The NFL and NFLPA got through the medical issues regarding COVID-19 before training camp well enough. That was the easy part though. Everybody knew the other shoe had to drop at some point. This regarding the financial windfall. How would the league handle the lost revenue from drastically reduced fan attendance this season? The Chicago Bears finally got their answer.
It appears an agreement is in place. The 2020 cap will remain as it is. However, the 2021 cap could see a drop of up to $23.2 million. The two sides agreed to a floor of $175 million for the cap that year. If losses are worse than that, it would be spread over the two following years. By that point, it's hoped the expanded 17-game season and new TV deals will handle the losses.
One thing is clear. Presuming it does drop that far, the Bears will be put in a brutal position. They're already limited on space for this year at just over $11 million. A drop of $23 million would leave them with virtually nothing to work with next offseason. Not ideal considering they have a ridiculous 46 players who are coming out of contract.
In other words, there will be some sacrifices.
Chicago Bears will likely send several veterans on their way
This basically means 2020 is the last hurrah for the Bears roster as it's currently configured. Win or lose, a lot of prominent names could be out the door by the start of next offseason. Will GM Ryan Pace be making those decisions? It's hard to say but he won't have much of a choice. Here are several veterans who will carry hefty cap relief that could be on the chopping block.
- Kyle Fuller - $11 million
- Akiem Hicks - $10.5 million
- Jimmy Graham - $7 million
- Charles Leno Jr. - $6.2 million
- Eddie Goldman - $5.81 million
- Bobby Massie - $5.4 million
- Buster Skrine - $2.8 million
A few of those look like freebies. Odds are Leno Jr., Graham, Massie, and Skrine could be viewed as non-essential given their ages and recent production. That would net the team $21.4 million, taking up most of what the cap drop would lose for them. Then they could possibly restructure bigger deals like those of Robert Quinn and Eddie Jackson to create more room. There are also extension possibilities for Hicks and Fuller to lower their 2021 cap hits.
So it doesn't have to be a catastrophic blowup of the roster. Still, odds are it's going to look significantly different by this time next year.
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