The Cost to Cut or Trade a 2015 Starting QB
Published: December 14, 2014
As the 2014 regular season begins to wind down, many franchises are already "looking ahead to next year". We'll begin to do so as well, by projecting the starting quarterback for each of the 32 NFL teams. We'll assess each player's 2015 salary cap figure, the dead cap left behind should the player be released, and the dead cap left behind should the player be traded. In many instances, additional dead money kicks in at some point during the offseason, which we've identified in our "notes" column.
2015 QB Salary & Dead Cap Figures
10 quarterbacks currently carry more than $20M in dead cap heading into the 2015 season. In most cases, this includes a great deal of guaranteed base salary, meaning the current team can avoid this dead cap hit by trading the player instead of releasing him. With $42M, Tom Brady is set to be the leader in the club house, as his 2015, 2016, and 2017 salaries all become fully guaranteed if he's on the Patriots roster at the end of 2014 (obviously). Outside of Brady, the safest QB in football may be Joe Flacco, who carries a huge dead cap figure, and consistent production into 2015.
| 2015 QB | Team | 2015 Cap | Dead $ if Cut | Dead $ if Traded | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carson Palmer | ARI | $14,500,000 | $20,500,000 | $19,500,000 | Includes a $9.5M roster bonus and $1M salary that g'tees on 2/6/15. |
| Matt Ryan | ATL | $19,500,000 | $33,900,000 | $26,400,000 | |
| Joe Flacco | BAL | $14,550,000 | $36,400,000 | $36,400,000 | Baltimore can avoid a $7M option bonus by releasing him early this offseason. |
| Kyle Orton | BUF | $7,000,000 | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | Orton can void 2015 within 5 days from Super Bowl |
| Cam Newton | CAR | $14,666,666 | $0 | $0 | Fully guarantees start of league year (March 2015). |
| Jay Cutler | CHI | $16,500,000 | $29,500,000 | $4,000,000 | Includes $10M of his 2016 that g'tees in March 2015. |
| Andy Dalton | CIN | $9,600,000 | $9,600,000 | $9,600,000 | Additional $4M roster bonus vests 3/2015 |
| Johnny Manziel | CLE | $1,874,620 | $5,203,860 | $3,239,235 | |
| Tony Romo | DAL | $27,773,000 | $37,408,000 | $29,908,000 | Includes $7.5M 2015 salary that g'tees on 3rd league day. Restructure likely. |
| Peyton Manning | DEN | $21,500,000 | $24,000,000 | $5,000,000 | 2015 salary ($19M) g'tees end of 2014 |
| Matthew Stafford | DET | $17,721,250 | $27,221,250 | $19,221,250 | |
| Aaron Rodgers | GB | $18,250,000 | $29,450,000 | $29,450,000 | Includes a $9.5M roster bonus that g'tees 1st league day |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | HOU | $3,875,000 | $625,000 | $625,000 | |
| Andrew Luck | IND | $6,029,454 | $13,063,817 | $7,259,272 | Extension likely. |
| Blake Bortles | JAC | $4,694,275 | $16,899,390 | $10,006,260 | |
| Alex Smith | KC | $15,600,000 | $40,400,000 | $14,400,000 | Includes 2015 & 16 salaries ($26M) that g'tee on 3rd league day |
| Ryan Tannehill | MIA | $4,030,364 | $4,030,364 | $1,913,364 | |
| Teddy Bridgewater | MIN | $1,556,705 | $4,250,115 | $2,490,192 | |
| Tom Brady | NE | $13,000,000 | $42,000,000 | $18,000,000 | 2015-17 salaries ($24M) become fully guaranteed at the end of 2014 |
| Eli Manning | NYG | $19,750,000 | $2,250,000 | $2,250,000 | Restructured extension possible. |
| Geno Smith | NYJ | $1,368,983 | $2,107,965 | $1,522,965 | |
| Drew Brees | NO | $26,400,000 | $14,800,000 | $14,800,000 | Additional salary guarantees at an undisclosed date. Restructure likely. |
| Derek Carr | OAK | $1,220,863 | $2,334,236 | $1,670,073 | |
| Nick Foles | PHI | $815,880 | $135,880 | $135,880 | |
| Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | $18,395,000 | $6,795,000 | $6,795,000 | Restructured extension possible. |
| Philip Rivers | SD | $17,416,668 | $1,666,667 | $1,666,667 | Restructured extension possible. |
| Russell Wilson | SEA | $953,519 | $154,868 | $154,868 | Extension likely. |
| Colin Kaepernick | SF | $17,265,753 | $9,963,012 | $9,963,012 | $12.4M salary fully g'tees on 4/1/15 |
| Sam Bradford | STL | $16,580,000 | $3,595,000 | $3,595,000 | Restructure likely. |
| Zach Mettenberger | TEN | $541,279 | $93,837 | $93,837 | |
| Josh McCown | TB | $5,250,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | Restructure likely. |
| Robert Griffin III | WAS | $6,719,713 | $6,719,713 | $3,449,836 | Trade block possible. |
