The San Francisco 49ers made final roster cuts on Saturday, and have a 53-man roster in place. They will begin signing players to their practice squad on Sunday, and it is possible they might try and claim players off waivers. The 53-man roster we see today very well might not be the complete 53-man roster we see in a week. But for now, we have a pretty good handle on things.
With that in mind, it's time for a look at where things stand from a salary cap perspective. The offseason salary cap requires the top 51 players salaries be under the cap. Once we get through final cuts, teams have until Wednesday, September 9 for their entire roster of players to be under the salary cap. This includes the 53-man roster, the practice squad, and all injured players.
Our man Jason Hurley updated our salary cap pages. You can view 2015 HERE, and then click through to see 2016, 2017 and 2018. Based on his calculations, the 49ers have approximately $9,894,376 in cap space following final roster cuts. This number is a good starting point, but not final for several reasons.
Practice Squad
Jason inserted $1,122,000 as "money needed for P-Squad." Starting Sunday afternoon, the 49ers can begin signing players to the practice squad. Practice squad players earn a minimum of $6,600 per week. Teams can pay players more than that, and sometimes will do so if a player is considering an offer from another team. For now, that $1,122,000 is a placeholder.
Roster bonuses
You'll see a number for "Roster Bonus Paybacks". That $1,597,500 is for all the game day roster bonuses the 49ers have in player contracts. Jason's current cap number assumes all are paid out, but injuries can change that.
Dead money and offsets
The dead money list is not pretty in some spots. Darnell Dockett and Craig Dahl are two examples where dead could decrease. Dockett had $2 million in salary guarantees, along with a $500,000 workout bonus. If he signs somewhere else, his contract includes offset language. The veteran minimum for him would be $970,000. If he signs for that, we can subtract that from his $2.5 million in dead money. The team will have to carry at least $500,000 in dead money because of the workout bonus, but offsets would wipe away some or all of the remaining $2 million.
Craig Dahl has $450,000 in guaranteed money. A new deal elsewhere would offset that. Finally, if the 49ers sign any of Dylan Thompson ($10,000, Issac Blakeney ($7,500), Jermaine Whitehead ($7,500), Marcus Rush ($5,000), and/or Lawrence Okoye ($50,000) to the practice squad, their guarantees would be offset.
And there you have it. If you have any questions, Jason can answer in the comments.