Chiefs are losing the Salary Cap Shell game

[FONT=&quot]The Chiefs are good. The organization evaluates talent well and has excellent coaching. Imagine how good the team would be if they had an additional $40M to attract wide receivers or offensive and defensive linemen. The Chiefs have $40M available- the club is not spending it because of the current cap philosophy. Fear the dead cap?[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]What does the data show? I downloaded the OverTheCap contract file as of September 6, 2023. I made adjustments for significant changes made after that date. This report is a summation of what I found.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Definition- Contract APY = the average contract cost per year.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]For the 2023 season, the Eagles had a $174M new cap availability compared to the Chiefs’ $ 213M. Player contract construction resulted in the Eagles’ affording $277M APY of player contracts (Sixteen players with contracts = > $5M APY) while the Chiefs could only afford $215M APY (Eight players with contracts = > $5M APY).[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]The Bills had a $210M new cap availability. Player contract construction resulted in the Bills’ affording $289M APY of player contracts (Fifteen players with contracts = > $5M APY).[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Mahomes’ contract of $40M APY has the highest cap charge $37M of any quarterback in the league. The Eagles Hurts, $43M APY-cap hit $6M, the Bills Allen, $36M APY-cap hit $19M, the Jets Rodgers, $38M APY- cap hit $9M; the Chargers Herbert, $42M APY- cap hit $8M; the Saints Carr, $38M APY- cap hit $7M; the Rams Stafford, $37M APY- cap hit $20M; the Vikings Cousins, $35M APY- cap hit $20M; the Giants Jones, $40M APY, cap hit $15M; the Bengals Burrows, $44M APY- cap hit $20M; the Browns Watson, $46M APY-cap hit $19M; the Ravens Jackson, $52M APY-cap hit $22M; the Broncos Wilson, $42M APY-cap hit $22M, and finally the Cardinals Murray, $38M APY- cap hit $16M. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]The current salary cap is a gigantic shell game. Until the league reforms the cap, the Chiefs have a choice. The club can continue to be conservative and be at a $40M to $60M disadvantage in contract APY to other clubs or join clubs that use the cap rules to afford a higher payroll. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Hind-site is 20/20- Don’t make the same mistake the Packers made with Rodgers by not using the cap to gain two or three more quality players. The window to winning a Super Bowl is short. [/FONT]