Saints Salary Cap Slasher Tracker

The Saints are going to have a good bit of work on their hands before March 16 rolls around, and the next week is going to be filled with moves that help them get under the salary cap.

The new league year is less than two weeks away, and the Saints are one of several teams who still have some work to do with the salary cap. The good news is that the original $76 million overage has been cut down by nearly 45 percent with just three players. We're anticipating more moves as the deadline approaches, so we've put together a tracker to keep up with all of the financials for New Orleans.

All data is updated through 3/18/22.

Current Cap Number: $187,430,958 (per NFLPA)

What's this mean? This is a report generated and updated daily, which takes a snapshot of how many players a team has under contract, each team's salary cap carryover, team cap, and total cap room for the Top 51. 

This isn't realtime data, and is usually behind a couple days. It's important to note that the Saints carried over just $154,654 in space from last season. This should explain why you might see a total team cap number and then the cap room varying from the NFLPA figure.

Why are we in Top 51? From the start of the new league year, which is March 16, to the first week of the regular season, only the top 51 salaries and highest valued contracts count.

Salary Cap Figure for 2022: $208.2 Million

We learned about the expected increase back in early December, and got confirmation of the $208.2 million figure in mid-December. This was actually the ceiling the NFL and NFLPA agreed on back in May 2021. The cap is projected to rise again in 2023, which is good news for the Saints.

Dec 18, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Saints defeated the Cardinals 48-41. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Estimated Space: $29.9 Million

The Saints should be in positive space after the latest restructures. The NFLPA report now shows the team with a positive $18,524,070 in space. However, with the recent restructures on Thursday, it should put them near $30 million in space.

How the Saints Have Slashed Away and Spent

• 3/17 - Restructured contracts of Taysom Hill, Malcolm Jenkins, Bradley Roby, and Demario Davis to pick up major space.
• 3/16 - Saints tender Shy Tuttle, coming in at $2.433 million as a Right of First Refusal
• 3/16 - Restructured contracts of James Hurst and David Onyemata to pick up just over $7 million.
• 3/15 - Signed Marcus Maye to 3-year, $22.5 million contract with $14.5 million in guarantees.
• 3/15 - Agreed to contract extension with Bradley Roby.
• 3/15 - Restructured contract of Marcus Davenport to create $6.8 million in space.
• 3/14 - Placed second-round RFA tender on Deonte Harty, coming in at $3.986 million.
• 3/12 - Restructured contract of Marshon Lattimore to create $18.45 million in space.
• 3/11 - Restructured contract of Alvin Kamara to clear nearly $8.4 million.
• 3/10 - Restructured contracts of Cam Jordan and Tanoh Kpassagnon to clear $12.4 million; also re-signed ERFAs Jalen Dalton and Carl Granderson.
• 3/3 - Re-signed Juwan Johnson on ERFA deal, with a base salary of $895,000.
• 3/1 - Restructured Andrus Peat contract, freeing up nearly $8 million.
• 3/1 - Re-signed Albert Huggins on ERFA deal, with a base salary of $895,000.
• 2/26 - Restructured contracts of Michael Thomas and Ryan Ramczyk, freeing up $26.2 million.

Potential Considerations (Top Cap Figures)

• David Onyemata - $13.17 million ($7.5 million base)
• Terron Armstead - $13 million ($13 million dead money)
• Taysom Hill - $12.325 million ($1.1 million base)
• Malcolm Jenkins - $12.2 million ($7.75 million base)
• Demario Davis - $11 million ($7.5 million base)
• Bradley Roby - $10 million ($9.5 million base)
• Marcus Davenport - $9.8 million (Estimated fifth-year option)

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