Dolphins salary cap 2015: Update - 3/5/15

It has been a few days since we updated the state of the Miami Dolphins' salary cap, and there have been several moves that we need to update. Below, we add in the transition tag for tight end Charles Clay as well as the releases of cornerback Cortland Finnegan and offensive lineman Nate Garner.

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:$134,465,301

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: $6,647,210

Totals

Total Top 51 Contracts: $134,465,301
Total Dead Money: $6,647,210

Total Salary Cap Number: $141,112,511

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 Space

The NFL told teams this week that the salary cap for this year had been set at $143,280,000, so we can add the extra $280,000 to our estimate from the last update we posted. There is also an adjustment of $1.8 million to the Dolphins salary cap for this season, according to the NFLPA.

NFL Salary Cap (2015): $143,280,000
Team Roll Over: $7,770,411
Salary Cap Adjustment: $1,876,526
Dolphins Salary Cap (2015): $152,926,937

Dolphins Salary Cap Number: $141,112,511

Remaining Salary Cap Space: $11,814,426

Remaining Contracts

The Dolphins currently have 56 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

With an assigned $143.28 million salary cap, the Dolphins have $11,814,426 in salary cap space for this season. There are still more cuts 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.