For the hundreds of unrestricted and unattached veteran free agents still seeking a job offer for the 2001 season, the situation grew ever more desperate on Friday, with the likelihood that an already glutted market is about to become even more crowded in the next month.
On its website, the NFL Players Association on Friday advised agents of each team's respective rookie pool allocation for 2001. The numbers, obtained by SportsLine.com, clearly augur another purge of veterans so franchises can clear sufficient salary cap space to accommodate draft picks.
The rookie allocation essentially is a pool within a pool, the maximum amount of salary cap space a team can budget to its draft picks and also undrafted free agents. It is a part of, and not separate from, the leaguewide $67.4 million spending limit per team.
According to the NFLPA, this year's record rookie pool is $112.986 million, or about $3.645 million per franchise, with each club's allocation based on the number of draft picks it exercised last weekend and the rounds in which they were chosen. Four franchises were awarded rookie pools of more than $5 million.
The Seattle Seahawks, who had a pair of first-round selections and tied for the most picks overall with 12, received the highest allocation, $5.886 million. The lowest rookie pool, $2.105 million, was awarded to the Tennessee Titans.
Most important, however, is that the rookie pool dwarfs the total cap room available leaguewide. According to updated NFL Management Council documents obtained by SportsLine.com, there is only $62.4 million of aggregate spending room available, less than $2 million per team.
The difference between the aggregate rookie pool allocation and combined cap room available is about $50.4 million.
Said the general manager of one AFC team which will have to create significant salary cap room to sign its draft choices: "The handwriting is on the wall for some veterans. Either they will have to restructure their contracts or be released. When that June 1 date rolls around, there are going to be more cuts and the market really is going to be tight. All those guys turning up their noses at the minimum salary contracts ($477,000) they're being offered now will be banging down our doors trying to get the same deal a month from now."
Because of the so-called "rule of 51" -- which stipulates that only the 51 highest-paid players on a team's roster count against its salary cap during the offseason -- clubs will not have to carve out the entire difference between their available cap space and rookie pool allocation. For the most part, teams' middle- and low-round draft choices don't rate among the 51 highest-paid players on the roster and make no dent in the salary cap.
Still, it appears that between 18-20 teams will have to create significant salary cap room before they can begin signing their high-round draft selections.
Here is a look at the remaining cap room for each team and their rookie pool allocation:
Arizona Cardinals -- $4.9 million -- $5.672 million
Atlanta Falcons -- $860,000 -- $5.248 million
Baltimore Ravens -- $2.9 million -- $2.834 million
Buffalo Bills -- $821,000 -- $4.601 million
Carolina Panthers -- $290,000 -- $3.743 million
Chicago Bears -- $2.8 million -- $3.656 million
Cincinnati Bengals -- $10.4 million -- $4.354 million
Cleveland Browns -- $5.7 million -- $4.748 million
Dallas Cowboys -- $139,000 -- $2.869 million
Denver Broncos -- $2.2 million -- $2.823 million
Detroit Lions -- $1.3 million -- $2.931 million
Green Bay Packers -- $1.3 million -- $3.505 million
Indianapolis Colts -- $630,000 -- $3.068 million
Jacksonville Jaguars -- $800,000 -- $4.008 million
Kansas City Chiefs -- $636,000 -- $2.551 million
Miami Dolphins -- $1.5 million -- $3.478 million
Minnesota Vikings -- $1.9 million -- $3.129 million
New England Patriots -- $2.4 million -- $4.699 million
New Orleans Saints -- $399,000 -- $2.817 million
New York Giants -- $37,000 -- $2.766 million
New York Jets -- $260,000 -- $2.914 million
Oakland Raiders -- $2.2 million -- $2.754 million
Philadelphia Eagles -- $7.0 million -- $2.768 million
Pittsburgh Steelers -- $1.0 million -- $3.016 million
San Diego Chargers -- $290,000 -- $4.468 million
San Francisco 49ers -- $526,000 -- $4.014 million
St. Louis Rams -- $3.5 million -- $5.552 million
Seattle Seahawks -- $4.7 million -- $5.886 million
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- $359,000 -- $3.310 million
Tennessee Titans -- $200,000 -- $2.105 million
Washington Redskins -- $459,000 -- $2.701 million
Total -- $62.406 million -- $112.986 million