What will the payroll be in 2011?

[Swarly]

I was reading through the NFC South blog on ESPN and noticed that Pat Yasinskas said the Panthers current payroll going into 2011 is $73.1 million.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/18101/hitting-the-nfc-south-hot-spots-10

I was thinking about what that number might look like if we are able to sign all of our big name free agents. Most of this is just speculation since you never know what the value of a player might be to the team(or if the player thinks he's worth more than he is) so take it with a grain of salt. I'm not going to post exact numbers, just going to post similar players recent contracts.

Ryan Kalil

I can see Kalil getting a contract similar to the one Mangold just signed in the 2010 off season.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_contract.aspx?sport=nfl&id=3647

Mangolds contract is worth $57.4 million dollars, with $25 million guaranteed. Kalil's contract will probably be less, as Mangold is probably the best center in the NFL.

Charles Johnson

I couldn't find any recent DE's that received a contract that were comparable to Johnson(you could argue Peppers, but there is no way Johnson gets that kind of money.) I'm just gonna ballpark it and say he'll receive a contract worth around $50 million, and around $20 million guaranteed. Again that's complete speculation, so if you think otherwise post what you think he'll get. I personally think that Johnson will not get a new contract, but will get a 1st and 3rd round tender, to see if he can continue the success he had in 2010 before signing him long term. I don't know the rules of the tenders under the new CBA, or if Johnson is even eligible for a RFA tender.

DeAngelo Williams

I can't see DWill getting a big contract anywhere because he's 27, and I can't find a recent contract so I'll just make another guess. Around $30 million, with around $15 million guaranteed. I could base it off of Steven Jackson's contract, but Jackson signed his in 2008 when he was 24, so I didn't feel like it was comparable.

Thomas Davis

I don't see Davis getting a significant contract. He'll probably get a deal full of incentives if he is able to come back from his injury, with not much guaranteed.

We have a lot more free agents, but I only had time to post these up and will try to get to more later. Off the top of my head I left off James Anderson and Charles Godfrey of the "big name" free agents we will likely resign. I didn't include Marshall because I don't think he'll be back next season.

[OchoNueve]

Good research and info, but i don't think it is possible to figure out next year's salary without the new CBA.

[TheRealDeal]

You left one off

[HSCBandit07]

Imagine Fox as an analyst hahaha

[Darth Bobo]

I don't think Kalil or Johnson is worth those contract figures. What we decide to pay either player comes down to what we think other teams might be willing to pay a player.

Our offensive line was absolutely horrible last year, almost if not the worst in the league....this was true even though both Wharton and Gross are getting PAID. Offensive linemen usually get noticed when they play poorly, and not when they play well. What exactly did Kalil do this year that other Centers haven't been doing to stand out?

Our defensive ends dominated....by committee this year. Were Johnson's sack counts a product of alternate defensive schemes we implemented to compensate for linebacker injury, etc? Did Johnson's play correlate to victories?

They both played well. They both deserve solid contract offers, and I expect they will be arranged. But 50 million? Please ......

[Swarly]

I don't think Kalil or Johnson is worth those contract figures. What we decide to pay either player comes down to what we think other teams might be willing to pay a player.

Our offensive line was absolutely horrible last year, almost if not the worst in the league....this was true even though both Wharton and Gross are getting PAID. Offensive linemen usually get noticed when they play poorly, and not when they play well. What exactly did Kalil do this year that other Centers haven't been doing to stand out?

Our defensive ends dominated....by committee this year. Were Johnson's sack counts a product of alternate defensive schemes we implemented to compensate for linebacker injury, etc? Did Johnson's play correlate to victories?

They both played well. They both deserve solid contract offers, and I expect they will be arranged. But 50 million? Please ......

I agree I'm just going off the average numbers for most good DE's. That's why I think Johnson will get tagged(if tags exist under the new CBA) to see if he can replicate that success before committing long-term.

Kalil however has been one of the top centers in the league for a while. We know he's great, and he's going to get paid because of it. I don't think he'll earn more than Mangold but it's going to be close.

[Darth Bobo]

With Kalil, I think his situation is helped by the fact that his replacement is a clear step down, and by the fact he is almost always healthy. I think you're spot on that he is one of the better centers in the league, but at the same time he is also still a little undersized too. Some teams would hold that against him. He doesn't get man-handled, or cause false starts, and plays do not break down because of him. He is rock solid -for us.

I just don't think that centers get noticed very easily, its a position of very little glory. I can see the team justifying him making 5 mil a year, plus a nice bonus because we'll have more cap room than we can spend. If we figure he lasts another 5 years in the league, yeah maybe 30 mil total.

[mountainpantherfan]

That number is very interesting.

$73.1 million is really not that much. And considering that three players, Steve Smith, Jordan Gross and Travelle Wharton, take up about a third of the total you can dramicly reduce the total by just cutting one or two players (if you want to).

If the league ends up getting most of what they want then the salary floor and bottom will be approximently $140 million floor and $150 million cap . Let's just say for example the Panther trade Smith and then redue their total investment for 2011 to $63.9 million. Thats a lot of money they will have to spend just to get to the salary floor. $76.1 million to be exact. By percentage, they have half their team left to sign!

And while the other teams in the division have a lot of room as well. They all three were good teams with a lot of thier own players to resign. The Panthers were the worst team in the NFL and no one is going to fault them for not signing any player that made up the team that was that bad (or at least they shouldn't find fault.)

The Panthers can resign Kalil and C. Johnson and still have plenty of room to sign who every they want. Guys like Aso, VJ and even P. Manning will be possibilities if they hit the open market. Yes, anyone is in play and the money will be there and have to be spent.

Oh course signing every big name isn't the way to go but cash will be flowing from the Panthers. And if not in 2011, in 2012.

With all of that being said, why do we want to sign a group of guys who were apart of a team that just went 2-14? I'll give you Kalil and C. Johnson. And extending Beason would be a great move. But outside of that, why? There will even be teams out there like Chicago and Dallas that will be begging to trade quality players in exchange for cap room.

So, give Rivera and the front office the chance to actually build this team into a winner and don't just scream about how your favorite player better be re-signed.

[bleys]

140mil floor and 150mil cap is going to require some exact science... I'd have to think the distance between the 2 will be spread out a bit more...

[JawnyBlaze]

At 27 Deangelo has probably had about as many carries as S. Jackson had at 24, maybe less. Deangelo has PLENTY left in his tank.

DeAngelo Williams

I can't see DWill getting a big contract anywhere because he's 27, and I can't find a recent contract so I'll just make another guess. Around $30 million, with around $15 million guaranteed. I could base it off of Steven Jackson's contract, but Jackson signed his in 2008 when he was 24, so I didn't feel like it was comparable.

[mountainpantherfan]

140mil floor and 150mil cap is going to require some exact science... I'd have to think the distance between the 2 will be spread out a bit more...

If my memory is correct, a $10 million difference was about the average during the last CBA. That is what I am basing that on. Now, that could completely change with the new CBA and the floor be much lower. Still, Richardson has said he wants this team to be competative and based on the team's history I doubt they would not try to get close to the cap as oppose to staying close to the floor.

[bleys]

If my memory is correct, a $10 million difference was about the average during the last CBA. That is what I am basing that on. Now, that could completely change with the new CBA and the floor be much lower. Still, Richardson has said he wants this team to be competative and based on the team's history I doubt they would not try to get close to the cap as oppose to staying close to the floor.

the Bucs were about 40mil below the cap for a while... pretty sure it was more than 10... I'm not sure the exact #'s...

[pantherj]

Kalil's pass blocking against the Gaints was horrific, and big DTs often get the better of him. His run blocking is ok, and he gets an A for effort. I seriously doubt we'll break the bank for him.

[mountainpantherfan]

the Bucs were about 40mil below the cap for a while... pretty sure it was more than 10... I'm not sure the exact #'s...

I tried to do a quick google search and didn't really find anything quickly.

You could be completely correct. I always thought that when teams were reported to be that far under the cap it was at the begining of the offseason and thus the reason they had to spend a certain amount of money.

Still going to be a lot of money to spend and it all shouldn't go to Anderson and Rosario, or even DeAngelo Williams. I just really hope Hurney is smart enough (I think he is) and able to work with Rivera (not sure) to build a championship team. There will never be another time greater than now to be in a rebuilding process and the Panthers have set themselves up to completely take advantage of the situation. They just have to come through.