50 Financial Facts for the 2014 NFL Season

Michael Ginnitti
Michael Ginnitti, Managing Editor & NFL/MLB ExpertSeptember 04, 2014
© USA TODAY Sports

The 2014 NFL season is finally upon us, and with it comes a chance for us here at Spotrac to take a step back and actually "look" at our data. In doing so we've pulled together 50 fun financial facts for the upcoming season. And by fun, we mean extremely nerdy. Enjoy!

  1. Raiders QB Matt Schaub is the only backup player to have the highest cap hit on his respective team.
  2. 13 teams have a QB as their highest cap figure in 2014.
  3. 7 teams do not have a player with a cap hit higher than $10M (CIN, IND, JAC, OAK, PHI, SF, TEN).
  4. Mario Williams’ $18.8M cap hit is $12.3M more than any other 2014 Buffalo Bills player’s figure - the largest difference of any NFL team.
  5. At $156.4M, the Baltimore Ravens have the highest 2014 cash payroll.
  6. At $109M, the New York Jets have the lowest 2014 cash payroll.
  7. The San Francisco 49ers have 14 players on a reserve list (IR, PUP, NFI, Suspension) to start the year, totalling $17.5M in cap space.
  8. 19 of the 32 teams have at least one player suspended to start the 2014 season.
  9. 34 players are currently suspended for a total of 161 games, and $19.3M in lost wages.
  10. It would cost the Atlanta Falcons $51.4M in dead cap (split between 2014/15) to release or trade QB Matt Ryan right now - the most in the NFL.
  11. According to our True Value Statistic, utilizing projected statistics for Pro Football Focus, Dolphins WR Mike Wallace is the worst valued playmaker heading into the season. Bears WR Brandon Marshall projects as the best value.
  12. Dolphins WR Mike Wallace’s 2014 cap figure ($17.25M) is $14M (431%) higher than his 2013 cap hit - the biggest increase of any player in the NFL.
  13. The Top 3 Projected Best Value teams are currently the Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, and Seattle Seahawks.
  14. Only two players are entering the season on the franchise tag (Greg Hardy, CAR; Brian Orakpo, PIT), down greatly from 7 players in 2013.
  15. The Carolina Panthers have 22.75% of their cap allocated to Defensive Ends right now. The highest positional allocation of across any team.
  16. With his $15M in cash earnings this year Broncos QB Peyton Manning will bring his career total to $257.7M - over $100M more than 2nd place Tom Brady ($152.7M).
  17. Adrian Peterson will earn $12M in cash this season the most of any running back - but just the 37th most across the NFL.
  18. The 2014 season begins with 142 players on the reserve/injured list, totaling $112.4M in salary cap.
  19. Sam Bradford’s $17.61M cap hit is the highest on the reserve/injured list to start the 2014 season.
  20. 508 Free Agent contracts were signed this offseason, for a total of $2.23 billion.
  21. CB Aqib Talib signed the biggest contract of the free agent season with his 6 year $57M deal in Denver.
  22. The largest free agent quarterback signing came just a few days ago, when the Bills gave Kyle Orton a 2 year $11M deal.
  23. Ndamukong Suh currently tops the list of 2015 Free Agents in terms of pay-grade.
  24. 4 starting QBs are set to be free agents after the season; Carson Palmer (ARI), Jake Locker (TEN), Brian Hoyer (CLE), and Shaun Hill (STL).
  25. The average cash earning for an NFL player in 2014 is $5,224,110.
  26. The average cap hit across NFL players for 2014 is $5,034,456.
  27. Vontae Davis’ $6.25M cap hit is the highest active figure on the Colts to begin the season - the lowest of any team leader.
  28. The Arizona Cardinals have just $1.7M (1.24%) in 2014 cap allocated to their 3 running backs, lowest in the NFL.
  29. The Jacksonville Jaguars have just $4M (2.66%) in 2014 cap allocated to their 5 wide receivers, lowest in the NFL. Their kick Josh Scobee accounts for $4.1M.
  30. At just $2.06M, the Seattle Seahawks have less cap allocated to their two quarterbacks than 38 individual 2014 QB cap figures.
  31. 43 contract extensions were signed this offseason.
  32. 34 contracts have been restructured this offseason.
  33. The 2014 draft class signed contracts totaling $981.6M.
  34. The Kansas City Chiefs have just $43.5M (32.3%) of their cap dollars allocated to the offensive side of the ball.
  35. The Atlanta Falcons have $70M (52.1%) of their cap dollars allocated to the offensive side of the ball.
  36. The New York Jets have just $37.4M (27.9%) of their cap dollars allocated to the defensive side of the ball.
  37. The Cincinnati Bengals have $68.5M (51.8%) of their cap dollars allocated to the defensive side of the ball.
  38. Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri (41) is the only active NFL player over the age of 40. He’s signed through the 2015 season.
  39. The Dallas Cowboys have $25M in dead cap for the upcoming season - the most of any team.
  40. The Indianapolis Colts have just $1.95M in dead money allocated to their 2014 salary cap - the least of any team.
  41. QB Matt Schaub accounts for $10.5M toward the Houston Texans’ 2014 salary cap, most of any player.
  42. The Cleveland Browns rolled over $24.5M in unused cap dollars from 2013 to 2014 - most of any team.
  43. The average cap hit for a tight end in 2014 is $1.78M. The average cap hit for a running back in 2014 is $1.62M.
  44. The combined cap hits for ALL of the Jacksonville Jaguars' QBs, RBs & WRs is $19.1M, less than Eli Manning and Ndamukong Suh’s individual cap hits.
  45. The San Diego Chargers have $5.735M allocated to their Kicker & Punter for 2014; more than 7 NFL teams are spending toward their combined quarterbacks.
  46. The Buffalo Bills have $145.9M in overall cap dollars currently allocated (active contracts, reserves, dead money, etc) - most of any NFL team.
  47. The New York Jets have $110.1M in overall cap dollars currently allocated (active contracts, reserves, dead money, etc) - least of any NFL team.
  48. Outside of Charles Sims (IR/Designated to Return), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have no players on any “reserve” list, the only team in football.
  49. The Top 10 average annual salaries among active contracts belong to quarterbacks.
  50. J.J. Watt (DE, HOU) & Tyron Smith (OT, DAL) are the only two players currently under contract past the year 2020.
  51. A new spotrac.com is coming soon. Stay tuned!
 

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