Salary cap issues????

Joel, Bryan and Edward Glazer

For the past several years almost every Buccaneers fan has moaned and groaned that the Glazers are cheap and do not spend the money it takes to be a competitive team in the NFL.  Well hold your lips together folks, those days are gone.

The Buccaneers have currently used $133.5 million of the $146 million cap space that is available to them this year.  It is pretty certain that the signing of first round picks Mark Barron and Doug Martin will take up somewhere near half of the $12 million in remaining space.

Looking towards the future, 2013's salary cap is projected to be in the $120 million range.  The Buccaneers, following the trade of Winslow and his inflated cap hit, now have approximately $112 million dedicated toward the 2013 cap number.  The Buccaneers have players such as Ronde Barber, Jeremy Trueblood, Sammie Stroughter, Roy Miller, Amobe Okoye, Michael Bennett, and a host of others that will be free agents at the end of the 2012 season. They will also have Josh Freeman, Mike Williams, and Brian Price that will be entering their last year of their contract in the 2013 season.

That being said, you may see even more cap maneuvering occur during the 2012 season. For instance, if the Bucs decide to renegotiate Josh Freeman's contract, they can spread the value of his new contract out over its length, and any cap room attained for the team is gained positively. At the same time though, just as Winslow being traded cleared almost $6 million in cap room, other players with large cap hits better be performing up to their potential.

GM Mark Dominik

Fans have asked for money to be spent. The Buccaneers have answered that request. Now let's see if GM Mark Dominik can handle some salary cap dancing.