Last updated on December 19, 2003 9:17 AM EDT

PatsFans.Com

Miguel's VERY UNOFFICIAL Patriots Salary Cap Information Page

DISCLAIMER:

I will NOT pretend that this information will be 100% correct. The information on this site can ONLY be as accurate as the press reports that the information comes from.

I would like to thank Pats39, Peachhead, Jim S, Chris Matthews "CJ", Ian Logue, Andrew Brecher, Jocelyn Robichaud, Naren99, Ickster, dscotts, Ralmat55, PatsFanKen, Urgent, Hurricane1, Norman Trudel, the Homers, David Tremblay, Steve Haggett and Paul Dalrymple. Each of them have in their own way provided invaluable assistance and guidance. Please note that NONE of them are responsible for errors on this page.

Future Cap HitsMy guesstimate on the cap hits for the year 2004 and beyond
the 2004 version of this pageA more detailed guesstimate on the Patriots 2004 cap figures
The 2002 version of this page 
My very Unofficial Patriots Roster Page 
My very Unofficial Patriots Free Agency Page 
My very Unofficial Patriots Transactions Page 
The 2001 version of this page 
Salary Cap Resources Page which includes links to other teams' cap pages and to Cap FAQs
Footnotes and Documentation Page which provides supporting documentation for the figures shown on this page
the Excel 97 workbook that I use to compile these page zipped 
A listing of my cap-related articles 

Please note that Paul Katcher of Time Magazine called this page "by far the weirdest site I came across while researching this guide" in his listing of Essential bookmarks for the true football fan. and that on Page 4 of the September 3, 2001 issue of Time Magazine this page is referred to as "informed analysis of the Patriots' salary-cap problems."

According to my figures the Patriots are $359,412 OVER their 2003's adjusted cap figure of 74,607,037 with 53 active players signed which is obviously WRONG. According to Adamjt13 the Pats were under their adjusted cap by $3,802 on December 26. I have the Patriots' 2003 cap figure as $74,966,449. Why am I over?? One reason is that I presumed that every player attended eash workout session. I have no way of knowing whether or not that is actually true. It is most likely that it is not. I have also probably overstated the cap hits for a couple of players.

A call for a donation

My youngest sister is on the board of directors of a soup kitchen and food pantry in Malden, Massachusetts that serves over 400 low-income and homeless families per month. I am asking that if you have found my salary cap pages useful over the past year that if you are able to do so, please make a donation to the Bread of Life soup kitchen/food pantry. Their address is

Bread of Life
511 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148-3918
ATTN: Mea Mustone Quinn

The 50 most recent changes to this page

  1. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Brandon Gorin,
  2. Added Brian Kinchen to these pages.
  3. Moved Larry Centers and Ken Walter back to the 53-man active roster.
  4. Moved J.J. Stokes, Brooks Barnard, and Jamil Soriano to the dead money list. Added Travis Dorsch to these pages.
  5. Moved Ken Walter to the dead money list. Added Brooks Barnard to these pages.
  6. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Adam Vinatieri, Troy Brown, Tom Brady and Ty Law.
  7. Finally:) moved Adrian Klemm to the 2003 "dead money" list.
  8. Created the 2004 version of this page,
  9. Moved Fred McCrary and Larry Centers to the 2003 "dead money" list. Added J.J. Stokes and Dedric Ward to these pages. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Jamin Elliott, Chas Gessner, and Antowain Smith.
  10. Moved Aric Morris to the 2003 "dead money" list. Updated my Future Cap Years Page
  11. Moved Mike Compton and Rosevelt Colvin to the 2003 "dead money" list. Added Patrick Pass and Wilbert Brown to these pages.
  12. Added Jamin Elliott to the practice squad.
  13. Added Russ Hochstein to the 53-man roster.
  14. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Bill Conaty
  15. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Damien Woody and Willie McGinest.
  16. Removed Lawyer Milloy from the active roster. Added Tim Provost to the practice squad section.
  17. Added the practice squad section.
  18. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Ken Walter
  19. Removed Patrick Pass, Dedric Ward, Thabiti Davis, Mauguala Tuitele, Russ Hochstein, Ethan Kelley, Matt Knutson, Shawn Mayer, Leonard Myers, and Jamil Soriano from these pages. Moved Mike Cloud to the dead money list.
  20. Moved Kliff Kingsbury and Bill Conaty to the "dead money" section since that duo was placed on IR. Removed Kerry Watkins from these pages.
  21. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Matt Chatham.
  22. Added Ted Washington to the active roster while removing Jasen Esposito and Deveren Johnson.
  23. Removed Otis Smith from the active roster while adding Corbin Lacina.
  24. Added Brendai Stai and Larry Centers to these pages while removing Scott Farley.
  25. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Eugene Wilson. I would like to thank Steve Haggett for pointing out that ESPN.Com's salary numbers differ from those listed in Nick Cafardo's report. I was able to confirm that the former were correct on the NFLPA site.
  26. Removed Corey Mitchell and Joe Schey from these pages. Added Kerry Watkins back in.
  27. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Ty Warren, Spencer Nead and Tully Banta-Cain.
  28. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Kliff Kingsbury, Dan Koppen, Bethel Johnson, Dan Klecko and Asante Samuel.
  29. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Ethan Kelly, the first Patriots 2003 draft pick to sign.
  30. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Lawyer Milloy. Upon further research I have become convinced that Milloy's 2003 cap figure is not the $5.6 million number as it has been reported several times in the Boston Herald but even higher.
  31. Added Mike CloudMike Cloud to these pages. I am pretty sure that Mike Cloud's salary during his four-game suspension will NOT count against the cap (See Julius Peppers and Bretson Buckner in 2002) but I do not know if he counts $450,000 against the cap NOW and the Patriots receive a $26,471 per-game credit as he misses a game or if he counts $344,118 against the cap now. $344,118 is 13 games' worth of salary. If the latter scenario is true, then Cloud's net cap hit would be zero as I suspent that he did not receive a signing bonus. For now, I am going with the first scenario. Please note that I am presuming that Cloud signed a 1-year deal that was eligible for the veteran-exemption treatment.
  32. Added several more links to my Salary Cap Resources Page which includes links to other teams' cap pages and to Cap FAQs.
  33. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Damon Huard
  34. Updated my guesstimates for the cap hits for the draft picks.
  35. Added Don Davis, Joe Schey, and Gene Mruczkowski to the salary cap pages.
  36. Added Aric Morris and Scott Farley to the roster.
  37. Added the 10 draft picks and the UDFAs.
  38. Added a table that contains my guesstimates for the cap hits for the 10 draft picks.
  39. Updated the documentation for Damien Woody as it appears that he received a $1.4 million bonus in March.
  40. Added a web page that lists the Future Cap Hits of the Patriots Players
  41. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for Tom Brady as it appears that the Patriots restructured his deal freeing up more than $2 million in cap room.
  42. Added an guesstimate for Fred McCrary to this page.
  43. Updated the cap figures for Ted Johnson and Mike Vrabel.
  44. Added Rosevelt Colvin, Rodney Harrison, Tyrone Poole, and Chris Akins.
  45. Added the Patriots' NLTBE adjustment ($399,963) to this page. The Patriots have an adjusted salary cap of $74,607,037.
  46. Added Rick Lyle, Je'Rod Cherry and Fred Baxter. I am presuming for the moment that the trio all signed deals that are eligible for the veteran exemption treatment.
  47. Updated the cap figures for Anthony Pleasant, Ted Johnson, Otis Smith and Ted Bruschi.
  48. Updated the salary figures for Damien Woody, Greg Robinson and Larry Izzo.
  49. Created a salary cap breakdown page.
  50. After reading this in the CBA:
    "* Compensation to players for participation in the off-season workout programs or classroom instruction sessions of a Club at the minimum amount set forth in Article XXXV of the CBA shall be included in Team Salary on the first day of such program, calculated by multiplying: (i) the minimum amount set forth in Article XXXV, Section 3; (ii) the number of players scheduled to participate in such program at said minimum amount; (iii) the number of days per week scheduled for such program; and (iv) the number of weeks scheduled for such program. For example, without limitation upon any other example, a Club having a nine-week workout program in the 1994 League Year for sixty players to be paid at the minimum amount will include $108,000 in its Team Salary on the first day of such program ($50 per day x four workout days per week x nine weeks x sixty players). At the conclusion of a club"s off-season workout program, any such minimum amounts which are unearned and unpaid shall be subtracted from Salary and Team Salary" and this portion of AdamJT13's answer to a salary cap question - "The standard workout bonus, as specified in the CBA, was $90 per day for 2002 and $100 per day for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. But different teams have different offseason programs, so players on some teams might be able to make more than others. For example, the Patriots have a 56-day offseason program, while the Cowboys have a 40-day program. So the Pats' players can make $5,600 each, while the Cowboys' players can make $4,000 each." For non-rookie players who sign contracts in 2003, the $5,600 is included in their cap numbers and would be lowered if they fail to earn the entire amount. (Rookies who sign after the draft will not earn workout bonuses in 2003.) For players who signed before 2003, the amounts they earn will not be added to their cap numbers until after they"re paid. At the moment, these standard workout bonuses are not counting for 43 of the 49 players currently under contract. Full workout bonuses for those 43 players would total $240,800. I have decided that I should not add the standard off-season workout amount for the Patriots signed before this year ($5,600) to their cap figures until March 25th, the day that the off-season workout programs will begin.
  51. Updated the cap figures for Daniel Graham
  52. Updated the cap figures and the documentation for J.R. Redmond, Mike Compton, and Richard Seymour.

Please note that by clicking on the player's name you will be brought to the supporting documentation for his cap figure.

How to Read This Table
First and foremost, please read the player's documentation if you have any questions. When I don't know the date when a roster bonus is due I presume it to have been due on March 1, 2003.
Please remember to use the Top 51 rule when figuring out the net cap hit for when a player is released.
2003 Salary Cap Information
Name Signed Thru Salary Signing Bonus Roster Bonus/
LTBE		 Workout Bonus Total Cap Figure Remaining Signing Bonus 2003 Cap Hit if Cut 2004 Cap Hit if Cut
Ty Law 2005 $4,900,000 $2,701,365 $1,100,000 $105,600 $8,806,965 $8,104,095 $2,701,365 $5,402,730
Ted Johnson 2005 $800,000 $2,837,916   $5,600 $3,643,516 $3,771,250 $2,837,917 $933,333
Tom Brady 2006 $450,000 $2,868,750   $4,700 $3,323,450 $11,475,000 $2,874,350 $8,606,250
Damien Woody 2003 $530,000 $770,000 $1,460,000 $30,500 $2,790,500 $800,500 $770,000  
Brandon Gorin 2003 $375,000 $1,250 $3,000,000 $5,600 $3,381,150   $5,600 $1,250
Richard Seymour 2006 $980,000 $1,544,000     $2,524,000 $6,176,000 $1,544,000 $4,622,000
Troy Brown 2004 $755,000 $1,640,833   $55,600 $2,451,433 $3,281,667 $1,640,833 $1,640,834
Antowain Smith 2006 $1,400,000 $800,000   $100,000 $2,300,000 $3,200,000 $800,000 $2,400,000
Adam Vinatieri 2004 $1,400,000 $666,176 $0
$250,000		 $5,600 $2,320,676 $1,332,352 $4,175,000  
Willie McGinest 2006 $655,000 $1,320,500   $5,600 $1,981,100 $5,282,000 $1,320,500 $3,961,500
Roman Phifer 2005 $1,000,000 $250,000 $500,000   $1,750,000 $750,000 $1,250,000 $500,000
Ted Washington 2003 $1,650,000       $1,650,000    
Mike Vrabel 2005 $975,000 $575,000   $5,600 $1,555,600 $1,575,000 $575,000 1,000,000
Ted Bruschi 2004 $850,000 $666,666   $5,600 $1,522,266 $1,333,332 $666,666 $666,666
Daniel Graham 2006 $300,000 $978,750     $1,278,750 $3,915,000 $978,750 $2,936,250
Ty Warren 2008 $765,000 $500,000     $1,265,000 $3,000,000 $500,000 $2,500,000
Tyrone Poole 2006 $655,000 $450,000   $5,600 $1,110,600 $1,800,000 $450,000 $1,350,000
Anthony Pleasant 2003 $950,000 $74,333   $55,600 $1,079,932 $74,333 $74,333  
Rodney Harrison 2008 $655,000 $416,666   $5,600 $1,077,266 $2,500,000 $416,666 $2,083,334
Christian Fauria 2004 $700,000 $266,667     $966,667 $533,333 $266,667 $266,667
Kevin Faulk 2003 $530,000 $200,000 $180,000   $910,000 $200,000 $200,000  
Bobby Hamilton 2003 $655,000 $150,000 $50,000   $855,000 $150,000 $150,000  
Joe Andruzzi 2004 $715,000 $137,500     $852,500 $275,000 $137,500 $137,500
Ken Walter 2003 $550,000 $155,000 $100,000 $5,600 $819,350      
Damon Huard 2003 $625,000 $125,000     $755,600 $125,000 $125,000  
Matt Light 2004 $390,000 $326,250     $716,250 $625,500 $326,250 $326,250
Eugene Wilson 2007 $285,000 $400,000     $685,000 $2,000,000 $400,000 $1,600,000
Larry Izzo 2004 $530,000 $68,750   $55,600 $654,350 $127,500 $68,750 $68,750
Bethel Johnson 2007 $274,000 $350,000     $624,000 $1,750,000 $350,000 $1,400,000
Matt Chatham 2005 $450,000 $64,000   $5,600 $519,600 $192,000 $69,600 $128,000
Lonie Paxton 2007 $450,000 $61,100   $5,600 $516,700 $305,500 $61,100 $244,400
Deion Branch 2006 $300,000 $205,000     $505,000 $820,000 $205,000 $615,000
Rick Lyle 2003 $655,000 $25,000   $5,600 $480,600 $25,000 $30,600  
Je'rod Cherry 2003 $655,000 $25,000   $5,600 $480,600 $25,000 $30,600  
Fred Baxter 2003 $655,000 $25,000   $5,600 $480,600 $25,000 $30,600  
Chris Akins 2003 $530,000 $25,000   $5,600 $480,600 $25,000 $30,600  
Don Davis 2003 $655,000 $25,000   $2,800 $477,800 $25,000 $27,800  
Antwan Harris 2003 $450,000 $17,500   $5,600 $473,100 $17,500 $28,933  
Larry Centers 2003 $755,000 $25,000     $422,059      
Rohan Davey 2005 $300,000 $82,500   $5,600 $388,100 $247,500 $82,500 $165,000
Jarvis Green 2004 $300,000 $81,667   $5,600 $387,267 $163,333 $81,667 $81,667
Brandon Gorin 2003 $375,000   $3,000,000 $5,600 $3,380,600   $5,600  
Patrick Pass 2003 $450,000     $5,600 $376,188   $5,600  
Michael Cloud 2003 $530,000       $344,118      
Tom Ashworth 2003 $300,000     $5,600 $305,600   $5,600  
Dan Klecko 2006 $225,000 $80,000     $305,000 $320,000 $80,000 $240,000
Asante Samuel 2006 $225,000 $78,125     $303,125 $312,500 $78,125 $234,375
Dan Koppen 2006 $225,000 $28,750     $253,750 $115,000 $28,750 $86,250
David Givens 2003 $300,000 $9,000   $5,600 $314,600 $9,000 $14,600  
Wilbert Brown 2003 $375,000       $308,824      
Tully Banta-Cain 2006 $225,000 $7,688     $232,688 $30,750 $7,688 $23,063
Russ Hochstein 2003 $225,000     $5,600 $221,715   $9,950  
Dedric Ward 2003 $530,000 $25,000     $158,824      
Shawn Mayer 2003 $225,000       $153,918      
Brian Kinchen 2003 $755,000       $52,941      

Practice Squad Players Players
Status Player Salary Signing Bonus Roster Bonus Workout Bonus 2003 Cap Hit 2004 Cap Hit
Practice Squad Chas Gessner $225,000       $162,803  
Practice Squad Ethan Kelly $73,950 $7,167     $81,117 $14,333
Practice Squad Jamin Elliot $83,021     $3,600 $83,021  
Practice Squad Tim Provost $73,950       $73,950  
Practice Squad Jamil Soriano $73,950       $73,950  

Players no longer with the Pats or on IR, or non-football-injury reserve list. Please note that some of the players that are on IR played for the Patriots during the 2003 season so their entire amount is incorrectly listed as "dead money". I don't have the time or inclination to properly allocate the amounts.
$10,012,041 of the cap is being spent on the above type players so that the Pats' dead money percentage is 13.35%
You can find list the players with dead money cap hits less than $10,000 on my salary cap footnotes and documentation page.
Status Player Salary Signing Bonus Roster Bonus Workout Bonus 2003 Cap Hit 2004 Cap Hit
Waived Brooks Barnard $225,000       $26,471  
Injured Reserve Rosevelt Colvin $550,000 $1,000,000   $5,600 $1,555,600  
Injured Reserve Mike Compton $1,100,000 $382,667   $105,600 $1,585,467  
Waived Bill Conaty $530,000 $25,000     $77,941  
Waived Donald Hayes   $600,000     $600,000  
Waived Jabari Holloway   $155,000     $155,000  
Waived Kenyatta Jones $375,000 $91,250   $5,600 $273,321  
Injured Reserve Kliff Kingsbury $225,000 $16,667     $241,667  
Injured Reserve Adrian Klemm $475,000 $245,000   $55,600 $770,000  
Waived Tom Knight   $150,000     $150,000  
Waived Arther Love   $32,500     $32,500  
Injury Reserve Fred McCrary $530,000 $75,000   $5,600 $610,600 $75,000
Injury Reserve Sean McDermott $375,000       $66,176  
Released Lawyer Milloy   $1,351,206   $5,600 $1,356,806 $4,053,618
Injured Reserve Gene Mruczkowski $225,000     $5,600 $225,000  
Released Aric Morris $450,000 $12,500   $5,600 $465,300 $12,500
Waived Leonard Myers   $13,750     $19,350 $13,750
Waived Spencer Nead   $8,333     $8,333 $16,667
Injured Reserve Stephen Neal $375,000     $5,600 $380,600  
Injured Reserve David Patten $700,000 $250,000   $5,600 $955,600  
Traded Greg Randall   $67,500     $67,500  
Released J.R. Redmond   $75,000   $5,600 $80,600  
Waived Jace Sayler   $40,000     $40,000  
Released Otis Smith   $157,500   $5,600 $163,100 $157,500
Waived J.J. Stokes $655,000       $ 79,412  
Injured Reserve Dan Stricker $225,000       $225,000  
Waived Brock Williams   $212,500     $212,500  
Waived Antwoine Womack   $7,250   $5,600 $12,850 $14,500
Dead Money Totals $10,012,041     $10,012,041 $4,932,375
NTLBE Debit $399,963     $399,963  
Grand Money Totals $39,329,179       $71,125,726  

*** Here are 2003 cap figures for the 10 draft picks. The Patriots could spend no more than $4,402,216 on the 10 draft picks.

PlayerSalaryProrated Signing Bonus7/24 Cap Hit *9/7 Cap Hit **Status
Warren765,000500,000876,000$1,265,000Signed
Wilson274,000400,000374,000$674,000Signed
Johnson274,000350,500324,000$624,000Signed
Klecko225,00080,00080,000$320,000Signed
Samuel225,00078,12578,125$303,125Signed
Koppen225,00029,00029,000$254,000 Signed
Kingsbury225,00016,66716,667$241,667Signed
Nead225,0008,3338,333$233,333Signed
Kelly225,0007,1677,167$232,167Signed
Banta-Cain225,0007,6887,688$232,688Signed
UDFAs 13,00013,000 Signed
 
Totals2,888,0001,489,9791,813,9794,402,216

* Ty Warren displaced a player with a salary of $389K from the Top 51 list. Eugene Wilson and Bethel Johnson displaced two players with salaries of $300K from the Top 51 list.
** Presuming that the player will either make the 53-man roster or the injured reserve list.
****The Pats will have to be under the cap by this amount on September 9th in order to have a 5-man practice squad and in order to have a 53-man roster.
*****The 750,000 figure comes from CNNSI's Pat Kirwan. In a cap-related article he wrote "that teams should keep a reserve pool of $750,000 to account for in-season replacements." Please note that as Jocelyn Robichaud pointed out in an email:
"The current cap status is calculated with the top 51 earners. On the other hand, not all of these players will make the team. Thus, as the team shrinks its roster to 53 players, it will create cap room unless it keeps all of its top earners." For example, let's say that Rick Lyle ($450,000 in salary) does not make the team and is replaced by Jarvis Green ($300,000 in salary). This would free $150,000 in cap room for the Patriots.

NFL Minimum Salary Levels for the 2003 season 

Rookie				- $225,000
1 Credited Season		- $300,000
2 Credited Seasons		- $375,000
3 Credited Seasons		- $450,000
4 to 6 Credited Seasons	- $530,000 *
7 to 9 Credited Seasons	- $655,000 *
10+ Credited Seasons	- $755,000 *
*All salaries for players with four or more years of experience AND who sign contracts that qualify for veteran's exemption will only count $450,000 against teams' salary caps.

If you have any corrections, suggestion, questions, and/or comments, please feel free to send me an E-mail Miguel

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