tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18324568.post7388322465053304792..comments2024-02-06T01:05:33.149-05:00Comments on The Ragnarok: Weekend Roundup: BERNARD BERRIAN!!!TBird41http://www.blogger.com/profile/12561900451394323315noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18324568.post-40198309205113261252008-03-04T04:28:00.000-05:002008-03-04T04:28:00.000-05:00That "cap management" is something of an aberratio...That "cap management" is something of an aberration.<BR/><BR/>Just about every significant contract for a Vikings player includes performance bonuses with large payouts but outlandish stipulations. An example of this is Daunte Culpepper's 2003 contract; allegedly one of his performance bonuses required him to be on the field for at least 75% of the special teams plays for the season.<BR/><BR/>Now the reason I brought that up is because of an NFL rule regarding performance bonuses. Ostensibly, if the sum of all <B>bonuses that were not earned</B> is greater than the sum of <B>bonuses that were actually earned,</B> the difference in amount is applied to the team's salary cap the following season. Sports Illustrated's Reuben Frank <A HREF="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/reuben_frank/03/01/cap.figures/index.html" REL="nofollow">recently posted a good write up of this in action,</A> although this kind of thing has been going on since McCombs owned the team.<BR/><BR/>In all likelihood the overpaying for Berrian and Williams that's perceived to be foolish by many (read: other team's fans) is a necessary step that lets the Vikings inflate their salary cap figure next year. This year it's almost $18.5 million more than the league average, which probably has less to do with the offseason signings of Shiancoe and Wade but is likely attributable to the mid-2006 season contract extensions for McKinnie, Henderson and Kevin Williams.<BR/><BR/>As for Berrian, I hope he's not as one-dimensional as made out to be in Chicago (burner only productive when running a lot of fly routes or comebacks, sloppy running most other routes, not fond of the middle/underneath). Supposedly he's gotten better every year (especially the route-running), but I have no real perspective on that, having seen little of him in seasons prior to 2007.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com