NFL No rest for 49er brass who administer cap
Salary cap concerns keep San Francisco executives busy during the off-season.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
This time of year, most of the San Francisco 49ers headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., is as quiet as library.
After the NFL playoffs end, coaches occasionally can be seen studying film or evaluating scouting reports. Players stop by, sometimes to work out, sometimes to get treatment, sometimes to hang out.
But for the most part, the Marie P. DeBartolo Sports Centre is dormant until the April college draft approaches.
The exception is in the administrative offices upstairs in the 52,000 square-foot building.
While the players rest their aches and pains, and coaches spend much-needed time with the families they see little of in the fall, the front office remains a beehive of planning.
For the NFL executives, there really is no off-season.
"Right now, the building is kind of quiet," said Dominic Corsell, the 49ers salary cap coordinator for seven seasons. "This is our time."
Busy time: Corsell, a Youngstown native, says his work on the next season begins in mid-October when the NFL releases an estimated salary cap.
"The cap number is based on the league's defined gross revenues," Corsell said. "Based on previous numbers, they can give us a pretty good estimate on what the cap will be because so many of our numbers are fixed."
Because the NFL has long-term television contracts that are shared equally, the league can make solid plans on how much revenue teams can spend on players.
"Not much fluctuates," said Corsell, citing the 49ers' sold-out season-ticket support. "The exception is when a new stadium opens and the revenue stream is affected."
For instance, the Pittsburgh Steelers' income was dramatically altered last season with the opening of Heinz Field. For the 2001 season, the Steelers sold club-level tickets for $155, about three times what their top ticket price was at Three Rivers Stadium.
As teams scramble for playoff positions in December, the NFL sends audit teams to visit the front offices where they calculate gross revenues.
Estimates: In January, the league informs teams of the actual salary cap bottom line. That's when the budget-conscious front office executives get busy.
Corsell said the NFL does a good job with their estimates.
"The estimate they gave us was $71.7 million," Corsell said, "and the actual number was $71.1 million."
The formula isn't complicated -- according to the league's agreement with the NFL Players Association, the salary cap must be 63 percent of the league's revenues.
Armed with the cap number, Corsell's staff goes to work, first determining how much over the cap the current contracts are and then deciding which players have deals that can be shed or restructured.
The goal is to free up enough money to pursue free agents on March 1.
"The period from the end of the season through February is our busiest season," Corsell said of the front office. "The first day of the league's new year is March 1. We have to be in compliance with the new salary cap by then."
Retain better players: This year, by coincidence, March 1 also was part of the weekend for the NFL Combine where some of the best college players workout for NFL coaches, scouts and executives in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
The goal for salary cap managers on a successful team is to find a way to retain as many of its better players as possible.
Because teams know that negotiations can be distractions, Corsell said "you never want to talk to a player when the season is going on."
That's why the winter months are crunch time for front office executives.
This year, Corsell, who works closely with John McVay, director of football operations and Terry Donahue, general manager, found the 49ers were just $3.5 million over the cap (compared to $30 million in 1999).
"It sounds easier, but actually managing the cap gets more difficult because we [now] have young players we'd like to keep," Corsell said. "In the past, we were an older team with a lot of room to work with, as far as releasing players and restructuring deals."
Better than expected: The climate is different this winter because the 49ers surprised everyone last fall with a 12-4 season and a return to the playoffs.
"A lot of our players have low salaries now, but are in position to get raises," Corsell said.
Corsell says the planning for the January-February salary cap season begins in October for himself, Donahue, McVay and team consultant Bill Walsh.
"We basically work about a half-a-season ahead," Corsell said. "First, we see [how much money] is under contract for next year. Then we do a budget, factoring in potential free agents to re-sign, draft picks and overruns from incentives likely to be met."
From this budget, the team can tell which players have contracts that are conducive to restructuring.
"The actual plan may change five-to-six times from October through February," Corsell said.
A major factor is success on the field. Last year's dream season means the team has to plan for pay raises sooner than expected.
"But you never get mad about winning," said Corsell, who admitted his job becomes a lot trickier when "players max out their performance incentives."
williams@vindy.com