Before we take a deep dive into the Eagles salary cap situation for 2021, it only feels right to start with this disclaimer: Howie Roseman and his financial guru Jake Rosenberg know what they are doing.
Since the duo started working together there has really only been one move they made — the extension of Alshon Jeffery — that has hurt them financially. Other than that, they have been able to get themselves out of any bad signing or tough salary cap situation fairly easily. They have certainly earned the benefit for the doubt.
Which is good news — because despite sitting with close to $30 million in cap space, it is clear that the Eagles rough financial situation in 2021 has played a big role in the building of their 2020 roster and their offseason moves over the last few weeks. It could also be why a deal for Yannick Ngakoue will be hard to pull off.
According to Over the Cap, the Eagles are currently projected to be $25 million over the salary cap next season. All 31 other teams are significantly under the cap. The next closest team, the Chicago Bears, have $20 million in salary cap space. That is a $45 million difference between the Eagles and the next closest team, a disturbing figure no matter what number the cap comes in at for the 2021 season.
It is likely why they have only signed two players, Darius Slay and Javon Hargrave, to significant deals over one-year long. It is why they didn't get in on handing long-term deals to either Amari Cooper or Andre Hopkins. It is likely why they sat out the bidding for Robby Anderson.
The Eagles, without question, are not done. They will be making more moves. But when wondering why they are sitting with around $30 million in cap space, the answer is likely the fact they face a very tough financial situation going forward.
One of the main reasons the Eagles are in this situation is the structure of the contracts they hand out. A signature of a Howie Roseman contract is a very small cap hit the first year, then that number increases dramatically the second year. For example, Slay's cap hit this year is $4.3 million. Next year it is $15.75 million. Hargrave's cap hit this year is $3.4 million. Next year it is $15.2 million. Even Rodney McLeod, who signed a very reasonable two-year deal, has a cap hit of $1.65 million this year — but it almost triples next year to $5.2 million.
As a result, most years the Eagles have been right up against the cap at the start of free agency, then wiggle their way to more cap space by releasing players and restructuring deals, which is almost certainly what they will do next offseason.
The Eagles have some flexibility in clearing some space by releasing players next offseason, but not a ton or as much as they usually do. Cutting Alshon Jeffery after this upcoming seasons opens $7 million in cap space, but leaves $10.6 million in dead money. Cutting DeSean Jackson would open up $5 million in cap space, but leave $5.8 million in dead money. The combined $16.4 million in dead money isn't ideal, especially for two older players, but the $13 million in cap space will be much needed.
Outside of those two, there is really no player on the roster the team would potentially cut to save any significant amount of money.
The most likely way the Eagles will open up cap space is through restructures and rolling over money from this season into next year.
Carson Wentz is set to have a $34 million cap hit in 2021. That can be knocked down by extending Wentz, which the team will likely do. Fletcher Cox and his $22.4 million cap hit could also be restructured, although if he has a down season in 2020 like he did in 2019, the team might be hesitant to stretch his deal too far into the future.
The complicated financial picture is likely why the team is holding onto cap space. Any cap space they don't use in 2020 rolls over into the 2021 season, meaning if they don't make any significant move between now and the end of next season, they will likely roll over around $20 million in cap space. That is a significant chunk of change for a team that is in a tough spot with the salary cap. It might be significant enough to stop them from handing out a long-term deal to, say, an expensive defensive end currently trying to maneuver his way to Philadelphia through Instagram.
If the Eagles were to acquire Ngakoue, they would almost certainly be handing him a long-term deal in the process. The top three pass rushers in the NFL right now have deals worth over $100 million, with guaranteed ranging from $50 to $60 million. The Eagles could fit Ngakoue under the cap this year on a new deal, but he would either eat up a large portion of their salary cap space this year, or he would have a very low hit -- like Slay and Hargrave -- that balloons next year. The Eagles financial picture makes either one hard to do and a huge committment, considering their need for salary cap space to roll over into 2021, and their lack of cap space overall next season.
The Eagles have close to a year to figure it out. Things will change between now and then.
It is almost impossible, however, to judge what the Eagles have done this offseason without realizing what they face ahead next offseason.
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
