Jaguars cap issues affecting contract negotiations with Yannick Ngakoue

The salary cap has affected how the Jacksonville Jaguars have negotiated a new deal for DE Yannick Ngakoue.

I have never been great at math, which is the reason I write for a living. But when looking at the Jacksonville Jaguars and the situation with Yannick Ngakoue and his current contract negotiation, I can plainly see that the decisions of this team the past couple of seasons are hampering the organization from making a deal.

That and the fact Nagkoue is seeking a deal that is more financially sound than the reported deal the team offered him that was somewhere around $19 million per season with $50 million paid out over the first two seasons of the contract.

The coaching staff does expect Ngakoue to return to the team before Aug. 9 so he does not lose his fourth year in the league and essentials faces the same situation he is in now. The former third-round pick out of Maryland in 2016 will make slightly over $2 million in 2018.

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And just like other players on the roster, he has outplayed the original deal he signed out of college.

Part of the blame in not getting a deal done sooner with Ngakoue, who has 29.5 sacks in three seasons for the team, is that the franchise is dealing with dead cap money they cannot move on from. It’s something Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com wrote about, outlining the problems that exist from a financial standpoint.

"“The Jaguars are carrying $24.4 million in dead money in 2019, the fifth-highest total in the league this season. The bulk of that total is the $16.5 million from the release of quarterback Blake Bortles. That’s the highest single-player total in NFL history,” he explains."

The team also must deal with dead cap money associated with the contracts of Malik Jackson, Tashaun Gipson and Austin Seferian-Jenkins to the tune of $7.2 million.

"“An additional $16.5 million in cap space would have given the Jaguars much more room to maneuver in negotiating an extension for Ngakoue by allowing them to assume a bigger chunk of the new deal in 2019,” DiRocco adds."

The team is hopeful the $9.75 million they get back from the contract of Telvin Smith now that the linebacker has filed for retirement this season will help with their cap situation. Also, should the Jaguars wait until after this season to negotiate a deal with Ngakoue, which is a gamble on both sides, they could be able to offer him a bigger deal when they release other high-priced veterans in 2020.

"“The Jaguars can spend that money and be at the cap limit, but if Smith decided he did want to return, the Jaguars would have to cut players to create $9.75 million,” DiRocco writes."