Sep 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) runs with the football against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline
Through the trials and tribulations of Howie Roseman's career, there's never been a question about one aspect of him as an executive — he's a wizard with the salary cap.
In a new longform piece, ESPN's Kalyn Kahler reported on an increasing trend in the NFL of insuring major contracts. That part isn't a new development, although the extent to which this is prevalent in the sport may be. And the reason pertains in part to salary cap manipulation.
"The CBA labels insurance proceeds as a 'refund from the player,' which qualifies the amount as a cap credit for the club for the following season. In the simplest terms, if a player who eats up a significant portion of a club's salary cap misses significant time with injury or illness, a club doesn't have to take it as a total loss, but can recover space for the following year. Plus, insurance premium payments don't count against the salary cap."
What's the most interesting part as it pertains to the Eagles is they obviously have insurance policies on Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown. But in Kahler's reporting, she noted that the Eagles have policies that insure "at least 16 players for 2024." And it's not all players on megadeals like Hurts and Brown.
"They've got the usual high rollers. Quarterback Jalen Hurts' contract is insured for $63.75 million for 2024 (out of the $110 million guaranteed in his deal), and receiver A.J. Brown's contract is insured for $29.8 million for 2024 (out of the $51 million guaranteed in his deal). But they also insure three players on rookie contracts for small sums between $750,000 and $2.5 million for 2024, one of whom, center Cam Jurgens, has $3.9 million in guaranteed money."
Roseman declined to speak to Kahler for the story, not surprisingly. He has nothing to gain by revealing exactly how the Eagles determine what players to insure, and for how much to insure them. Even someone who was described as "an insurance industry source" admitted "I have no clue" when asked why the Eagles seem to be more aggressive in insuring their roster.
The reporting from Kahler is borderline groundbreaking, but it feels like it's just scratching the surface on trying to understand how different teams choose to operate in this regard. It's particularly relevant since Kahler would go on to note that "the NFL management council, which runs point on salary cap and contract matters, has been discussing eliminating the cap relief benefit to some teams."
Roseman may very well just find another loophole in the event of the cap relief benefit being eliminated, as it's clearly an organization advantage to have him in the building in regards to the salary cap, regardless of how you feel about his personnel evaluation. But this feels like a major story that will have ramifications on the Eagles one way or another, even if we're just beginning to understand it.
