When do contracts officially begin?

i'd say that contracts begin the day they are signed and end the day after the season finishes.

 

I don't know how it works. I remember hearing Wychek on the radio saying that the players make a ridiculously small (in comparison to their contracts) paycheck during camp and even during the pre-season games. He said their real $$ paychecks from the contracts don't start until the first week of the regular season.

This may have nothing to do with when they count against the cap....but I thought it was an interesting story he told.

 

Contracts officially begin on the day they are signed. They can be voided by the NFL if there is something amis or by a player failing a physical, but otherwise they are immediately binding.

But, for what it's worth, draft picks count under the cap (for the rookie minimum) even before they sign a contract.

 

there are certain days that the team MUST be under the CAP or face league sanctions - loss of draft picks I believe.

Don't know what they are though. Point is that during the offseason teams can be over the CAP for a time without penalty.

 

There are a number of days where that's true. 365 of them, to be exact (except on leap years).

Teams are allowed to be over the cap in future seasons. But once the new league season starts, they have to be under. That's why the deadline for teams to be under the cap comes on or about March 1 every year. That's the day the new league year starts.

 

ahhh

so the reports of teams being over the CAP are, as usual, slightly inaccurate

 

Well, they technically are over the cap. It's just that it's completely legal be to over the cap in future seasons. Just not the current one.

That's why the deadline for teams to get under the cap is so important. It's fine to be $20M over the 2007 cap on February 26, 2007 (at which point the 2006 cap is still in force). But come March 3, 2007, they would not be allowed to do that.

 

Well, they do have to have the cap space free before they sign the rookies, even if it isn't from Steve. They could free up virtually all the cap space they'd need to sign the rookies (just over $3M) simply by renegotiating with Bulluck (saves $3M).

They would still need to clear up more cap room later, before the season starts, for the IR, PUP list, and having some free cap space available to sign injury replacements. But that could be done later through cuts or trades.