Salary Cap 101

Signing bonuses. Likely to be earned incentives. Paragraph five salary.

With its seemingly endless list of terms and conditions, the salary cap is, perhaps, the single-most intimidating and misunderstood two-word phrase to casual fans of the National Football League.

In the following sections, we'll try and bring to light some of the basic rules and a few of the finer points of the cap in an attempt to better acquaint you with some of its many nuances.

Team Salary
Paragraph Five Salary
Signing Bonus: Proration, Acceleration, "Dead Money"
Incentives: Likely to be earned, Not likely to be earned
Rookie Pool
Top 51 Rule
Voidable Contract
Re-negotiations
Free Agents
Salary Cap Value and Defined Gross Revenue

For further information, including a history, overview and background of the cap, be sure to check out a recent Atlantafalcons.com salary cap feature.