Contract Proration Ratios

This table explores the balance between the two primary methods teams use to structure guaranteed money in non-rookie contracts: signing bonuses that are prorated over the length of the contract to a maximum of five years; and guaranteed base salaries that are not prorated but kept within a particular year. The contracts included are those agreed upon by each current general manager or top executive during his or her tenure with the team.

Teams with a higher proration ratio rely heavier on signing bonuses that offer more salary cap room in the present but contain the potential for higher dead money in the future. Teams with a lower proration ratio incur higher cap charges at the beginning of the contract but gain more flexibility to alter or terminate the contract in later years.

For this table, a top executive's tenure is considered to begin in the first year he or she is a top executive at the start of that respective league year. Those that have yet to achieve this will not show on this table until that moment occurs.

Proration Ratio League Average: 4.81

Proration Ratio League Median: 1.61

TeamTop ExecutiveTenureTotal GuaranteesSigning BonusesSalary GuaranteesProration Ratio
SeahawksJohn Schneider2010$290,833,895$286,845,176$3,988,71971.91
RamsLes Snead2012$210,895,657$202,285,675$8,609,98223.49
PackersBrian Gutekunst2018$255,211,108$229,149,599$26,061,5098.79
SteelersOmar Khan2022$165,658,510$148,320,224$17,338,2868.55
RavensEric DeCosta2019$507,187,603$401,827,195$105,360,4083.81
BengalsMike Brown1991$292,651,105$221,813,880$70,837,2253.13
TexansNick Caserio2021$243,260,508$184,058,632$59,201,8763.11
JetsJoe Douglas2020$449,638,912$332,257,136$117,381,7762.83
CommandersRon Rivera2020$301,968,707$222,336,704$79,632,0032.79
49ersJohn Lynch2017$428,908,444$300,182,524$128,725,9202.33
CardinalsMonti Ossenfort2023$59,585,112$39,477,248$20,107,8641.96
LionsBrad Holmes2021$238,936,659$156,101,232$82,835,4271.88
PanthersScott Fitterer2021$266,415,443$170,920,952$95,494,4911.79
PatriotsBill Belichick2000$245,871,595$155,738,154$90,133,4411.73
BrownsAndrew Berry2020$597,294,352$376,508,028$220,786,3241.71
ChargersTom Telesco2013$494,986,197$310,560,275$184,425,9221.68
TitansRan Carthon2023$105,773,856$65,266,656$40,507,2001.61
BillsBrandon Beane2018$481,784,013$296,529,797$185,254,2161.60
CowboysJerry Jones1994$349,982,149$201,851,392$148,130,7571.36
BroncosGeorge Paton2021$410,133,136$228,955,562$181,177,5741.26
FalconsTerry Fontenot2021$354,377,779$196,583,952$157,793,8271.25
JaguarsTrent Baalke2022$303,913,403$161,078,176$142,835,2271.13
ColtsChris Ballard2017$283,875,642$149,172,116$134,703,5261.11
DolphinsChris Grier2019$459,868,201$237,927,788$221,940,4131.07
VikingsKwesi Adofo-Mensah2022$176,450,813$91,261,300$85,189,5131.07
GiantsJoe Schoen2022$294,988,606$147,163,064$147,825,5421.00
SaintsMickey Loomis2001$417,887,027$204,028,624$213,858,4030.95
BearsRyan Poles2022$180,757,219$81,909,628$98,847,5910.83
RaidersDave Ziegler2022$222,354,324$98,698,646$123,655,6780.80
ChiefsBrett Veach2018$340,068,568$122,229,128$217,839,4400.56
BuccaneersJason Licht2014$308,480,140$61,646,428$246,833,7120.25
EaglesHowie Roseman2010$478,719,141$671,151,908($192,432,767)-3.49