2008/2009 Raptors Cap, Salaries, Tax Breakdown

[satyr9]

With firm cap numbers, if all the guesses on the first page are right (and IMO they're all at the low end, so it's best case scenario), the raps have 12 players signed and $2,674,281 under the luxury tax. That would hopefully mean one spot for a summer league guy at min (which according to the top won't count to the luxury tax like Jawai) and that's a decent amount of coin for one more signing. Of course if Calderon makes more (and with Diop and Udrih going 5/33, Calderon at 5/40 is an absolute steal) or Ukic does or Garbo's buy-out was higher, then each bit over the original estimate eats away at that 2.67 million.

It also wouldn't suprise me if the Raps hold some back in case there's a deadline deal available where they'd have to take on some extra salary (say in moving Graham, Parker, or Moon as expirings).

[damadmonk]

Well, since they haven't renounced Delfino's rights, they really don't have any cap/tax room do they?

[isyed]

Correct me if i'm wrong. The Luxury tax is only paid if there is a condition met (ie not enough revenues made etc) league wide? I think the Luxury tax has been paid only a few times the last decade or so. If this is the case then we shouldn't be worried as much especially with the recent success in the elague with high ratings, Celtics Lakers finals etc...

[douggood]

Correct me if i'm wrong. The Luxury tax is only paid if there is a condition met (ie not enough revenues made etc) league wide? I think the Luxury tax has been paid only a few times the last decade or so. If this is the case then we shouldn't be worried as much especially with the recent success in the elague with high ratings, Celtics Lakers finals etc...

No the luxary tax is paid every year if you exceed the Tax number. The tax number changes depening on revenue, if revenue goes up the tax and cap number go up.

[dagger]

Correct me if i'm wrong. The Luxury tax is only paid if there is a condition met (ie not enough revenues made etc) league wide? I think the Luxury tax has been paid only a few times the last decade or so. If this is the case then we shouldn't be worried as much especially with the recent success in the elague with high ratings, Celtics Lakers finals etc...

Eight teams paid tax last season. The 22 teams that didn't pay tax split got about $3 million each as their share of tax revenues.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3480247

[FlightfulKiwi]

Per Jose's press conference, BC said that Jose was gracious enough to restructure the deal at the last moment to allow the Raps to come in under the Lux cap. This change was made given the recent confirmation of the salary and lux caps.

Jose will lose 60k up front (first year) and gain it back in subsequent years (not specified when). As a result the Raps will be under the lux cap by 1100 dollars. In effect, Jose has allowed MLSE to pocket ~3 million in profit sharing as per Daggers post.

[damadmonk]

Where is the "Missing $2,692,608"? Is it Delfino's Qualifying Offer of $2,744,299?

According to the new info;

Luxury Tax ($71,150,000) minus current players salary ($68,456,219) minus $1,173 (total BC gave of Tax Flexibility) = $2,692,608 that is missing.

I am going to assume that the "missing money" is actually Delfino's rights numbers which is currently at $2,744,299 or his qualifying offer.

2008/2009 Salaries, Cap, Luxury tax Threshold and MLE

Jermaine O'Neal $21,352,500

Chris Bosh $14,410,581

Jose Calderon $9,000,000 ??? (estimate)

Jason Kapono $5,784,480

Andrea Bargnani $5,176,440

Anthony Parker $4,550,000

Kris Humphries $3,200,000

Joey Graham $2,449,184

Roko Ukic $1,500,000 (estimate)

Hassan Adams $711,517

Jamario Moon $711,517

Nathan Jawai $442,114 (not counted towards luxury tax)

(Jorge Garbajosa) ($2,000,000) (estimate)

Approximate Salary Total: $68,456,219
*If Garbajosa is signed to a contract in Europe, our cap hit will be decreased by one-half the difference between the player's new salary and the minimum salary for a one-year veteran.

2008/2009 NBA Salary Cap: $58,680,000
2008/2009 NBA Luxury Tax Threshold: $71,150,000
2008/2009 MLE : $5,850,000
Funds Permitted for Raptors Use: $1,173
???

I will update this thread when actual NBA values are released in early July, or IF trades happen and new players come in or existing exit.

Sources:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2932279
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2516704
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/toronto.htm
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/indiana.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Salary_Cap

[satyr9]

Hopefully now the discussion can shift to all the available FAs out there that will sign for a little under 1,200 bucks.

[h00pst1r]

Where is the "Missing $2,692,608"? Is it Delfino's Qualifying Offer of $2,744,299?

According to the new info;

Luxury Tax ($71,150,000) minus current players salary ($68,456,219) minus $1,173 (total BC gave of Tax Flexibility) = $2,692,608 that is missing.

I am going to assume that the "missing money" is actually Delfino's rights numbers which is currently at $2,744,299 or his qualifying offer.

2008/2009 Salaries, Cap, Luxury tax Threshold and MLE

Jermaine O'Neal $21,352,500

Chris Bosh $14,410,581

Jose Calderon $9,000,000 ??? (estimate)

Jason Kapono $5,784,480

Andrea Bargnani $5,176,440

Anthony Parker $4,550,000

Kris Humphries $3,200,000

Joey Graham $2,449,184

Roko Ukic $1,500,000 (estimate)

Hassan Adams $711,517

Jamario Moon $711,517

Nathan Jawai $442,114 (not counted towards luxury tax)

(Jorge Garbajosa) ($2,000,000) (estimate)

Approximate Salary Total: $68,456,219
*If Garbajosa is signed to a contract in Europe, our cap hit will be decreased by one-half the difference between the player's new salary and the minimum salary for a one-year veteran.

2008/2009 NBA Salary Cap: $58,680,000
2008/2009 NBA Luxury Tax Threshold: $71,150,000
2008/2009 MLE : $5,850,000
Funds Permitted for Raptors Use: $1,173
???

I will update this thread when actual NBA values are released in early July, or IF trades happen and new players come in or existing exit.

Sources:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2932279
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2516704
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/toronto.htm
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/indiana.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Salary_Cap

My guess the missing money is in the estimates...a half million here, million there and it'll add up...even though those estimates seem about right to me.

[dagger]

Mike Koreen says Jose scored a five year deal with salary "reportedly" of $7.5 million to $8.5 million, but I don't know whether he means it averages somewhere in between those numbers or starts at one of those numbers. The only sure part is the five years.

[The Answer!]

EventHorizon, if Hassan Adams received the same type of contract Jamario Moon received last season, wouldn't he be making $427,163 the first year, followed by a team option of $711,517 the next? I know it's not that big of a difference but I just thought I'd point that out. Regardless, keep up the good work.

*BTW, use this site instead for player salaries. It's a lot more accurate than HoopsHype.

[BC4CB4]

2008/2009 Salaries, Cap, Luxury tax Threshold and MLE

Jermaine O'Neal $21,352,500

Chris Bosh $14,410,581

Jose Calderon $9,000,000 ??? (estimate)

Jason Kapono $5,784,480

Andrea Bargnani $5,176,440

Anthony Parker $4,550,000

Kris Humphries $3,200,000

Joey Graham $2,449,184

Roko Ukic $1,500,000 (estimate)

Hassan Adams $711,517

Jamario Moon $711,517

Nathan Jawai $442,114 (not counted towards luxury tax)

(Jorge Garbajosa) ($2,000,000) (estimate)

Approximate Salary Total: $68,456,219
*If Garbajosa is signed to a contract in Europe, our cap hit will be decreased by one-half the difference between the player's new salary and the minimum salary for a one-year veteran.

2008/2009 NBA Salary Cap: $58,680,000
2008/2009 NBA Luxury Tax Threshold: $71,150,000
2008/2009 MLE : $5,850,000
Funds Permitted for Raptors Use: $1,173
???

I will update this thread when actual NBA values are released in early July, or IF trades happen and new players come in or existing exit.

Sources:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2932279
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2516704
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/toronto.htm
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/indiana.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Salary_Cap

The total salaries for luxury cap purposes needs to be updated/corrected. Even by your own records the numbers you've supplied don't add up to what you're saying (total salaries of $68,456,219). By my rocket-science math, they equal $71,288,333.

Your numbers:

$21,352,500
$14,410,581
$9,000,000
$5,784,480
$5,176,440
$4,550,000
$3,200,000
$2,449,184
$1,500,000
$711,517
$711,517
$442,114
$2,000,000

My math :

Total $71,288,333 (not $68,456,219)

But even then I disagree with some of the individual salaries to varying degrees. Although, at the end of the day, mostly inconsequentially I suppose as where my numbers are higher for some players (Garbo) yours are higher for others (like Calderon) so they mostly come out in the wash - save for actually summing them up correctly.

My numbers:

Chris Bosh..............$14,410,581
Jermaine O'Neal.......$21,372,000
Andrea Bargnani.......$5,176,440
Anthony Parker........$4,550,000
Jorge Garbajosa*......$4,250,000
Kris Humphries.........$3,100,000
Jose Calderon****......$6,314,000
Joey Graham............$2,449,184
Jamario Moon..........$711,517
Nathan Jawai...........$442,114
Jason Kapono..........$5,784,480
Roko Ukic**.............$1,500,000
Hassan Adams..........$711,517
Carlos Delfino***

Total: $70,771,833 - $2,000,000 (Garbo buyout)

= $68,771,833



* I'm not aware (and am highly skeptical of) any arrangement whereby Garbajosa's salary is reduced further if he signs with another team outside of the NBA. What if he signed a deal as a used car salesman and he sold 4 Porsches in his first year? Would his luxury tax hit be reduced by the amount HE made or the retail price of the car?

I'm also of the belief that only a couple of million of luxury tax relief was gained by his buyout. Being that his salary for luxury tax purposes is actually closer to $2.5 million. But I'll meet you in the middle. Let's say he only hit's us for $2.25 million toward the luxury cap.

** I'm assuming for the sake of oranges and apples that Ukic is signed for the same amount that you've assumed. Seems fair to me. Would obviously be happy if it turns out he's paid closer to the minimum, but considering the contracts available in Europe, I'd think $1.5 is about right.

***The cap hold on Delfino only applies to the salary cap (i.e. would prevent us from signing UNDER the cap if we were otherwise under the cap by his salary factored by, IIRC, 150%) so it's irrelevant for purposes of comparison to the luxury cap.

**** In the case of Calderon, the most optimistic guess at his salary for this year would be $40 million over 5 years total, but max increases every year so that THIS year is the lowest possible salary ($6,314,000 at 8% raises each year would net him $40 million).

With a luxury cap of $71,150,000 I think we'd be looking at having $2,378,167 to spend without going over the luxury threshold. If Calderon is actually making closer to $8 million this year, that'd mean we'd actually have closer to $692,167. However, if Calderon isn't getting what I've projected this year and it's actually somewhere in between $6.314 and $8 million, like, say $7.5 million, we'd have around $1,192,167 to spend without entering luxury tax territory.

That could be two minimum salary players (Lucas and Benson?) or one veteran with up to 9 years experience (minimum salary for a nine year vet next year is $1,147,533), or some combination in between.

[damadmonk]

EventHorizon, if Hassan Adams received the same type of contract Jamario Moon received last season, wouldn't he be making $427,163 the first year, followed by a team option of $711,517 the next? I know it's not that big of a difference but I just thought I'd point that out. Regardless, keep up the good work.

*BTW, use this site instead for player salaries. It's a lot more accurate than HoopsHype.

Adams wouldn't be making $427,163 as that was the rookie minimum salary. He would be making $711,517 this year according to this http://www.insidehoops.com/minimum-nba-salary.shtml since it would be his 2nd year of service in the NBA.

[damadmonk]

I like these numbers much better than the OP numbers...

It's more clear now that Delfino is gone (said virtually at all news sources) and the only reason why the Raptors still have a qualifying offer to him is that they would retain his rights if he signs with a European team.

With only 12 signed players, it seems that the $60,000 and $1,173 numbers that BC talked about JC helping out is based on;
a) they didn't have enough money to meet the minimum rookie salary of $442,112 or,
b) to create flexibility sign anybody up to the 10+ vet minimum of $1,262,275
which means that we have between the rookie minimum salary + $1173 to max veterans salary + $1173 or $443,287 ($442,114 +$1,173) to $1,263,448 ($1,262,275 + $1173) in terms of under the luxury cap. See http://www.insidehoops.com/minimum-nba-salary.shtml for details.

Those last numbers are close to your numbers of around $1,192,167 to spend without entering luxury tax territory.


So what does this mean?

At this point the 12 players account for somewhere between $69,88652 - $70,706,713 in total salary.

My numbers:

Chris Bosh..............$14,410,581
Jermaine O'Neal.......$21,372,000
Andrea Bargnani.......$5,176,440
Anthony Parker........$4,550,000
Jorge Garbajosa*......$4,250,000
Kris Humphries.........$3,100,000
Jose Calderon****......$6,314,000
Joey Graham............$2,449,184
Jamario Moon..........$711,517
Nathan Jawai...........$442,114
Jason Kapono..........$5,784,480
Roko Ukic**.............$1,500,000
Hassan Adams..........$711,517
Carlos Delfino***

Total: $70,771,833 - $2,000,000 (Garbo buyout)

= $68,771,833



* I'm not aware (and am highly skeptical of) any arrangement whereby Garbajosa's salary is reduced further if he signs with another team outside of the NBA. What if he signed a deal as a used car salesman and he sold 4 Porsches in his first year? Would his luxury tax hit be reduced by the amount HE made or the retail price of the car?

I'm also of the belief that only a couple of million of luxury tax relief was gained by his buyout. Being that his salary for luxury tax purposes is actually closer to $2.5 million. But I'll meet you in the middle. Let's say he only hit's us for $2.25 million toward the luxury cap.

** I'm assuming for the sake of oranges and apples that Ukic is signed for the same amount that you've assumed. Seems fair to me. Would obviously be happy if it turns out he's paid closer to the minimum, but considering the contracts available in Europe, I'd think $1.5 is about right.

***The cap hold on Delfino only applies to the salary cap (i.e. would prevent us from signing UNDER the cap if we were otherwise under the cap by his salary factored by, IIRC, 150%) so it's irrelevant for purposes of comparison to the luxury cap.

**** In the case of Calderon, the most optimistic guess at his salary for this year would be $40 million over 5 years total, but max increases every year so that THIS year is the lowest possible salary ($6,314,000 at 8% raises each year would net him $40 million).

With a luxury cap of $71,150,000 I think we'd be looking at having $2,378,167 to spend without going over the luxury threshold. If Calderon is actually making closer to $8 million this year, that'd mean we'd actually have closer to $692,167. However, if Calderon isn't getting what I've projected this year and it's actually somewhere in between $6.314 and $8 million, like, say $7.5 million, we'd have around $1,192,167 to spend without entering luxury tax territory.

That could be two minimum salary players (Lucas and Benson?) or one veteran with up to 9 years experience (minimum salary for a nine year vet next year is $1,147,533), or some combination in between.

[The Answer!]

EventHorizon, if Hassan Adams received the same type of contract Jamario Moon received last season, wouldn't he be making $427,163 the first year, followed by a team option of $711,517 the next? I know it's not that big of a difference but I just thought I'd point that out. Regardless, keep up the good work.

*BTW, use this site instead for player salaries. It's a lot more accurate than HoopsHype.

Adams wouldn't be making $427,163 as that was the rookie minimum salary. He would be making $711,517 this year according to this http://www.insidehoops.com/minimum-nba-salary.shtml since it would be his 2nd year of service in the NBA.

That makes sense now. Thanks for clearing that up.

[dagger]

I'm not aware (and am highly skeptical of) any arrangement whereby Garbajosa's salary is reduced further if he signs with another team outside of the NBA. What if he signed a deal as a used car salesman and he sold 4 Porsches in his first year? Would his luxury tax hit be reduced by the amount HE made or the retail price of the car?

Garbo was waived after being bought out - standard procedure - so the question is whether the set-off rule applies here. The way the FAQ is written, it certainly could.

55. Do released players count against the cap? What is set-off?

Released (waived) players with guaranteed contracts continue to be included in team salary. Players whose contracts are not guaranteed are included in team salary in the amount they made while they were with the team. Players on non-guaranteed "summer contracts" are not included in team salary unless they make the regular season roster.

If another team signs a released player who had a guaranteed contract (as long as the player has cleared waivers -- see question number 54), the player's original team is allowed to reduce the amount of money they still owe the player (and lower their team salary) by a commensurate amount (this is called the right of set-off). This is true if the player signs with any professional team -- it doesn't even have to be an NBA team. The amount the original team gets to set off is limited to one-half the difference between the player's new salary and the minimum salary for a one-year veteran (if the player is a rookie, then the rookie minimum is used instead).

[satyr9]

***The cap hold on Delfino only applies to the salary cap (i.e. would prevent us from signing UNDER the cap if we were otherwise under the cap by his salary factored by, IIRC, 150%) so it's irrelevant for purposes of comparison to the luxury cap.

**** In the case of Calderon, the most optimistic guess at his salary for this year would be $40 million over 5 years total, but max increases every year so that THIS year is the lowest possible salary ($6,314,000 at 8% raises each year would net him $40 million).

I was with you (and hadn't even thought of the fact that Delfino's QO is irrelevant to the luxury tax, although depending on BC's plans and knowledge, it's not impossible that he's counting it in his math that put us 1173 under, but I wouldn't count on it).

The only part is how do you get a base of $6,314,000 with 8% raises for Calderon to get to 40? Since we have Bird rights we can go 10.5% if we want to, second the raises throughout the contract are tied to the first year salary. 3rd even with 10.5% raises of each previous year (raises not tied to the percentage of the first year) I still come up over a million short of 40.

What they'd look like if you could raise that percentage of each previous year:
with 8% raises
$6,314,000 $6,819,120 $7,364,650 $7,953,822 $8,590,127 Total=$37,041,718
with 10.5% raises
$6,314,000 $6,976,970 $7,709,552 $8,519,055 $9,413,556 Total=$38,933,132

What they'd look like with the current nba rules on raises:
with 8% raises
$6,314,000 $6,819,120 $7,324,240 $7,829,360 $8,334,480 Total=$36,621,200
with 10.5% raises
$6,314,000 $6,976,971 $7,639,941 $8,302,911 $8,965,881 Total=$38,199,706

The easiest way for me to figure out the lowest possible starting salary for a deal if you know the length, total and maximum allowable raises is to simply add on the number of single raises (in the second year the player gets 1 raise, the 3rd year it's equivalent to 2 more raises from the original, which means he's received 3 raises so far, and so on). On a 5 year deal with max raises that's equal to 10 raises (0 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4) of 8% or 10.5%, so if it's a 10.5% deal you simply divide the total by 6.05 (5 for the years + .105 * 10 for the raises). If it's 8% by the same math you divide by 5.8 instead of 6.05. So for a 5/40 deal at 10.5% raises the bare minimum starting salary is $6,611,570 (that's where the OP's number came from) and at 8% raises it's $6,896,552.

I know this is an incredibly long post for something not that complicated, but I'm also wondering if I'm screwing up somewhere, 'cause you obviously have things well thought through. Hopefully, this wasn't a total waste of time, but I'm pretty curious if there's something important I'm missing that'll get you to a $6,314,000 starting salary since I couldn't get there with any of the common alternative methods I've seen used.

Of course this is all irrelevant to Jose (but still interesting to me as far as understanding NBA contracts) since Jose didn't start at the bare minimum salary, since BC said they re-negotiated the first year down 60k without losing anything from the total amount, which would be impossible if they were already using max raises to get to 40 over 5.

[EventHorizon]

*Using basic algebra and BC's value of 1,107, I calculated Jose Calderon's 08/09 salary to be $7,302,674 which with 8% increases over 5 years would add up to $42,841,874. In this case Garbo's cap hit is still 4 mil.

*Using the same method, if Garbajosa's cap hit is 2 mil, Calderon's 08/09 salary could also be $9,302,674, which with 8% increases over 5 years would add up to $54,575,076.

I personally believe, that the first scenario is the case.

[hoophoophooray]

Satyr9.

Your calculations are right. The raises are not compounded as some others are calculating.

However since Calderon was able to defer $60,000 of salary, the original agreement was clearly not done with the maximum 10.5% raises(Bird rights). More likely the original agreement was something like 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0($40 million total). That would mean the revised contract might be 6.940, 7.515, 8.015, 8.515, 9.015.

[hoophoophooray]

Capologists.

Another thing that has not been mentioned yet is that free agents (not drafted players) who are signed at the minimum salary (ie Moon and Adams) are paid at that rate but are charged for luxury tax purposes at the minimum rate for a two year veteran.(see lcoon #16).

Both Moon and Adams are charged (luxury tax purposes) at $797,581 not $711,517.