Earlier today when talking about the Saints and their salary cap, our resident board owner asked:

Zero2Cool (10h) : What does NFL do if they're over cap?

NFL Top-51 Rule: What happens if an NFL team goes over the salary cap?

What are the punishments for breaching the NFL's salary cap?
The NFL's salary cap is established in the Collective Bargaining Agreement set between the league and NFLPA.

If a team goes over the salary cap, they are fined upwards of five million dollars for each violation of the cap. In more severe scenarios, draft picks can be confiscated entirely and player contracts can be voided.

Teams over the cap are also banned from signing any new players until they are back below the cap again.

This is why there is so much talk about salary caps in the NFL, because it really isn't worth it for a team to go over that limit

So what about the Saints? Well...

This trade would clear a prorated portion of This trade would clear a prorated portion of $1.21 million and the Saints would carry $13.4 million in dead money in 2024. Where this gets tricky for New Orleans is looking ahead to 2025. The team is currently projected to be $71,408,567 over the effective salary cap next year, per Over The Cap. If they trade Lattimore, they would lock in $31.66 million in dead money for 2025 because this is a post-June 1 trade. That means the dead money is split between the rest of this season and next season. (Dead money is cash already paid to a player that hasn’t been accounted for on the salary cap.)

The Saints already need to clear more than $71 million, and dead money is not something that can be cleared out once a player has been moved. If they trade Lattimore, they’re just further leveraging themselves against future years’ caps. They would in turn need to find more people to trade, cut, or otherwise renegotiate contracts to clear more cap space.

The Saints have long been part of a running joke about the salary cap not being entirely real given how much they have kicked the can on it. Theoretically they can keep kicking it, but we’re seeing the result of this strategy: they’re a mediocre to bad team that cannot afford to upgrade their roster because they’re too busy paying for the mediocrity that currently exists.

At some point, the Saints will have to hit the reset button and take the pain of rebuilding everything. It’s just a matter of when they’re willing to do it, and who gets to take the lumps during what will be some very lean years.
.21 million and the Saints would carry $13.4 million in dead money in 2024. Where this gets tricky for New Orleans is looking ahead to 2025. The team is currently projected to be $71,408,567 over the effective salary cap next year, per Over The Cap. If they trade Lattimore, they would lock in $31.66 million in dead money for 2025 because this is a post-June 1 trade. That means the dead money is split between the rest of this season and next season. (Dead money is cash already paid to a player that hasn’t been accounted for on the salary cap.)

The Saints already need to clear more than $71 million, and dead money is not something that can be cleared out once a player has been moved. If they trade Lattimore, they’re just further leveraging themselves against future years’ caps. They would in turn need to find more people to trade, cut, or otherwise renegotiate contracts to clear more cap space.

The Saints have long been part of a running joke about the salary cap not being entirely real given how much they have kicked the can on it. Theoretically they can keep kicking it, but we’re seeing the result of this strategy: they’re a mediocre to bad team that cannot afford to upgrade their roster because they’re too busy paying for the mediocrity that currently exists.

At some point, the Saints will have to hit the reset button and take the pain of rebuilding everything. It’s just a matter of when they’re willing to do it, and who gets to take the lumps during what will be some very lean years.

A cursory look at the Saints salary cap at Over the Cap shows them at $61 million in the hole for next year (not sure about the discrepancy with the previous $71 million figure the Lattimore article states, esp since they also cite Over the Cap). Over the cap by $61/$71 million with 49 contracts on the books is...not good. It gets worse when you look and see that 3 players have void years for 2025. So the Saints need so shed 10s of millions of cap to get under and will also need to get up to 53 players on their roster, most likely through the draft. As it currently stands, the Saints have a good shot at landing the top pick in draft. Even with the cap friendly rookie contracts, the Saints are in a bit of bind.

But hey at least they're in the black for 2026 with $23.5 million with 40 contracts on the books, right? Wellll....a closer examination shows 14 void year contracts, so in reality the Saints have a long way to go filling out their roster. And those numbers are subject to change as the current 2026 cap show has none of the 2025 or 2026 draft picks on the their books.

But surely 2027 is a good year! $209.6 million in cap space with only $104.3 in current cap hits with 28 contracts on the roster! WELLLLLLL.....17 of those contracts are void contracts. Similar to the previous year, the future draft classes aren't factored in and like the year previous, the Saints will have a long way to go in filling out their roster.

The big question is will the Saints let some of their talent (Olave, Ruiz etc) walk to get their cap healthy or will they use the cap expansion in 2027 to continue kicking the can?

Simply put, teams are not allowed to be over the cap. If they are over the cap then expect punishment coming from the NFL as the other 31 teams are pissed that you cheated and the team most likely will lose cap space to the other 31 teams, they and their owner will be fined, and they'll lose draft picks.

In other words, Saints will get under the cap, BUT with the position they have put themselves how many star players will they have to get rid of to get under the cap?

I'm thinking their QB Carr and QB/TE Hill could be gone, maybe even more players.

I didn't see it when I tried to look up which teams have been over the cap in the past but I think SF maybe New England have been over the cap and fined in the past.

wpr;466725I didn't see it when I tried to look up which teams have been over the cap in the past but I think SF maybe New England have been over the cap and fined in the past.

I don't believe it's ever officially happened, as it's not simple not allowed, and all 31 other teams will come after you.

Teams MUST be under the salary cap... and teams gives a lot of options to kick the can down the road and borrow money from the next couple of years.

The only time I can remember a team failing to meet salary cap was the 90s Super Bowl Broncos... but here is the catch, they technically showed that they were under the cap, they just had side deals with Elway and I think the RB that they did not properly report, but where not caught until like a decade later.

beast;466722In other words, Saints will get under the cap, BUT with the position they have put themselves how many star players will they have to get rid of to get under the cap?

I'm thinking their QB Carr and QB/TE Hill could be gone, maybe even more players.

With the Lattimore trade, the Saints dead cap hit is next year is $48 million but now have $52 million in free cap for 2026. Gonna have to punt a lot into 2026. 2027 might see a similar situation that GB had in 2023: over 50% of the cap tied up in void years and dead cap.

I wonder who the placeholder coach is going to be for the next three years.

The Broncos signed (John Lynch)? Late in The 1997 season, it was discovered after the season the signing had put them over the cap, by then it was too late to do anything except fine them. Lynch solidified their defensive backfield and helped them beat The Packers in the SB.
Probably was worth the fine, whatever it was.
That was 27 years ago, I think the story is accurate .
Only time I remember it happening.

buckeyepackfan;466739The Broncos signed (John Lynch)? Late in The 1997 season, it was discovered after the season the signing had put them over the cap, by then it was too late to do anything except fine them. Lynch solidified their defensive backfield and helped them beat The Packers in the SB.
Probably was worth the fine, whatever it was.
That was 27 years ago, I think the story is accurate .
Only time I remember it happening.

I believe they later found out that the Broncos deals with Elway and one other player (I want to say the star RB) also gave them some money that was off the books.

https://forums.denverbroncos.com/forum/broncos-football/talkin-smack/223817-denver-broncos-cheated-to-win-both-of-their-sbs

In December 2001, the Broncos were fined $968,000 and lost a third-round pick in the 2002 draft for violations reportedly relating to $29 million in deferred payments to quarterback John Elway and running back Terrell Davis.

On Thursday, the league announced that the Broncos have been fined $950,000 and will lose a third-round selection in next year's draft for circumventing the salary cap between 1996 and '98

Saints not planning for rebuild despite coaching change, high salary cap charges

From the outside, it all seems to add up: a looming head-coaching vacancy, a non-traditional salary cap, and plenty of older, accomplished players. Are the Saints headed for a rebuild?

Yet, that's not the plan at all.

New Orleans isn't planning for an overhaul. There will be changes, and likely an effort to get younger. But they aren't envisioning taking their franchise down to the studs, just like they didn't plan a fire sale prior to this past Tuesday's trade deadline. With a roster they believe is far better than their record, one besieged by unrelenting injuries, the Saints believe in pushing forward, rather than stepping back.

I guess the can will be kicked even further.

Mucky Tundra;466750I guess the can will be kicked even further.

That's all their GM does... and he's been GM since 2002 (not 2022, but 2002).

Seems like their GM is locked in for life, or until their ownership changes.

And I assume that's why Sean Peyton left.

beast;466751That's all their GM does... and he's been GM since 2002 (not 2022, but 2002).

Seems like their GM is locked in for life, or until their ownership changes.

And I assume that's why Sean Peyton left.

When I was looking into their GM before I started this thread and saw he had been there since 2002, I had to do a double take. 2002? As in, "2002 with Aaron Brooks, Deuce McAllister and Joe Horn"? I struggle to see them attracting anyone worthwhile to the job now.