Now that the Super Bowl has thankfully passed, it’s time for all teams and supporters to focus entirely on the 2024 offseason.
Unlike last offseason, the Ravens don’t have the Lamar Jackson saga hanging over their heads, but they do have a lot of pending free agents in addition to many holes to fill and, presently, not a lot of Cap space with which to do so.
So, as it always seems to be with the Ravens, they enter another offseason of change as they try and rebuild their roster in hopes of making another run at bringing home a Super Bowl trophy.
PLAYERS PRESENTLY UNDER CONTRACT
The Ravens currently have the following 55 players under contract for 2024 (with Cap Numbers indicated):
QBs (2): Lamar Jackson ($870K); Malik Cunningham ($915K)
RBs (4): Justice Hill ($2.971M); Keaton Mitchell ($921K); Owen Wright ($795K); Gus Edwards (VOID)
FBs (1): Patrick Ricard ($5.155M)
WRs (6): Rashod Bateman ($4.008M); Odell Beckham Jr. (3.977M); Zay Flowers ($3.19M); Tylan Wallace ($1.226M); Sean Ryan ($795K); Nelson Agholor (VOID)
TE (4): Mark Andrews ($16.908M); Charlie Kolar ($1.161M); Isaiah Likely ($1.111M), Scotty Washington ($915K)
OL (11): Ronnie Stanley ($26.168M); Morgan Moses ($6.96M); Patrick Mekari ($6.350M); Tyler Linderbaum ($3.61M); Ben Cleveland ($1.501M); Daniel Faalele ($1.185M); M. Aumavee-Laulu ($958K); Andrew Vorhees ($941K); TyKeem Doss ($795K); Tashawn Manning ($795K); Kevin Zeitler (VOID)
DL (5): Broderick Washington ($4.54M); Michael Pierce ($4.072M); Travis Jones ($1.447M); Bravvion Roy ($1.055M); Rayshad Nichols ($795K)
EDGE (4): Odafe Oweh ($3.609M); David Ojabo ($2.157M); Tavius Robinson ($1.095M); Malik Hamm ($796K)
LBs (4): Roquan Smith ($13.5M); Tyus Bowser ($7.5M); Trenton Simpson ($1.228M); Josh Ross ($915K)
CBs (8): Marlon Humphrey ($22.878M); Brandon Stephens ($3.037M); Jaylin Armor-Davis ($1.175M); Trayvon Mullen ($1.125M); Damarion Williams ($1.111M); Christian Matthew ($985K); Tre Swilling ($795K); Rock Ya-Sin (VOID)
S (3): Marcus Williams ($18.723M); Kyle Hamilton ($4.433M); Geno Stone (VOID)
ST (3): Justin Tucker ($5.8M); Jordan Stout ($1.159M); Nick Moore ($1.455M)
The above 55 players are under contract for a total Rule of 51 Salary Cap commitment (which includes dead money from players no longer on the team) of $238,323,575.
Present projections for the 2024 Salary Cap indicate that the Cap will be in the $240-250M range, with the Cap likely to come in around $245M. This would be an increase of $20.2M over the 2023 Cap of $224.8M. The Ravens will most certainly hope it reaches 245M and will hope it won’t be any lower.
So, using the figure of $245M for the estimated Cap, the Ravens will initially have around $8,814,330 in Cap space (which includes the $2,137,905 in 2023 carryover), accounting for the 55 players presently under contract. But, keep in mind that if no contract extensions are reached before February 19th with the five (5) players (Zeitler, Edwards, Agholor, Ya-Sin, and Stone) who have voiding contracts, that number of players currently under contract will drop to 50.
This will be the basis for a lot of early reports on the status of the Ravens’ 2024 Salary Cap, but while that doesn’t sound too bad – and certainly better than for a lot of NFL teams – it is important to keep in mind that this number is based on just the present 55 players that are presently under contract and nowhere near representative of the team’s Cap with a full roster.
So, between now and Wednesday, March 13th at 4:00 p.m., when the new league year and free agency begins, the Ravens have a lot of work to do with a lot of pending free agents and a very tight Salary Cap.
2023 SALARY CAP CARRYOVER
Under the terms of the CBA, teams are allowed to carry over excess Salary Cap space from one year to the nex. The Ravens have carried over $2,137,905 in 2023 Cap space. This will increase their 2024 Cap space by that amount.
OTHER SALARY CAP ADJUSTMENTS
WORKOUT BONUS ADJUSTMENT
All teams will have an adjustment of $907,200 added to their Cap for the team’s expected workout bonuses. This number is essentially the maximum amount of CBA-mandated workout bonuses that could be earned by the players in the offseason. This amount is a charge against the Cap. Once training camp begins, this debit will be removed and the actual amount of workout bonuses earned by the players will be added to the Cap.
INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS
The Ravens’ 2024 Cap will also see adjustments for incentives earned that didn’t count against the 2023 Cap (“Not Likely To Be Earned” incentives) but that were earned and incentives that did count against the 2023 Cap (“Likely To Be Earned” incentives) but weren’t earned. The net amount of these will count against 2024 Cap as a positive or negative adjustment.
For many years, the Ravens have used NLTBE incentives as a way of lessening a player’s present Cap number, especially in years with tighter Caps. Unfortunately, since the details of incentives are not always widely reported, it is hard to make an accurate estimation of the amount of this adjustment. As such, the full extent of the team’s incentive adjustment will not likely be known until the beginning of the 2024 league year in March.
However, the following earned incent incentives in 2023 that will become debits against the Ravens’ 2024 Salary Cap:
Jadeveon Clowney – $2.25M
Nelson Agholor – $500K
Kyle Van Noy – $100K
Geno Stone – $250K
Gus Edwards – $1.1M
Ronald Darby – $500K
Total – $4.7M.
Those debts will be offset by 2023 LTBE incentives that were not earned and for some offsets for guaranteed salaries. Those adjustments amount to a credit of $680,000, which will offset the above $4.7M in earned incentives.
There may also be some other adjustments for grievances and unknown credits or debits, but those are usually minor, so for now, we will use $4,020,000 as an estimated incentives debit for 2024.
PROVEN PERFORMANCE ESCALATOR: PROVEN PERFORMANCE ESCALATOR
The 2011 CBA mandated 4-year contracts for all draft picks, which eliminated a player’s chance to receive the higher-paying RFA tender in their 4th year. To offset this, the 2011 CBA implemented the Proven Performance Escalator (PPE), which allows later draft picks (3rd through 7th rounds) to receive an upgraded salary that is equivalent to the low RFA tender if the player performed well over the 1st 3 years of his contract. The 2020 CBA added 2nd round picks to this calculation, changed the criteria for earning the PPE and added additional compensation levels. Under the revised rules, meeting playing time thresholds (35%) still will earn the PPE at the low RFA tender level, while more playing time (55%) will earn the low tender, and reaching the Pro-Bowl (1st ballot only) will be paid at the 2nd Round RFA tender level.
The Ravens have one player from the 2021 draft who has earned the PPE: CB Brandon Stephens. By reaching the playing time thresholds, Stephens earned the Level 1 escalator and earned a pay raise from $1,208,500 to the low RFA tender salary of $2.863M (est).
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS (ERFAs)
ERFAs are players with less than three (3) years of service time (accrued seasons) in the league. In order to be retained, the Ravens must tender the player with an ERFA tender by the first day of the league year on Wednesday, March 16th. Based on the player’s length of service in the league, the player will receive a 1-year deal with the applicable league minimum salary ($795K, $915K, $985K, or $1.055M). Once tendered, these players are fully under the team’s control and are not free to negotiate with other teams.
This year the Ravens have only one (1) player who is an Exclusive Rights Free Agent (ERFA): DB Ar’Darius Washington ($1.055M)
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS (RFAs)
The Ravens have no pending Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) this year.
PROJECTED ADJUSTED TEAM CAP AND RULE OF 51 SALARY CAP COMMITMENT
Based on all of the above, it is estimated that the Ravens will have an Adjusted Team Salary Cap of $242,210,705. The team’s Adjusted Cap consists of the projected league-wide Salary Cap of $245M, plus the carryover of the 2023 excess Cap space of $2,137,905, less the incentives adjustment ($4,020,000) and the workout bonuses adjustment ($907,200).
Unlike last offseason, the Ravens don’t have the Lamar Jackson saga hanging over their heads, but they do have a lot of pending free agents in addition to many holes to fill and, presently, not a lot of Cap space with which to do so.
So, as it always seems to be with the Ravens, they enter another offseason of change as they try and rebuild their roster in hopes of making another run at bringing home a Super Bowl trophy.
PLAYERS PRESENTLY UNDER CONTRACT
The Ravens currently have the following 55 players under contract for 2024 (with Cap Numbers indicated):
QBs (2): Lamar Jackson ($870K); Malik Cunningham ($915K)
RBs (4): Justice Hill ($2.971M); Keaton Mitchell ($921K); Owen Wright ($795K); Gus Edwards (VOID)
FBs (1): Patrick Ricard ($5.155M)
WRs (6): Rashod Bateman ($4.008M); Odell Beckham Jr. (3.977M); Zay Flowers ($3.19M); Tylan Wallace ($1.226M); Sean Ryan ($795K); Nelson Agholor (VOID)
TE (4): Mark Andrews ($16.908M); Charlie Kolar ($1.161M); Isaiah Likely ($1.111M), Scotty Washington ($915K)
OL (11): Ronnie Stanley ($26.168M); Morgan Moses ($6.96M); Patrick Mekari ($6.350M); Tyler Linderbaum ($3.61M); Ben Cleveland ($1.501M); Daniel Faalele ($1.185M); M. Aumavee-Laulu ($958K); Andrew Vorhees ($941K); TyKeem Doss ($795K); Tashawn Manning ($795K); Kevin Zeitler (VOID)
DL (5): Broderick Washington ($4.54M); Michael Pierce ($4.072M); Travis Jones ($1.447M); Bravvion Roy ($1.055M); Rayshad Nichols ($795K)
EDGE (4): Odafe Oweh ($3.609M); David Ojabo ($2.157M); Tavius Robinson ($1.095M); Malik Hamm ($796K)
LBs (4): Roquan Smith ($13.5M); Tyus Bowser ($7.5M); Trenton Simpson ($1.228M); Josh Ross ($915K)
CBs (8): Marlon Humphrey ($22.878M); Brandon Stephens ($3.037M); Jaylin Armor-Davis ($1.175M); Trayvon Mullen ($1.125M); Damarion Williams ($1.111M); Christian Matthew ($985K); Tre Swilling ($795K); Rock Ya-Sin (VOID)
S (3): Marcus Williams ($18.723M); Kyle Hamilton ($4.433M); Geno Stone (VOID)
ST (3): Justin Tucker ($5.8M); Jordan Stout ($1.159M); Nick Moore ($1.455M)
The above 55 players are under contract for a total Rule of 51 Salary Cap commitment (which includes dead money from players no longer on the team) of $238,323,575.
Present projections for the 2024 Salary Cap indicate that the Cap will be in the $240-250M range, with the Cap likely to come in around $245M. This would be an increase of $20.2M over the 2023 Cap of $224.8M. The Ravens will most certainly hope it reaches 245M and will hope it won’t be any lower.
So, using the figure of $245M for the estimated Cap, the Ravens will initially have around $8,814,330 in Cap space (which includes the $2,137,905 in 2023 carryover), accounting for the 55 players presently under contract. But, keep in mind that if no contract extensions are reached before February 19th with the five (5) players (Zeitler, Edwards, Agholor, Ya-Sin, and Stone) who have voiding contracts, that number of players currently under contract will drop to 50.
This will be the basis for a lot of early reports on the status of the Ravens’ 2024 Salary Cap, but while that doesn’t sound too bad – and certainly better than for a lot of NFL teams – it is important to keep in mind that this number is based on just the present 55 players that are presently under contract and nowhere near representative of the team’s Cap with a full roster.
So, between now and Wednesday, March 13th at 4:00 p.m., when the new league year and free agency begins, the Ravens have a lot of work to do with a lot of pending free agents and a very tight Salary Cap.
2023 SALARY CAP CARRYOVER
Under the terms of the CBA, teams are allowed to carry over excess Salary Cap space from one year to the next. The Ravens have carried over $2,137,905 in 2023 Cap space. This will increase their 2024 Cap space by that amount.
OTHER SALARY CAP ADJUSTMENTS
WORKOUT BONUS ADJUSTMENT
All teams will have an adjustment of $907,200 added to their Cap for the team’s expected workout bonuses. This number is essentially the maximum amount of CBA-mandated workout bonuses that could be earned by the players in the offseason. This amount is a charge against the Cap. Once training camp begins, this debit will be removed and the actual amount of workout bonuses earned by the players will be added to the Cap.
INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS
The Ravens’ 2024 Cap will also see adjustments for incentives earned that didn’t count against the 2023 Cap (“Not Likely To Be Earned” incentives) but that were earned and incentives that did count against the 2023 Cap (“Likely To Be Earned” incentives) but weren’t earned. The net amount of these will count against 2024 Cap as a positive or negative adjustment.
For many years, the Ravens have used NLTBE incentives as a way of lessening a player’s present Cap number, especially in years with tighter Caps. Unfortunately, since the details of incentives are not always widely reported, it is hard to make an accurate estimation of the amount of this adjustment. As such, the full extent of the team’s incentive adjustment will not likely be known until the beginning of the 2024 league year in March.
However, the following earned incent incentives in 2023 that will become debits against the Ravens’ 2024 Salary Cap:
Jadeveon Clowney – $2.25M
Nelson Agholor – $500K
Kyle Van Noy – $100K
Geno Stone – $250K
Gus Edwards – $1.1M
Ronald Darby – $500K
Total – $4.7M.
Those debts will be offset by 2023 LTBE incentives that were not earned and for some offsets for guaranteed salaries. Those adjustments amount to a credit of $680,000, which will offset the above $4.7M in earned incentives.
There may also be some other adjustments for grievances and unknown credits or debits, but those are usually minor, so for now, we will use $4,020,000 as an estimated incentives debit for 2024.
PROVEN PERFORMANCE ESCALATOR: PROVEN PERFORMANCE ESCALATOR
The 2011 CBA mandated 4-year contracts for all draft picks, which eliminated a player’s chance to receive the higher-paying RFA tender in their 4th year. To offset this, the 2011 CBA implemented the Proven Performance Escalator (PPE), which allows later draft picks (3rd through 7th rounds) to receive an upgraded salary that is equivalent to the low RFA tender if the player performed well over the 1st 3 years of his contract. The 2020 CBA added 2nd round picks to this calculation, changed the criteria for earning the PPE, and added additional compensation levels. Under the revised rules, meeting playing time thresholds (35%) still will earn the PPE at the low RFA tender level, while more playing time (55%) will earn the low tender, and reaching the Pro-Bowl (1st ballot only) will be paid at the 2nd Round RFA tender level.
The Ravens have one player from the 2021 draft who has earned the PPE: CB Brandon Stephens. By reaching the playing time thresholds, Stephens earned the Level 1 escalator and earned a pay raise from $1,208,500 to the low RFA tender salary of $2.863M (est).
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS (ERFAs)
ERFAs are players with less than three (3) years of service time (accrued seasons) in the league. In order to be retained, the Ravens must tender the player with an ERFA tender by the first day of the league year on Wednesday, March 16th. Based on the player’s length of service in the league, the player will receive a 1-year deal with the applicable league minimum salary ($795K, $915K, $985K, or $1.055M). Once tendered, these players are fully under the team’s control and are not free to negotiate with other teams.
This year the Ravens have only one (1) player who is an Exclusive Rights Free Agent (ERFA): DB Ar’Darius Washington ($1.055M)
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS (RFAs)
The Ravens have no pending Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) this year.
PROJECTED ADJUSTED TEAM CAP AND RULE OF 51 SALARY CAP COMMITMENT
Based on all of the above, it is estimated that the Ravens will have an Adjusted Team Salary Cap of $242,210,705. The team’s Adjusted Cap consists of the projected league-wide Salary Cap of $245M, plus the carryover of the 2023 excess Cap space of $2,137,905, less the incentives adjustment ($4,020,000) and the workout bonuses adjustment ($907,200).
During the offseason, though, when the roster can balloon to up to 90 players, only the highest 51 Salary Cap numbers (and all 2024 bonus prorations and all dead money from released players) are counted for Salary Cap purposes. This is called the “Rule of 51”.
As such, the Ravens’ estimated Rule of 51 number would be a Cap commitment of $238,583,575.
When compared with the team’s Adjusted Cap of $242,210,705, this would leave the Ravens projected to be $3,627,130 under the Salary Cap.
Again, this is just an early estimate, done before the Ravens make other roster moves that will create additional Salary Cap space and/or make additions that will strengthen the roster, but it underscores that the Ravens will again be tight against the Cap and have some work to do to create Cap space.
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS (UFAs)
The following 23 players are Unrestricted Free Agents (UFAs) and will be free to sign with other teams if they haven’t re-signed with the Ravens before Free Agency begins on Wednesday, March 13th at 4:00 p.m.:
WR Nelson Agholor (VOID)
DE Jadeveon Clowney
RB Dalvin Cook
CB Ronald Darby
RB JK Dobbins
WR Devin Duvernay
RB Gus Edwards (VOID)
LB Malik Harrison
QB Tyler Huntley
QB Josh Johnson
DT Justin Madubuike
CB Arthur Maulet
OL Sam Mustipher
LS Tyler Ott
LB Del’Shawn Phillips
MARLON HUMPHREY and MARK ANDREWS:
Two more unlikely cuts, but two players who have at times been mentioned by fans and the media. There has been talk that Humphrey should take a pay cut to remain with the Ravens, but such talk ignores the reality of the dead money at issue ($23.817M). To get a player to consider a pay cut, you have to be able to threaten him with being released. With that amount of dead money at play, it seems unlikely that Humphrey would be swayed by any threat of being cut. The only release that sort of makes sense for Humphrey would be a post-June 1 release, but with OBJ and Stanley already candidates for post-June 1 releases, the Ravens are not going to want to push that much dead money into 2025.
RESTRUCTURES
The main drawback of constantly restructuring contracts is that it often becomes a vicious cycle that forces the team to continue and continue to restructure deals year after year. The Ravens have been stuck in this cycle over the last couple of years and those restructures have created some bloated Cap numbers that aren’t easy to get away from.
The candidates for restructures are as follows (the below amounts are based on “simple” restructures and do not include adding void years, which in some cases would produce more Cap savings):
Lamar Jackson – $11M
Marlon Humphrey – $7,905,000
Marcus Williams – $7,193,333
Ronnie Stanley – $6,895,000
Mark Andrews – $4,937,500
Roquan Smith – $3,656,250
Justin Tucker – $1,717,500
FUTURE EXPENSES
One of the biggest mistakes fans often make is thinking that the amount of Cap space available before the beginning of the new league year and/or immediately after the new league year begins is money that can be fully spent on free agents, without considering the future expenses teams will have. From signing the team’s draft picks to the end of the Rule of 51, at which point all players whether on the 53-man roster, IR, PUP, or the PS count against the Cap, to weekly Practice Squad elevations and to having a Cap space reserve to cover in-season injuries, teams will need a lot of Cap space that simply isn’t available for signing free agents. So, teams will be mindful of those expenses, that can cost teams between $14-16M in Cap space.
MARLON HUMPHREY and MARK ANDREWS:
Two more unlikely cuts, but two players who have at times been mentioned by fans and the media. There has been talk that Humphrey should take a pay cut to remain with the Ravens, but such talk ignores the reality of the dead money at issue ($23.817M). To get a player to consider a pay cut, you have to be able to threaten him with being released. With that amount of dead money at play, it seems unlikely that Humphrey would be swayed by any threat of being cut. The only release that sort of makes sense for Humphrey would be a post-June 1 release, but with OBJ and Stanley already candidates for post-June 1 releases, the Ravens are not going to want to push that much dead money into 2025.
RESTRUCTURES
The main drawback of constantly restructuring contracts is that it often becomes a vicious cycle that forces the team to continue and continue to restructure deals year after year. The Ravens have been stuck in this cycle over the last couple of years and those restructures have created some bloated Cap numbers that aren’t easy to get away from.
The candidates for restructures are as follows (the below amounts are based on “simple” restructures and do not include adding void years, which in some cases would produce more Cap savings):
Lamar Jackson – $11M
Marlon Humphrey – $7,905,000
Marcus Williams – $7,193,333
Ronnie Stanley – $6,895,000
Mark Andrews – $4,937,500
Roquan Smith – $3,656,250
Justin Tucker – $1,717,500
FUTURE EXPENSES
One of the biggest mistakes fans often make is thinking that the amount of Cap space available before the beginning of the new league year and/or immediately after the new league year begins is money that can be fully spent on free agents, without considering the future expenses teams will have. From signing the team’s draft picks to the end of the Rule of 51, at which point all players whether on the 53-man roster, IR, PUP, or the PS count against the Cap, to weekly Practice Squad elevations and to having a Cap space reserve to cover in-season injuries, teams will need a lot of Cap space that simply isn’t available for signing free agents. So, teams will be mindful of those expenses, that can cost teams between $14-16M in Cap space.
Over the next month, a lot of these items will come into better focus as the team starts making moves to get their Salary Cap in order and create Cap space to help improve their roster.
The Salary Cap is always a puzzle and the Ravens’ Front Office will likely use a combination of the above maneuvers to create the Cap space necessary to address the team’s pressing roster needs. So, as it always seems, the months of March and April will once again be an interesting time for the Ravens.
