NFL salary cap rules question

Terrell Davis may retire and the news brief is talking about the salary cap hit on the team. Now, a team can avoid taking a hit if a player restructures his contract. So, why can't Davis (or any of the other players that take career ending injuries) restructure a now-meaningless contract so that they are "earning" the veteran minimum and then retire the next day?
Of course, I'm assuming Davis doesn't actually get any cash. If there is real guaranteed money involved, then this is a separate issue (and one that is confused by the use of the word "retirement" - if it's his choice to not play rather than the teams, then I assume he forfeits the money)

[Abducens]

I'm sure there are rules to keep people from doing this. Otherwise Snyder and Deion would have done the same thing right before he retired. The money that would hit the cap next year is the remaining proration of the guaranteed money he has already received, probably.

For example, say he has 3 years left on a deal he signed 2 years ago with a $8M signing bonus. $8M/5 = $1.6M of that has to be recognized each year of the 5 year deal.

On top of that, his 2002 scheduled salary is $1.2M. This is the 1.2M they save if he retires. They have to recognize 1.6M no matter what.

Then in 2003 the remaining $3.2M (the last 2 years' proration of the 8M) accelerates to the 2003 cap figure.

This is why you hear so much about June 1 cuts. If a player is still on your roster June 1, you can prorate signing bonus money another year, even if that player isn't on your roster for the regular season. That's why the Skins are only now taking it on the chin for Deion's retiring.

[Han Solo]

Ab is right. When the player retires - or is cut, for that matter - the remaining signing bonus must be accelerated and paid to the player all at once, hence the cap hit.

[egg]

I believe a similar thing happened when Barry Sanders retired. The Lions kept him on the roster for a year or two so they wouldn't take the hit all at once. Of course I think they ended up in court to try and decide where that signing bonus should go (the Lions wanted it back, Barry wanted to keep it).

[Abducens]

Han, you buying into all this Spurrier hype? I'm afraid it's looking like another situation like Tennessee and Minnesota last year - light it up in preseason to stoke the hype only to crap out during the season. I'm neutral re: Skins, curious whatcha think.

[Han Solo]

Originally Posted by egg

I believe a similar thing happened when Barry Sanders retired. The Lions kept him on the roster for a year or two so they wouldn't take the hit all at once. Of course I think they ended up in court to try and decide where that signing bonus should go (the Lions wanted it back, Barry wanted to keep it).

I think the Lions were also trying to convince Sanders to come back out of retirement.

Originally Posted by Abducens

Han, you buying into all this Spurrier hype? I'm afraid it's looking like another situation like Tennessee and Minnesota last year - light it up in preseason to stoke the hype only to crap out during the season. I'm neutral re: Skins, curious whatcha think.

It's real easy to knock the stuffing out of everyone in preseason, isn't it? Success in the preseaon I don't think is hardly ever correlated with success in the regular season - didn't Marv Levy with the Bills lose most of their preseason games when they went to 4 straight Super Bowls? I would be wary of stoking the hype now since the regular season is so different.

That being said, I do think Spurrier has what it takes to be a good NFL coach - eventually. He's got a good system, he's not biting off more than he can chew - no GM bs or even defense to deal with. But probably not this season. First year is always tough for new coaches. Their defense will probably win them some games though. I say 8-8 at the best, I'll be surprised (but happy) if they do better than that. I'm looking at next year for a return to the playoffs.

[egg]

Originally Posted by Han Solo

I think the Lions were also trying to convince Sanders to come back out of retirement.

Yes they were but I think they were also worried about another team picking him up and convincing him to come out of retirement. Since a big reason he retired is because he was sick and frustrated with the Lions ineptitude. Of course, I have been Lions fan for 27 years so I know exactly how frustrating it is.

[Han Solo]

Originally Posted by egg

...sick and frustrated with the Lions ineptitude. Of course, I have been Lions fan for 27 years so I know exactly how frustrating it is.

Speaking of ineptitude, I was at the game in Baltimore last Friday. You might be in for another long season, egg.

[egg]

But the good news is - we are all expecting a really bad season (as opposed to mediocrity before). So winning more will be a pleasant surprise.