Giants' salary cap stability tied to Eli Manning decision – SportingNews.com
The New York Giants have a large investment in just a handful of players, ranking No. 4 overall in salary cap space devoted to the top-five players on the team. This has led the Giants to fill out the roster with a number of mid-tier and low-level veterans, as the cap dropoff from their top six players is steep — falling from about $7 million or more in salary, to a large number of players in the $2 million-$2.5 million range.
In a team-by-team salary cap space breakdown heading into the 2015 season, we look at what teams have spent, what they have left and the decisions they’ll face in the near future. No franchise, including the Giants, can avoid the dollars and cents moves that impact winning every bit as much as play-calling.
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New York Giants salary cap space
Financial Summary
Salary Cap Space: $7.1 million
Largest Cap Charge: Eli Manning, $19.8 million
Best Value: Odell Beckham, Jr., $2.4 million
Worst Value: Victor Cruz, $8.1 million
Percentage of Cap Spent on Top 5 Players: 40.6%
Percentage of Cap Spent on Dead Money: 6.2%
Offseason Moves:
Key Additions: RB Shane Vereen, WR Dwayne Harris, LB JT Thomas, LB Jonathan Casillas, DT Kenrick Ellis
Key Losses: S Antrel Rolle, S Stevie Brown, LB Mathias Kiwanuka, C JD Walton
Draft Picks: T Ereck Flowers, S Landon Collins, DE Owamagbe Odighizuwa
Spending Habits
Unlike some other teams in the NFL, the Giants have not invested in creating “super units” of players, where the salary at one position dominates their salary cap. Outside of the quarterback position, there is not one group of players that ranks overall in the top-seven across the NFL. Their approach has been to “spread the wealth” by targeting more affordable second- and third-tier talents to supplement those high-priced players and the draft picks.
In general, the team has been committed to filling out the roster with veteran players on affordable deals rather than taking chances on younger players. In the offseason, they reworked the contracts of Jon Beason and Geoff Schwartz, who were both injured in 2014, rather than releasing them. The team overpaid for players such as Dwayne Harris and Shane Vereen to ensure they will have more veteran bodies on the field in 2015. This strategy usually keeps the Giants close to the cap limit most seasons, and with just $7 million in offseason cap space, they will likely be near the limit this year as well.
Looking Ahead
The Giants have a number of major decisions that will be a focal point of discussion during the summer and the regular season. The team has three high-priced players who will be free agents in 2016: quarterback Eli Manning, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, and cornerback Prince Amukamara. In addition, the Giants should be encouraging competition for wide receiver Victor Cruz and tackle Will Beatty, both of whom could be released following the season.
Manning’s negotiation will be difficult in light of Ben Roethlisberger’s recent $21.85 million per-year contract extension with the Steelers. Manning’s agent used Roethlisberger’s prior contract as a launching point for negotiations in 2009 to earn a record-setting, at the time, $16.25 million per-year deal that was about 11 percent higher than Roethlisberger’s contract. Since then Manning has won another Super Bowl, but has failed to make the playoffs in the last three years, which likely concerns the Giants if they are going to make him the highest-paid player in the NFL. Doing an extension this summer would make the contract easier to work with against the salary cap.
The Giants only have until mid-July to work out a long-term deal with Pierre-Paul, who is the team’s franchise player. Pierre-Paul is likely seeking to earn similar to the $16 million a year that is earned by Mario Williams of the Bills. Last year that number would have seemed unreachable, but with Ndamukong Suh shattering any threshold values for defensive players, Pierre-Paul will have more reason to ask for a significant amount. The least he may settle for is Robert Quinn’s $14.25 million per-year contract.
Prior to his injury, Amukamara had been developing into a quality player. The market exploded for the position this offseason with Byron Maxwell exceeding all expectations on a $10.5 million per- year contract. With Jimmy Smith earning nearly $10.3 million and Sam Shield $9.75 million, Amukamara is playing for a $10 million a year contract if the Giants don’t work out an extension in the summer. The risk for New York, though, is overpaying if it turns out that Amukamara is not healthy this season.
The Giants currently project to have more than $55 million in cap space in 2016, but with those players seeking new contracts, that money can vanish in a hurry if the team is not careful. If the team does decide to go in a different, long-term direction with either Manning or Pierre-Paul, then this is likely the last time they will approach a season with numerous veteran players and instead begin rebuilding with youth.
Jason Fitzgerald is an NFL salary expert and contributor for Sporting News. Read more of his writing at OverTheCap.com and follow him on Twitter: @Jason_OTC.
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