It's been well documented that the Oakland Raiders are up against the salary cap. In fact, they are so up against the cap that they are right over it. I think we were all hoping that the "dead" money wouldn't be counted, and that would lower them below the mystical threshold. It looks like it will be counted, but they are going to get some relief of a different kind.
If you've been following the comments section than you have likely already caught wind of this as PantyRaider has updated much of this information, but I reckon it is due a little front page breakdown. According to ProFootballTalk.com the 2011 cap is going to be set at $120.375 million. But there is going to be some wiggle room on that number.
Teams are going to have a $3.5 million fund that they can use to go towards veterans that won't count against the cap. They will also have $3 million dollars that they can borrow from the 2011 salary cap. With a new TV deal the cap is going to rise, which will lessen the blow of borrowing. Also to ease teams into this they will be able to borrow $1.5 million from the 2013 cap for 2012.
And all of that means that the Raiders will be able to spend $126.875 million. The Raiders are still over that figure, but at least it is closer. Now let's just wait and see what kind of contract magic this team can work to move under that figure.
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