. Those contracts also had the highest cap charges of any club.
The Ram's contract value was the lowest- only $.5M APY lower. The Rams traded off high-cost players. The Rams staffed up with low-cost draftees and street-free agents. The Rams have a high-cost elite quarterback. The Rams were the fifth youngest team. The Patriots do not have a high cap cost for an elite quarterback, have eighteen free agents compared to two for the Rams, and are the sixth-oldest club.
The NFL salary cap has two components.
- Value. Player contracts are "bought" by a club using "cap" dollars. The adjusted average pay per year (APY) reflects the contract value.
- Cost. The salary cap charge "for the season" is the cost.
I went back into history to see how the Patriots performed. Here is what I found.
In the 2021 season, The Patriots had contracts with a total value of $205M. The Patriots had 14-player contracts valued at + > $5M. The cap cost on those contracts was 81%, which is around average in the NFL. The Patriots had three contracts where cap charges exceeded the contract value.
Fast forward to the 2023 season.
New cap money available to the Patriots increased from $183M in 2021 to $225M in 2023, with $9M less dead-cap charges. The contract value for the Patriots players declined by $22M to $183M APY. The Patriots had three less player contracts = > $5M. (The Patriots made a trade mid-way in the season for J.C. Jackson, which distorted the values. The numbers quoted are without Jackson.)
The Patriot's contract value declined because the corresponding cap charges for these contracts increased. In 2021, the cap charge was 81% of the contract value; in 2023, it grew to 105%, the highest in the NFL.
Eight of the top fifteen Patriot contracts (excluding Jackson) have cap charges exceeding the contract value. (In 2021, it was three.) The competitor, the Bills, has three.
I attached a detailed PDF with the Patriot cap status in 2021 and 2023.
MM