NFL general managers often dislike adding voidable years to the end of player contracts for a very good reason: at the time the contract expires, the player may not be on the roster any longer, but the remaining portion of his prorated signing bonus will still be due.
The New York Giants are one team that will bear dead money of little over $6.4 million as a result of three contracts being voided. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor ($1.4 million), defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson ($2.1 million), and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson ($2.988 million) are the three of them.
Even while those figures don’t seem all that alarming, the $6,488,334 dead money total accounts for around 2% of the Giants’ overall cap liabilities and 36.9% of the team’s current $17.542 million.
The Los Angeles Chargers’ $24.536 million in dead cap space presently leads the league, and the Giants’ dead cap space currently stands at number two. The Giants had more dead money than the $6.531 million league average. Furthermore, the team’s probable decision to remove guard Mark Glowinski’s contract off the books will raise the dead money total by an additional $1.5 million.
Dead money is inevitable every year, but the goal is to reduce it as much as you can, particularly as the new league season draws near. The Giants’ efforts to reduce their dead money haven’t been as successful. They finished tenth in the league ($56.451 million) the previous year. They came in sixth place ($53.752 million) the year before.
A team’s ability to compete may be affected by its dead money total, but it also depends on how strong the team is before the dead money accumulates.
