Colts | Ruling impacts team's salary cap status
Thu, 2 Mar 2006 06:10:53 -0800
Mike Chappell, of the Indianapolis Star, reports a ruling Wednesday, March 1, by an NFL arbitrator specifically regarding the contracts of QB Peyton Manning and WR Marvin Harrison could result in several significant player cuts by the Indianapolis Colts as they attempt to comply with the league's projected 2006 salary cap of $95 million. At issue, for now, are roster bonuses of $9 million due Manning and $10 million due Harrison. The Colts intended to implement a normal bookkeeping maneuver that converts a roster bonus into a signing bonus and prorating it over the next four years. That would have lowered Manning's 2006 cap number from $17.766 million to $10 million and Harrison's cap hit from $14.4 million to $6.9 million. The lack of an extension carries restrictive guidelines regarding player contracts, including the conversion of roster bonuses. According to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, arbitrator Stephen Burbank ruled such conversions are prohibited under the labor agreement if they violate the so-called "30 percent rule,'' which keeps base salaries from increasing more than 30 percent each year over the first year of the contract. It's believed a special master's ruling is final, but Colts' owner Jim Irsay said the issue is far from resolved.
Thu, 2 Mar 2006 06:10:53 -0800
Mike Chappell, of the Indianapolis Star, reports a ruling Wednesday, March 1, by an NFL arbitrator specifically regarding the contracts of QB Peyton Manning and WR Marvin Harrison could result in several significant player cuts by the Indianapolis Colts as they attempt to comply with the league's projected 2006 salary cap of $95 million. At issue, for now, are roster bonuses of $9 million due Manning and $10 million due Harrison. The Colts intended to implement a normal bookkeeping maneuver that converts a roster bonus into a signing bonus and prorating it over the next four years. That would have lowered Manning's 2006 cap number from $17.766 million to $10 million and Harrison's cap hit from $14.4 million to $6.9 million. The lack of an extension carries restrictive guidelines regarding player contracts, including the conversion of roster bonuses. According to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, arbitrator Stephen Burbank ruled such conversions are prohibited under the labor agreement if they violate the so-called "30 percent rule,'' which keeps base salaries from increasing more than 30 percent each year over the first year of the contract. It's believed a special master's ruling is final, but Colts' owner Jim Irsay said the issue is far from resolved.