Key Dates, Deadlines and Salary Cap Ramifications as Training Camp Begins

With training camps around the league set to start opening up in the next couple of weeks, it’s once again time to take a look at the important upcoming NFL calendar dates that will have great significance for the building of the Ravens’ 2024 roster (and its Salary Cap).

OVERVIEW

Several key factors are in effect and have already come into play:

RULE OF 51

At this time of the offseason, a team’s Salary Cap is determined by the “Rule of 51.” The Rule of 51 is in effect because team rosters now total 90 players (or more if some players have already been placed on Injured Reserve) and it would be impossible to fit all 90+ players under the Cap. As such, the league’s CBA dictates that only the highest 51 Salary Cap numbers (and all bonus prorations for players outside of the top 51 plus all dead money from players released) counts against the Cap at this time. This is the Rule of 51. RSR’s Salary Cap table illustrates how the Rule of 51 works.

WAIVERS

As Training Camp and the Preseason progress, teams will inevitably make tweaks and adjustments to their rosters. While often used interchangeably, there is actually a distinction between “releasing” a player and “waiving” a player. Players with four or more years of service time (known as “vested veterans”) are released and immediately become free agents. Players with less than four years of service time in the league (known as “non-vested veterans”) are “waived” and subject to a 24-hour waiver period. Teams must make waiver claims for such players and the player is awarded to the team with the highest waiver priority (presently based on draft order; priority will begin to be based on team records after Week 3 of the regular season). If a player goes unclaimed on waivers, he becomes a free agent.

For a more detailed explanation of the Waiver rules, see here.

PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO PERFORM (PUP) LIST

Players coming off of injury or offseason surgery will often start Training Camp on PUP. This is often just precautionary and the player will return a week or two into Camp.  There are two PUP lists – “active” and “reserve.” A player on PUP can work out and rehab with the team but is prohibited from participating in team drills. In order to be removed from PUP later in training camp or prior to the beginning of the season, a player must be initially placed on “active” PUP. If the player is not ready to come off of PUP before the start of the season, he will be transferred to “reserve” PUP and must miss a minimum of the first four (4) games of the season. To be placed on either PUP list, the player must go on PUP at the beginning of Training Camp. Once a player has participated in a practice, he is no longer eligible for either of the PUP lists.

INJURED RESERVE/INJURY WAIVERS

A 2018 NFL By-Laws change has made it no longer necessary to place non-vested veterans (players with less than four accrued seasons of service time) on Injury-Waivers before placing them on IR. In the past, the need for Injury Waivers caused teams to risk losing the player to a waiver claim and on occasion some teams (Patriots) took advantage of this to poach players. As such, teams would often be forced to continue to carry the player on the 90-man roster until the final cutdown in order to not risk losing the player. The new By-Law solves this issue and non-vested veterans can now go directly onto IR without having to first pass through Waivers.

SPLIT CONTRACTS

Most undrafted free agents (UDFAs) and lower-round draft picks have split contracts, which means that if the player ends up on a reserve list (IR or PUP), he will receive a reduced base salary. Some veterans (vested or not) on one–year deals may also have split contracts. As an example, a rookie (UDFA or later round draft pick) who is placed on IR will likely see his base salary reduced from $795K down to $470K.

IMPORTANT DATES

CUTDOWN TO 53

In the past, the NFL had as many as three (3) cutdown dates.  Starting in 2023, the NFL consolidated this into one (1) cutdown date whereby teams will cut down from 90 players to 53 on the active roster.  This year that date is Tuesday, August 27^th.

ESTABLISHING PRACTICE SQUADS

At Noon on the following day – Wednesday, August 28^th – the waiver period for players released in the final cutdown expires. At 1:00 p.m. that day, teams may begin signing players to their practice squads. Teams’ practice squads may consist of 16 players. The minimum salary for most practice squad players in 2024 is $12,500 per week (or $225,000 if on the PS for the entire season); however, teams are allowed to sign up to six (6) players to the Practice Squad with no limit on their service time.  Those players make from $16,800 to $21,300 per week (or $302,400 up to $383,400 if on the PS for the entire season).

For practice squad eligibility rules, see here.

NEW IR RULES

In 2012, the NFL for the first time in recent memory, allowed teams to designate a player (one player) who had been placed on IR to return to the active 53-man roster later in the season. Under the prior rules, once placed on IR, a player’s season was over. In 2016, the NFL removed the need to designate a single player as “designated to return” and allowed teams to decide at any given time which player they wanted to have return from IR. In 2017, the NFL extended the ability to return from IR to a second player.

In 2022, the NFLPA and NFL agreed to allow teams to return a maximum of eight (8) players from IR, so long as the player misses a minimum of four (4) games while on IR.

Once designated to return, the player is then allowed to practice for up to twenty-one (21) days before being activated.

This year, the NFL again tweaked the “designated to return from IR” rules.  In the past, only players who are on the original 53-man roster before being placed on IR were eligible to return from IR.  Often, this led teams to make “wink-wink” deals with vested veterans who would be released at the final cutdown to create a roster spot for an injured player in order to maintain that player’s eligibility to return from IR later in the season.  The released veteran would then be re-signed a few days later once a roster spot opened back up after the injured player was placed on IR.  This year’s change to the rule will now allow two (2) players to be placed on IR at the time of the final cutdown, while still being eligible to return from IR.  So, at least for those two (2) players, the need for such “wink-wink” roster gymnastics will no longer be necessary.  However, if the team has more than two (2) injured players that they hope can return later in the year, those players much be part of the initial 53-man roster and can then be placed on IR after 4:00 on Wednesday, August 28th in order to be eligible to be one of the eight (8) players who can be recalled from IR later in the season.

CAP COMPLIANCE, END OF RULE OF 51

At 12:00 a.m. on the Thursday before the first regular season game (Sept 5th this year), the Rule of 51 expires and teams must have all players – 53-man roster, IR, PUP, PS – fit under the Cap.  So, from that point forward, the team would have to count the 53 players on the active roster + anyone that starts the season on IR/PUP + 16 PS players under the Cap. This means that a minimum of 69 players will count against the Cap as of the beginning of the season.  But, as we know, Training Camp and preseason injuries are inevitable, so the number of players that will end up counting against the Cap is going to go up and, in turn, that will require additional Cap space.

The Ravens presently have $5,494,412 in Salary Cap space. They will need more.  First off, there will be the two (2) players added to the Cap to go from 51 (Rule of 51) to 53.  That will be a minimum of $1.59M.  Then, there’s the 16-member Practice Squad which will take up another $4-4.4M.  The team will also need to set aside money for weekly Practice Squad elevations and carry Cap space into the season for injury replacements.  Needless to say, $5,494,412 will not cover all of those expenses.  As such, expect to see the Ravens restructure a contract or two before the start of the season.

The below chart breaks down these future expenses and gives examples of the restructures that are possible:

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS FACTORS

GUARANTEED SALARY FOR VESTED VETERANS

Any vested veteran (at least four years of service time) who is on the team’s 53-man roster for the first game of the season is entitled to termination pay (if he’s never received termination pay before) if he is released at any point later in the season. This means that his base salary is essentially guaranteed for the year. This is why you will see teams releasing marginal veteran players prior to Week 1 and then immediately re-signing them early the following week. There is also an in-season termination pay that applies to vested veterans signed during the season, which essentially guarantees the player 25% of the salary they would have received if not for being released (again, if they haven’t already received termination pay).

INJURY SETTLEMENTS

Teams can work out injury settlements for players who have been placed on IR, but who aren’t expected to be injured for the entire season. This allows the team to save some cash (and Salary Cap space) and gives the player the opportunity to try and catch on with another team later in the season, instead of remaining on IR for the entire year. The amount of an injury settlement is based on the number of weeks the player is expected to be unable to practice or play.

Teams may also release a player from IR later in the season when the player has been deemed medically fit to return to playing (i.e. he must be able to pass a physical). This is essentially the same as an injury settlement as the player has already been paid while on IR, but again, it saves the team some cash and Cap and frees the player to try and find a job on another team’s active roster or PS.

IN-SEASON WAIVERS

Prior to the trade deadline, Waivers applies as explained above and vested veterans and non-vested veterans are still treated as they have been since March. After the trade deadline on November 5^th at 4:00 p.m., though, all players – whether vested or non-vested – are subject to waivers. This presumably gives all teams an equal shot at obtaining the player via the waiver system and protects the competitive balance aspect of the waiver system (i.e. giving lesser teams an opportunity to obtain talent).

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