*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
May 21, 1999: -- Salary Cap Correction --
The Sun-Sentinel reported yesterday that the Dolphins have
restructured the contracts of four veteran players to free up
approximately $4.2 million under the salary cap. While this is
technically correct, it left many readers (including yours truly),
with the mistaken impression that the Dolphins currently have $4.2
million available under the cap to work with.
This, unfortunately, is wrong. The correct situation is that
the Dolphins now have just $297,000 available under the salary cap.
The $4.2 million in savings from the contract restructuring went to a
variety of uses, including the signings of Zach Thomas, Hunter
Goodwin, Robert Jones and Tony Martin.
In other news, linebacker OJ Brigance signed a one year deal
worth approximately $427,000 yesterday. Brigance had been a
restricted free agent whose main contribution to the team has been on
special teams and as a backup linebacker.
The signing of Brigance leaves WR Oronde Gadsden as the only
veteran without a contract that the Dolphins want to keep. And since
he's an exclusive rights free agent, there isn't much danger that he
won't sign one pretty soon.
My Comments:
Rats.
Well, that's a disappointment. Here I was, hoping that the
Dolphins could now afford to make one more big move in free agency and
it turns out they don't really have the money.
For those who are wondering - the $297,000 left under the
salary cap does include Brigance's new salary and Oronde Gadsden's
tender offer.
The Dolphins must still free up between $1.5 and $2 million in
salary cap space to sign their draftees, but they are working to
restructure Dan Marino's contract, which counts for about $7 million
against the cap this year.
Special thanks go to Jason Cole of the Miami Herald for taking
the time to verify the Dolphins salary cap numbers with me.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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