Redskins Will Get No Salary Cap Relief from Sean Taylor's Contract

They need to change this rule

Read about this in some of the initial reporting but it just come back to me so I thought I would share my thoughts.

Unless the league makes an exception or changes the rule retroactively the Redskins will receive no salary cap relief from Sean Taylor's contract, come the offseason the team will take a cap hit exactly as if the team had cut him.

This means the team will not be liable against the cap for the balance of this season's weekly gamechecks, nor will the team be liable against the cap for future annual salaries. The team will however be required to take a cap charge for the remaining pro rata portions of Sean's signing bonus and any option bonuses that were to have kicked in if Sean had played all the way through his contract.

According to ESPN the pro rata portion of Sean's signing bonus for the 2008 season is 1.175 million dollars, the same amount in 2009 and then 128 thousand dollars in 2010. Totaling those up equals a salary cap charge of 2.478 million dollars to get Sean off the books.

Sean's cap number for 2008 based on his existing contract would have been 865 thousand in salary + 1.175 million in pro rata bonus + 150 thousand in offseason workout bonus = 2.19 million dollars, a similar amount.

But Sean would have been here to play.

Personally I believe Sean was unhappy with his contract, at least back in the April May timeframe. Sean had seen the 2006 class of big money free agents come in, Brandon Lloyd, Adam Archuleta, Andre Carter, Antwaan Randle El, then the team spent a high draft pick and a lot of money on safety LaRon Landry. Sean had made it to the Pro Bowl and there was no new contract for him. So he did not show up for minicamp. Then he did and swore up and down there was no dispute.

But then something happened. Maybe Sean and the team had a sitdown and talked about a new contract this coming offseason, maybe he got some advice from his agent to dial it back though my imagination has a hard time envisioning that dirtbag Drew Rosenhaus counseling discretion when it comes to money.

And he started the season and was awsum. When Sean went down with a knee injury in the Eagles game Redskins fans got a real chance to see what the team's deep defense was like without him in the Cowboys game. It was then that I knew the team would have to lock Sean up with a long term deal and be sure he would be here for years to come.

The NFL needs to change this rule. It makes sense to force a team to account for future liabilities when that team parts with an under contract player voluntarily. It makes no sense whatsoever to make a team close a player's account this way when he is taken from them as Sean Taylor was from the Redskins.



Mourning Redskins fan: Tracey A. Woodward / Washington Post from here.