Salary Cap Question

[bostonsportsfan]

I am very confused as to why there is any chance what so ever That the New England Patriots could get any kind of Salary Cap Relief when the Patriots made a personal choice to cut him.  Do I think they made the right choice? Heck Yeah they did this guy is insane.  But fact of the matter is they could have opted to keep him and let the legal system play out.  On the other hand Reggie Lewis and Boston Celtics get Nothing.  As slim as it might be the chances of Aaron Hernandez being found not Guilty and him being back in the NFL is much greater than Reggie Lewis coming back to life yet the pats get the relief but Celtics don't Why?

[wdleehi]

The NFL has a hard cap and non-guaranteed contracts.  Only the signing bonuses are guaranteed.  So when an NFL team cuts a player, only the bonus left to be 'payed' (the rules allow the one time bonus to be spread over the length of the contract to keep one time cap hits down) effects the cap.



The NBA has a soft cap and guaranteed contracts.  That means the teams agree to pay the entire contract amount when it is signed.