Free Agency: AFC East Salary Cap Status

Hey folks. I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on where the salary cap stands for the AFC East.

I should note that this does not include the rookie wage pool, for the incoming draft class. Since this will vary by team, and I don't have the numbers available, just subtract $5M from each figure. As far as I can tell, the only deal for which Over The Cap does not have the numbers is the signing of Breno Giacomini, but I suspect it's for near peanuts, since he did not have many suitors, so that shouldn't matter much.

Included in these numbers are Mark Sanchez and Vince Wilfork, since neither have been cut yet. Wilfork has requested his release, but it has not been granted yet. Once (if) that happens, the Patriots will have an additional $8M.

As for Sanchez, there are a few possibilities as to why he hasn't been released yet. The first is that they are looking at the health of his shoulder and are looking to restructure his contract. The second is that they are just waiting to make sure they can get a good backup on the roster before he is released. The third is that they are looking for a trade partner. If he is released, or traded, the Jets will have an additional $8.3M in cap savings. That would bring their to available cap space to $42,775,361.

It doesn't look like the team will spend all of that, so most of it will be rolled over into next year's cap. This will give the team considerable space to re-sign the likes of Muhammad Wilkerson and any other moves they have planned.

The problem the team may have if John Idzik's spending habits continue is the salary cap floor. That floor is a four-year average of 89% of total available salary cap, which must be spent. At some point, Idzik will have to open the purse strings.