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Kick the Can Strategy: NFL Definition
A cap management approach where teams repeatedly push salary cap obligations into future years through restructures and void years, prioritizing present competitiveness at the expense of future financial flexibility.
Full Explanation
"Kick the can" is an NFL salary cap strategy where teams continually push cap obligations into future years, deferring financial pain to maintain short-term competitiveness. The primary tools are contract restructures (converting salary to prorated bonus) and void years (adding empty contract years to extend the proration window). Each move creates immediate cap space but adds to the pile of future obligations.
This strategy is most commonly employed by teams with aging rosters built around a franchise quarterback or a specific championship window. The logic is straightforward: if you believe your window to win is now, future cap problems are acceptable because you can deal with them later through more restructures, player turnover, and natural cap growth. The annual increase in the salary cap (driven by growing TV revenue) partially bails out teams that kick the can, as a $10 million cap charge becomes less significant when the overall cap rises from $224 million to $275 million.
The danger of kick-the-can is that it can spiral. Each restructure makes the next one less effective because there are fewer remaining contract years to spread money over. Eventually, teams hit a point where their committed cap charges are so high that even restructures cannot create enough space, leading to a painful reset year where multiple veterans must be released. The Saints have been the poster child for this approach, managing to remain competitive for years while carrying enormous future obligations.
Category: Cap Strategies. Part of the StickToTheModel NFL Encyclopedia.