Popping a Cap

Wednesday, July 15, 2009


ESPN.com has reported on some Football Outsiders research--the company which has worked with Jim Schwartz in the past--on salary cap figures for the upcoming NFL Season.

As of right now, the Lions have a cap figure of $128,935,600. That figure is the lowest in the NFC North. I can't share with you more specifics of the article (because it it "Insider") but I can provide you with generalizations. More cap information can be found at The Net Rat

The largest amount of cap space is taken up by Calvin Johnson--no surprise--with a cap figure of over 8 million(6+ percent of cap). That number is bested only by Viking's DE, Jared Allen who takes up more than 8% of their cap.

The second highest cap-hog on the team is former DT Corey Redding. He takes up almost 6% of the Lions' cap. No other team in the NFC North has such a large amount of "Dead Money"

Which begs the question. If you're Martin Mayhew, why hamstring yourself so severely on your first year of the job? However, it does point to more money being freed up in the future to add to a roster already showing more depth than in past years.

What do you think of the Lions' money situation? Discuss it in the Den!