Help from fellow rumblers

by BillsfanDan on Dec 27, 2009 9:40 PM EST

I have a couple of questions and maybe a few intriguing things to ponder. With the off-season rapidly approaching I have a few questions about the Bills financial situation.

a) How much money do the Bills have in regards to the salary cap?

b) Are the Bills still spending under the "cash to the cap" philosophy?

c) What contracts are coming off the books next year?

d) When are our big contracts going to be up?

e) Are these types of questions going to be unanswered because the Bills franchise doesn't let anyone know of these things?

I ask these questions because I am interested in why the Front Office doesn't pay the good players that the Bills develop, and let go. Was it unreasonable (financially) to resign players like Pat Williams and Antoine Winfield to extensions? I know Clements was asking for the moon and the Bills couldn't afford it. But guys like Jabari Greer, London Fletcher and others asking for too much?

I am just throwing this out there, but if we had re-signed Jabari Greer, would it be significantly more than paying Florence and Corner combined and keeping Yobouty as the 4th CB?

I am not from the area and I don't read the Buffalo news, I am just trying to get a read on the financial situation with the Bills. I want to know if Wilson is being frugal or if there is a legitimate concern regarding funds with this franchise. Help a brother out. Thanks for the feedback in advance!

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.

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these two links may help im not sure how much but its the best i could find

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/clubhouse_contracts.aspx?sport=NFL&majteam=BUF

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/30/biz_07nfl_Buffalo-Bills_301765.html

"The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else." John Madden

by BRIANMULHALL on Dec 28, 2009 8:36 AM EST reply actions

this link will give u an idea of the changes year to year it is the 2008 numbers the link before was 2007 i beleive

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/30/sportsmoney_nfl08_Buffalo-Bills_301765.html

"The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else." John Madden

by BRIANMULHALL on Dec 28, 2009 8:41 AM EST reply actions

a) Currently there is no salary cap for next year.
b) Yes the Bills are still spending cash to cap but without a cap they may have to set some arbitrary number.
c) The biggest contract coming off the books is T.O.‘s But also guys like Derrick Dockery, Langston Walker, and Jason Peters still had money on this year’s salary cap.

They passed on Fletcher and Williams because they thought they were old. Winfield was asking too much when you had Clements and McGee to start. Ditto to Jabari Greer with McKelvin and McGee.

I am just throwing this out there, but if we had re-signed Jabari Greer, would it be significantly more than paying Florence and Corner combined and keeping Yobouty as the 4th CB?

Greer signed for 5.5 avg yearly salary. Florence is under contract for 3.3 a year. Corner like 500k at most under his rookie contract. Youboty is 530k. So yeah those three guys are cheaper combined than Greer.

Last offseason the Bills got all the free agents they wanted. Yeah they didn’t go after Jason Brown and his huge bloated salary. They got Hang instead who was the third-best center in free agency IMO. I don’t think the Bills are in a dire financial situation. They just need to hit a heck of a lot more than they miss. In the early 90s the Bills had one of the highest payrolls in the league. He’s shown he is willing to pay for good players. It’s why the Bills were royally screwed when the salary cap era hit.

"Play like hell and win." - Perry Fewell
Your daily source for Buffalo Bills information.

by MattRichWarren on Dec 28, 2009 11:56 AM EST reply actions

And on Greer, another thing to consider is that Buffalo is going to carry 5 or 6 cornerbacks no matter what. So you can’t really count guys making around the minimum as salary coming off the books. A guy like Corner or Youboty has to be replaced by somebody who makes at least 80-90% of what those guys were making anyways.

I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. In my Second Life I was also a paper salesman and I was also named Dwight. Absolutely everything was the same. Except I could fly. - Dwight Schrute

by kaisertown on Dec 28, 2009 1:48 PM EST up reply actions

Personally I would take that 2 mil bath and resign Greer. now you have 3 solid starters. Especially with the way injuries have decimated the bills the past few years. Now maybe it is a little to much money to dump in the secondary but as the saying goes “you need to spend money to make money”

by BillsfanDan on Dec 28, 2009 10:21 PM EST up reply actions

Has Florence not been solid? McKelvin is the questionable one but we’ve made our bed as far as he’s concerned.

"Play like hell and win." - Perry Fewell
Your daily source for Buffalo Bills information.

by MattRichWarren on Dec 29, 2009 8:59 AM EST up reply actions

Ah i thought the salary cap was going to last one more year after this one. And I had a feeling those big O-line salaries were incorporated. But if Peters signed a new contract, why would the Bills still have to pay a part? I can understand releases but to still pay Peters is baffling especially with a new contract in Philly.

So basically the rest of your reply is saying the Bills need to make better decisions with acquisitions and releases. Which I would have to agree with. Ultimately this off-season will dictate what the Bills will be like for the next 5 – 8 years. Frightening.

As far as FA is concerned. Its nice to snag a piece of a puzzle but getting what you need to be a contender is near impossible. With that said I also feel that being aggressive is important in building a team.

by BillsfanDan on Dec 28, 2009 10:18 PM EST up reply actions

Well the Walker, Dockery, and Peters salary cap hits all went on 2009’s cap. The cap hit is the remaining part of the signing bonus. If a player gets a 9M signing bonus on a 3 year contract as an example, it’s evened out over the entire contract so 3M per year. If the player is cut or traded during that time the rest of that money needs to be accounted for in the salary cap.

So basically the rest of your reply is saying the Bills need to make better decisions with acquisitions and releases. Which I would have to agree with.

I’m saying that when they screw up they feel it more than other teams.

"Play like hell and win." - Perry Fewell
Your daily source for Buffalo Bills information.

by MattRichWarren on Dec 29, 2009 9:01 AM EST up reply actions

I should have a fanpost up in the next day or so about the salary situation heading into next year. Going into last offseason, I thought the Bills had almost no money to spend and I was pretty much right as they cut Dockery, traded Peters and only spent on TO, Florence, Hangartner and a few extensions.

There’s not a ton of money coming off the books in the form of expired contracts, but there are a few sizeable ones (TO, Denney and Reed). There should also be some lower salary numbers for guys who got signing bonuses or other bonuses last season. Guys like Evans, Stroud, Jackson, McGee and maybe some others should have lower salary numbers next year than they did this season.

Another thing to consider is that Buffalo will have a higher, and therefore more expensive, draft pick this spring than they have had in recent seasons.

by kaisertown on Dec 28, 2009 1:59 PM EST reply actions

And as the season ends I’ll do my Biggest bang for the dollar Bills and least bang posts.

"Play like hell and win." - Perry Fewell
Your daily source for Buffalo Bills information.

by MattRichWarren on Dec 28, 2009 2:41 PM EST up reply actions

There could be a housecleaning too....

Meaning Lynch, Schobel, Evans, Stroud, whoever might not even be on the salary books next year….

I really hope this team cleans house for the most part. It’s needed it in the worst way since the end of the 2005 season….

~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

by Kurupt on Dec 28, 2009 11:20 PM EST up reply actions

On the 3rd link it shows Evans contract figures. If we front loaded the money, wouldnt it be a good idea to keep him after this year if we keep paying him less and less?

by BillsfanDan on Dec 29, 2009 10:18 AM EST reply actions