Dolphins salary cap update - 3/2/15

The Miami Dolphins have begun their salary cap savings roster moves, releasing wide receivers Brian Hartline and Brandon Gibson on Friday. The moves are designed to free space for the team when free agency rolls around next week, but what do the Dolphins actually have in terms of salary cap space?

The first thing to remember is, we do not actually know what the salary cap will be for 2015. Estimates have it as high as $143 million, which is probably pretty close to accurate, but it is not guaranteed. We will figure out where the Dolphins stand in terms of money spent toward the cap this year, then see what that means against the estimated cap.

Top 51

During the offseason and through the preseason, a team's salary cap number is calculated based on the top 51 contracts they have, not the full allocation of the 90-man roster. Once the regular season begins, that changes to the total amount the team spends on their 53-man roster and 10-man practice squad.

For the Dolphins, using numbers from OverTheCap.com, the Top 51 salaries are:

Total:$135,261,636

Dead Money

Dead money is the guaranteed money/signing bonus still owed to players who have been released. Some of this money is from players who have been released this year (Hartline and Gibson), while some of it is money from players who were released post-June 1 last year. According to NFL rules, players who are released prior to June 1 see all of their remaining dead money accelerated into the current season's salary cap. After June 1, the dead money for the current year remains on the books, while the rest is deferred until the following year.

The Dolphins current list of dead money is:

Total: $5,480,542

Totals

Total Top 51 Contracts: $135,261,636
Total Dead Money: $5,480,542

Total Salary Cap Number: $140,742,178

Rollover

Each year, a team can roll over any of their unused salary cap space from the previous year into the current year's salary cap. The Dolphins should roll over $7,770,411 from last year into this year's cap (via NFLPA).

Salary Cap Estimate

Assuming the $143 million salary cap, the Dolphins should have the following space available:

NFL Salary Cap (2015 estimate): $143,000,000
Team Roll Over: $7,770,411
Dolphins Salary Cap (2015 estimate): $150,770,411

Dolphins Salary Cap Number: $140,742,178

Remaining Salary Cap Space: $10,028,233

Remaining Contracts

The Dolphins currently have 57 players under contract. While only the Top 51, as listed above, count toward the salary cap right now, we still can list the remaining six contracts:

Salary Cap Savings Moves:

We can also take a look at what savings are available for the Dolphins if they continue to make roster cuts:

Pre-June 1 roster cuts:

If these players are cut prior to June 1 (or without the post-June 1 designation of which every team has two), the savings (or lack there of) would be:

Post-June 1 roster cuts:

If the team waits until after June 1, the following chart will show the savings the Dolphins will receive. Of note, if the team uses a post-June 1 designation, they will receive this savings, but they will not receive it until June 2. Until then, the team will continue to carry the player's full salary cap hit as if they were still on the team.

Summary

Assuming a $143 million salary cap, the Dolphins have already jumped up to a little over $10 million in salary cap space for this season. Some more cuts are expected, which could add even more money for the team. Right now, this money can be used to re-sign players to contract extensions, or the team can use it to target free agents when the signing period begins on March 10. The Dolphins will also need about $5.2 million in space to sign their draft picks this summer, money which could come from the post-June 1 releases/designations.