NFL’s new contract year started earlier this month, leaving teams free to release players and sign free agents. The moves the Panthers have made so far have been both predictable and in line with being very salary cap limited.
Among the free agents the Panthers have brought in, even those with somewhat impressive sounding contract numbers — like Mike Tolbert for $8.4 million over four years — are extremely 2012 cap friendly. In fact, all the contracts seem to feature veteran minimum money for 2012 followed by big salary increases in the following years for those with multi-year deals. This sorts of deals, plus the 2011 spending spree, effectively means that the Panthers will be up against the salary cap again next year, again making significant free agent signings difficult to pull off.
Contract numbers from Rotoworld:
• Geoff Hangartner: 2012: $825,000, 2013: $1.575 million, 2014: $2.45 million
• Haruki Nakamura: “Signed a three-year, $4.8 million contract. The deal contains $1.3 million guaranteed, including a $1 million signing bonus. Another $700,000 is available through salary escalators in the final year. 2012: $700,000, 2013: $1.3 million, 2014: $1.8 million”
• Mike Pollak: 2012: $700,000 plus a $65,000 signing bonus
• Mike Tolbert: “The deal contains $2.7 million guaranteed — a $2 million signing bonus and all of Tolbert’s 2012 base salary. Another $1.6 million is available through incentives. Tolbert is eligible for annual $25,000 workout bonuses throughout the contract’s life. 2012: $700,000, 2013: $1 million (+ $1.5 million option bonus), 2014: $2.3 million, 2015: $2.4 million.”
Bonus observation: Thought the Panthers were suppose to be a build-through-the-draft organization. Or at least that’s Marty Hurney’s spin of the moment. If that were truly the case, why all free agent signings recently? Could it have something to do with the Panthers recent inability to develop players they drafted? Not that the Panthers would ever actually admit that…
