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ShowtimeSBMVP · 04-01-2013, 10:00 AM

How does the “Rookie Pool” affect the Salary Cap

This is probably the most confusing aspect for most people. Some people this its additional money added on top of the salary cap which is not the case at all. The “Rookie Pool” is a cap within the salary cap. It is essentially money that your team needs to place aside for your rookies. It is not added to your salary cap at all.

The Chiefs (pretending there is no trade for Alex Smith) would have an allotment of around $7.445 million for their rookie class. What that means is that at the end of the preseason, assuming all their rookies make the club, the Chiefs will need to devote $7.445 million in cap dollars to their rookies. So if the Chiefs had a salary cap of $123 million their effective cap space for spending is only $115.55 million in 2013.

However when reading this it is easy to jump to conclusions that the Chiefs need to be $7.445 million under the cap today just to sign rookies. Not exactly. We need to remember that in the offseason the salary cap is based on the “Rule of 51” which means only the top 51 cap charges (plus dead money) count towards a teams salary cap. Most teams have more than 51 players under contract. The Chiefs have 55.

This means that each of the Chiefs 7 draft selections will displace a player who is currently counting towards the salary cap limit. Most of these players earn $405,000. So if you have 51 or more players under contract here is the general rule as to how you calculate the net cap space that is being eaten up by your rookie pool:

Year One Rookie Pool – (405,000 x number of draft picks)

For KC that is equal to just $4.61 million a big difference between the $7.445 million we first thought we needed to set aside. So is the Chiefs have at least $5 million in cap room they can sign free agents and not need to worry about their rookie dollars being compromised. If you are a team with less than 51 players that you will need to adjust your calculation accordingly to

Year One Rookie Pool – (405,000 x (number of draft picks – (51- players under contract) )

These are your net cap space requirements for rookies or what I would call your “Effective Rookie Pool”.

04-01-2013, 10:00 AM	#7
ShowtimeSBMVP Chiefs Join Date: Feb 2009 Casino cash: $3426009	How does the “Rookie Pool” affect the Salary Cap This is probably the most confusing aspect for most people. Some people this its additional money added on top of the salary cap which is not the case at all. The “Rookie Pool” is a cap within the salary cap. It is essentially money that your team needs to place aside for your rookies. It is not added to your salary cap at all. The Chiefs (pretending there is no trade for Alex Smith) would have an allotment of around $7.445 million for their rookie class. What that means is that at the end of the preseason, assuming all their rookies make the club, the Chiefs will need to devote $7.445 million in cap dollars to their rookies. So if the Chiefs had a salary cap of $123 million their effective cap space for spending is only $115.55 million in 2013. However when reading this it is easy to jump to conclusions that the Chiefs need to be $7.445 million under the cap today just to sign rookies. Not exactly. We need to remember that in the offseason the salary cap is based on the “Rule of 51” which means only the top 51 cap charges (plus dead money) count towards a teams salary cap. Most teams have more than 51 players under contract. The Chiefs have 55. This means that each of the Chiefs 7 draft selections will displace a player who is currently counting towards the salary cap limit. Most of these players earn $405,000. So if you have 51 or more players under contract here is the general rule as to how you calculate the net cap space that is being eaten up by your rookie pool: Year One Rookie Pool – (405,000 x number of draft picks) For KC that is equal to just $4.61 million a big difference between the $7.445 million we first thought we needed to set aside. So is the Chiefs have at least $5 million in cap room they can sign free agents and not need to worry about their rookie dollars being compromised. If you are a team with less than 51 players that you will need to adjust your calculation accordingly to Year One Rookie Pool – (405,000 x (number of draft picks – (51- players under contract) ) These are your net cap space requirements for rookies or what I would call your “Effective Rookie Pool”.
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