We close out the regular season on a high note with Sean Pendergast of CBS Radio and SportsRadio610 Houston. Sean and TexansCap dove into the David Culley situation, how the Brian Flores firing effects Deshaun Watson, thoughts on the loss to Tennessee Titans, the continued progression of Davis Mills, and which players are the team MVP for the offense, defense, and rookie class.
> 
Podcast (cap-trade-with-tc): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
This week TexansCap is joined by Aaron Wilson of SportsTalk790 Houston. We dove heavily into the future of the organization, what’s next for head coach David Culley, and the Deshaun Watson situation. We also discussed potential re-signings for the pending free agents currently on the roster.
>
Podcast (cap-trade-with-tc): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Player incentives are something that myself and Houston fans are not used to hearing about. Rick Smith was the General Manager from 2006 through 2017 (along with capologist Chris Olsen) and did not employ the use of player/team incentives into player contracts. That practice has since changed dramatically with new General Manager Nick Caserio. Caserio came over from New England where incentives were heavily used. Interim General Manager tandem of Bill O’Brien and Jack Easterby started the process in 2020 with incentives sprinkled into a few contracts. Caserio took that to a new level, negotiating incentives into the majority of free agent contracts signed during the 2021 season including offseason and in-season contracts.
Given that Houston fans are likely not familiar with incentives and how they can affect the team’s salary cap; this was a good time to explain how they work. We will also show where each player stands with their individual incentives heading into the last game of the regular season. We will not cover salary escalators as Houston has not deployed escalators as of yet.
For specific details into incentives and the list of specific incentives available, you can refer to the Collective Bargaining Agreement Article 13 Section 6 Part C.
Acronyms:
Incentives can effect the player and team salary cap in various ways, and impact the cash spending for the team. Incentives can be used in practically any contract, including rookie contracts. However they are primarily used in non-rookie contracts. Referencing the above link to the CBA section on Incentives, there is a specific list of available incentives that may be negotiated into a contract.
Incentives that are considered to be LTBE will impact the cap charge for the current year. For an incentive to be LTBE, the league will reference the player’s performance in that category from the previous year. For example, if a player has a playing time incentive of 55% of defensive snaps worth $250,000 for the 2021 season. If the player played in 62% of the defensive snaps (no matter what team) then the $250,000 is considered LTBE and would count towards the player’s 2021 salary cap charge.
Conversely, using the same example, if the player played in 48% of the defensive snaps in 2020 then the $250,000 would be considered NTLBE and would not impact the 2021 salary cap.
After the conclusion of the regular season the teams will calculate all the incentives for players to determine the amount of cash earned through incentives on top of the player’s base salary.
If a NLTBE incentive is earned in 2021, and the same incentive is in place for 2022 then the incentive becomes LTBE and will be charged to the 2022 salary cap for that player. The team will also receive a debit towards the 2022 salary cap through the annual adjustment. Conversely, if a player has a LTBE incentive in 2021 that is not earned, then the team will receive a cap credit in 2022 annual adjustment for the corresponding amount and the incentive becomes NLTBE in 2022.
Teams can utilize incentives to manipulate cap space in the immediate year. Looking at David Johnson in the table below, the first tier of his Total Yards incentive is 1,006 yards. David Johnson had 1,005 total yards in 2020. Therefore this makes the incentive NLTBE and does not count towards the 2021 salary cap.
Sounds more confusing that it is. Below is a table for the Houston Texans players that have incentives and where they stand heading into Week 18 of the regular season. The amounts in Bold & Italics are considered LTBE for 2021. Everything else is considered to be NLTBE for 2021. The dollar amounts stack as each tier is achieved. The incentives listed as Yes Achieved, that is based on projection heading into the last game of the season.
| Player | Incentives | Detail | Value | Achieved |
| Taylor, Tyrod | $ 6,500,000 | 60% Off Snap | $ 1,000,000 | No |
| 70% Off Snap | $ 1,000,000 | No | ||
| 80% Off Snap | $ 1,000,000 | No | ||
| 90% Off Snap | $ 1,000,000 | No | ||
| 60% + Playoff | $ 1,000,000 | No | ||
| 70% + Playoff | $ 1,000,000 | No | ||
| Pro Bowl | $ 500,000 | No | ||
| Britt, Justin | $ 1,800,000 | 55% Off Snap | $ 450,000 | Yes |
| 65% Off Snap | $ 450,000 | Approaching | ||
| 75% Off Snap | $ 450,000 | No | ||
| 85% Off Snap | $ 450,000 | No | ||
| Kirksey, Christian | $ 1,500,000 | 55% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | Yes |
| 65% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | Yes | ||
| 75% Def Snap | $ 500,000 | Approaching | ||
| 85% Def Snap | $ 500,000 | No | ||
| Johnson, David | $ 1,000,000 | 57% Off Snap | $ 250,000 | No |
| 65% Off Snap | $ 250,000 | No | ||
| 1006 Total Yards | $ 250,000 | No | ||
| 1200 Total Yards | $ 250,000 | No | ||
| Collins, Maliek | $ 1,000,000 | 50% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | Yes |
| 60% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | Approaching | ||
| 70% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | No | ||
| 80% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | No | ||
| Cannon, Marcus | $ 750,000 | 80% Off Snap | $ 800,000 | No |
| 90% Off Snap | $ 850,000 | No | ||
| Grugier-Hill, Kamu | $ 750,000 | 30% Def Snap | $ 125,000 | Yes |
| 40% Def Snap | $ 125,000 | Yes | ||
| 50% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | Yes | ||
| 60% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | Yes | ||
| McCray, Justin | $ 750,000 | 35% Off Snap | $ 187,500 | Yes |
| 45% Off Snap | $ 187,500 | Yes | ||
| 55% Off Snap | $ 187,500 | Approaching | ||
| 65% Off Snap | $ 187,500 | No | ||
| Murray, Eric | $ 750,000 | 60% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | Yes |
| 70% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | Approaching | ||
| 80% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | No | ||
| Amendola, Danny | $ 700,000 | 45% Off Snap | $ 140,000 | No |
| 55% Off Snap | $ 140,000 | No | ||
| 50 receptions | $ 140,000 | No | ||
| 60 receptions | $ 140,000 | No | ||
| 70 receptions | $ 140,000 | No | ||
| Brown, Pharaoh | $ 600,000 | 30% Off Snap | $ 150,000 | Yes |
| 40% Off Snap | $ 150,000 | Yes | ||
| 50% Off Snap | $ 150,000 | Yes | ||
| 60% Off Snap | $ 150,000 | Approaching | ||
| Taylor, Vincent | $ 500,000 | 20% Def Snap | $ 100,000 | No |
| 30% Def Snap | $ 100,000 | No | ||
| 40% Def Snap | $ 100,000 | No | ||
| 50% Def Snap | $ 100,000 | No | ||
| 60% Def Snap | $ 100,000 | No | ||
| Pierre-Louis, Kevin | $ 500,000 | 60% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | No |
| 70% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | No | ||
| Mitchell, Terrance | $ 500,000 | 80% Def Snap | $ 500,000 | No |
| King, Desmond | $ 500,000 | 60% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | Yes |
| 70% Def Snap | $ 250,000 | Yes | ||
| Conley, Chris | $ 500,000 | 45% Off Snap | $ 100,000 | Yes |
| 55% Off Snap | $ 100,000 | Yes | ||
| 45 Receptions | $ 100,000 | No | ||
| 55 Receptions | $ 100,000 | No | ||
| 65 Receptions | $ 100,000 | No | ||
| Wilson, Eric | $ 500,000 | 70% + Improvement | $ 125,000 | No |
| 80% + Improvement | $ 125,000 | No | ||
| 90% + Improvement | $ 250,000 | No | ||
| Burkhead, Rex | $ 500,000 | 30% Off Snap | $ 125,000 | Approaching |
| 40% Off Snap | $ 125,000 | No | ||
| 500 Total Yards | $ 125,000 | Yes | ||
| 650 Total Yards | $ 125,000 | Approaching | ||
| Hewitt, Neville | $ 300,000 | 50% Def Snap | $ 150,000 | No |
| 70% Def Snap | $ 150,000 | No | ||
| Brooks, Terrence | $ 250,000 | 40% Def Snap | $ 125,000 | No |
| 50% Def Snap | $ 125,000 | No | ||
| Davis, Tae | $ 150,000 | 15% Def Snap | $ 50,000 | No |
| 20% Def Snap | $ 50,000 | No | ||
| 25% Def Snap | $ 50,000 | No |
TexansCap is back with another great episode joined by returning guests Mike Meltser and Landry Locker. We covered the Houston Texans big win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Davis Mills’ performance, the impact of Nick Caserio’s first draft class, and what to look for in the 2022 draft.
>
Podcast (cap-trade-with-tc): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
This week TexansCap was joined by Cody Stoots of ESPN Radio 97.5. This was a jam packed episode. We covered the situation in Jacksonville, the win for the Texans over the Jaguars, potential candidates as Houston’s next head coach if Culley is fired, update on the Deshaun Watson situation, and more.
>
Podcast (cap-trade-with-tc): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
TexansCap is joined by returning guests Mike Meltser and Landry Locker. This week we dove heavy into the Nick Caserio interview with SportsRadio 610 Houston and what his answers could mean for the rest of 2021 and beyond. Discussions explored Caserio’s roster building tactics and what to expect for 2022. This was a fun session with a lot of humor included.
>
Podcast (cap-trade-with-tc): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Mark Berman of Fox26 Houston dropped the news today on the Houston Texans release of veteran LB Zach Cunningham
Houston signed Cunningham to a 4 year contract extension on August 31, 2020 worth a total value of $58 million with $23.5 million fully guaranteed with a total guarantee of $33.5m. This contract was negotiated by the former front office regime of Bill O’Brien and VP of Football Ops Jack Easterby. Cunningham was a 2nd round in the 2017 draft for Houston and was an outstanding player during the first few years of his career.
Cunningham did not fit well with the 4-3 Tampa 2 system brought in by new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith for 2021. Cunningham’s snaps continued to drop as the season progressed. Cunningham did see more time on the field during the injury of Christian Kirksey, only to be inactive upon the return of Kirksey.
Cunningham reportedly missed a COVID test prior to the Indianapolis game which led to his inactive status. There has been continued frustration between Cunningham and the organization dating back to training camp. To make matters worse, GM Caserio completed a maximum contract restructure in March to free up 2021 cap dollars for additional free agent acquisitions.
The Texans attempted to trade Cunningham multiple times both during preseason and leading up to the trade deadline during the season. The team could not find any takers. The animosity between the two sides came to a head today with the release.
Aaron Wilson has additional information on the multiple issues here.
Cunningham will now go through waivers. The contract is very claimable for 2021 with $422k remaining in salary + per game roster bonus pay for the remainder for 2021. However the contract does include a $10 million injury guarantee for 2022, which also vests to a full guarantee on the 5th day of the 2022 league year. The injury guarantee will likely scare teams off making claim. If Cunningham clears waivers he will become a street free agent with the ability to sign with any of the other 31 teams.
The release will leave $5.5 million dead money in 2021 and $12.8 million dead money in 2022.