Crunching Numbers

Book excerpt: The authoritative guide on the National Football League (NFL) salary cap and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Crunching Numbers: An Inside Look at the Salary Cap and Negotiating Player Contracts is the perfect book for any NFL fan to broaden their understanding of the rules and decision making processes general managers face each day, as they construct their team. Crunching Numbers goes into great detail to explain how the money works. Key concepts from the NFL CBA such as signing bonuses, dead money, free agency, salary guarantees, franchise tags, termination pay, minimum salary benefit, bonus forfeitures, grievances, and many more will be looked at closely. By using practical case player examples to illustrate the concepts within the CBA, readers will learn how to calculate a player's salary cap number and the ways in which teams manipulate those numbers to work within the NFL rules. In addition, Crunching Numbers explores ways to benchmark contracts and the roles team contract negotiators play in today's NFL. Whether you are a student with aspirations of working in an NFL front office, a sports agent, a sports writer or just an avid fan, Crunching Numbers will help you better understand the intricacies of the NFL's player's contracts, the salary cap, and salary cap management. For more information, please visit www.CrunchingNumbersBook.com. Praise for Crunching Numbers "Crunching Numbers fills the void that has existed for years when it comes to understanding NFL contracts and the rules regarding the salary cap." - Paraag Marathe, Executive VP of Football Operations, San Francisco 49ers "A must read for all who want to learn about NFL contracts and the salary cap." - Jason LaCanfora, CBS Sports "I've been covering the NFL since the 90's and consider Jason and Vijay to be indispensable resources for all things relating to the salary cap. Their extensive knowledge of the CBA shines through in this collaboration." - Mike Sando, ESPN Senior Writer and Pro Football Hall of Fame Selector "Crunching Numbers is a welcome addition to the sports management education literature. Fitzgerald and Natarajan's work provides and inside view far more credible than anecdotal commentaries, uncovering the accounting and strategy behind the NFL salary cap." - Dr. Kristi Sweeney, Assistant Professor, University of North Florida About the Authors Jason Fitzgerald is the founder of the website OverTheCap.com, which focuses on contract analytics and bench marking contracts. Jason is considered a salary cap expert and has been hired as a consultant by NFL teams and sports agencies to conduct contract analytic projects. His work has been cited by numerous print and digital media including Sports Illustrated, NFL.com, the New York Times, Boston Globe, and the Seattle Times to name a few. Jason has been a contributing writer for the Sporting News. Vijay Natarajan works in the athlete representation field overseeing the day to day operations for the NFL clients of KLASS Sports, LLC. Vijay performs statistical analysis and focuses numerous studies on expected contract trends. He is an expert at sports collective bargaining agreements, salary cap analysis, and player contract negotiations. Vijay has also worked closely on NBA player contract negotiations and is well versed in NBA contract analytics.