Over the past few weeks, I have written in this space about how the NFL operates on a use-it-or-lose-it basis in which Cap room left over from the previous season cannot be carried over -- meaning a team that does not eat up all its Cap room is potentially hurting its ability to compete the following year.  I detailed the ways teams carry over Cap room using the necessary tactic of inserting phony incentives into a player’s contract at the end of the season so that the incentive counts on the Cap when negotiated but is credited toward the next year’s Cap when not earned (think 7 touchdown passes or 5 blocked punts, etc.).

As expected, most teams used these maneuvers to dial down their Cap room to minimal levels at the end of the season.  However, in what appears to be a precedent-setting move, it appears that four teams left over $40M of Cap room on the table.

According to Salary Cap data, the Buffalo Bills and Atlanta Falcons did not use roughly $5M each of Cap room, the Cincinnati Bengals did not use $10.8M of Cap room and, astonishingly, the Kansas City Chiefs elected to not carry forward almost $22M of available Cap room to 2009, preferring to leave their money on the table in 2008, never to be used again.  

With a projected $123M Cap for 2009, all of these teams are presently showing less than $100M of committed Cap expenses for the year, so having extra room does not appear to be a problem.  However, from a football operations point of view, it is always better to have as much flexibility as possible, which these teams appear not to be doing.

It will be interesting to see the union’s reaction to over $43M of available Cap room being flushed away with the end of the 2008 Cap year, never to be heard from again.  $43M can pay a lot of players…

As to our story that the Patriots intend to use the franchise tag on Matt Cassel in 2009, the question in my mind is:  How could they not?  Why would they let an incredibly valuable asset like Cassel leave without compensation?  They can have rights to Cassel while monitoring two developments: Tom Brady’s rehabilitation and trade offers for Cassel.  Yes, it will cost them Cap room, perhaps as much as $16M, but they now have only $105M of commitments on a projected $123M Cap.  However, the cost is greater the other way.  Players at that position with that talent are scarce; it makes perfect sense to protect that asset.

One final note on Cassel.  As it stands now, with 2010 an uncapped year due to the NFL owners opting out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, six years of service will be required for unrestricted free agency.  Cassel, should he play for the franchise tag number in 2009, will be a restricted free agent in 2010, his services still controlled by the New England Patriots.  This presents another reason why the Patriots have to tag him.