NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL’s salary cap is going up $10 million to $143.28 million for the 2015 season.
All 32 teams and the players’ union were notified Monday of the increase, the second straight season the cap went up by at least $10 million. Adding in benefits, the league says the projected player costs will be $180.775 million per team.
The NFL’s business year starts March 10, when free agency begins.
The salary cap is determined by a series of NFL revenue streams, with the players receiving 46 percent to 48 percent of those revenues, depending on the year.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Lions’ website is reporting that the team will not use the franchise tag on star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
Monday is the deadline for teams to designate franchise or transition players. Suh can test the open market when free agency begins March 10.
The Lions did not officially confirm the decision to let the deadline pass without franchising their 28-year-old All-Pro, but the report on the team’s website said Detroit concluded that the franchise tag’s price of around $27 million for Suh proved too daunting. Last month, general manager Martin Mayhew said he was “very optimistic” about getting a deal done with Suh, but the franchise tag was probably the team’s best source of leverage, and even that would have come at a prohibitive cost.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Two industrial engineering students at the University at Buffalo have been working on a new NFL schedule to minimize competitive imbalance.
Kyle Cunningham and Niraj Pandy say they’ve developed an algorithm that comes close to matching — and in some cases improving — a schedule the NFL produces each year.
They say they’ve reduced the number of times that teams play more-rested opponents coming off a bye week or a Thursday night game. They eventually developed a program that produced a variety of schedules in which no team played more than two games against more-rested opponents per season.
The study was prompted in 2013 when the Buffalo Bills complained their schedule included six games against opponents coming off extended breaks.
The students are presenting their findings today in Boston.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs waived veteran tight end Anthony Fasano on Thursday, freeing up about $2 million in salary cap space that they could use to keep All-Pro linebacker Justin Houston.
The Chiefs have been unable to come to a long-term deal with Houston, making it likely that they will place the franchise tag on him. But the deadline for that designation is Monday, and the Chiefs needed to free up salary cap space to do it.
If franchised, Houston would play next season on a one-year deal worth about $13 million.
Fasano, who turns 31 this year, caught 25 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns last season. He had two years left on his four-year contract.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers will bid to host the college football playoff championship game at Levi’s Stadium.
A person with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the team will seek to host either the 2018, ’19 or ’20 title game when they come up for bid later this year. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because there has been no announcement about the plans.
Cities interested in hosting one of those three title games have until May to bid. A decision on the winners is expected in the fall.
While the semifinal games in the four-team playoff have been awarded to existing bowl games, playoff officials have opened up the championship game to all cities.
AT&T Stadium in the Dallas area hosted the first college championship game last month between Ohio State and Oregon. The next two title games have been awarded to Glendale, Arizona, and Tampa, Florida.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — A person with knowledge of the negotiations confirms the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning’s representatives are discussing ways to revise his contract and give the team more flexibility in free agency.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks.
Manning, who has made more money than any player in pro football history, is due to make another $19 million in both 2015 and ’16, and his salary cap number for next season is $21.2 million.
John Elway has traditionally been one of the more aggressive general managers in the NFL when it comes to free agency.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two members of Congress have asked NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to clarify whether teams can lose draft picks if they do not properly address domestic violence.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Goodell, Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, and Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat from California, write: “We urge you to create accountability at all levels of the NFL, particularly among team owners, who have the most direct financial incentives to avoid long-term suspensions and quickly get players back on the field.”
The letter notes that the league has docked clubs draft picks in the past, such as when the Saints were investigated for a bounty system and when the Patriots were caught videotaping an opponent’s sideline signals.
University of Nebraska Head Football Coach Mike Riley announced Tuesday the hiring of Brian Stewart as the Huskers’ defensive backs coach. Stewart brings defensive coordinator experience at both the college and professional levels to the Husker staff.
Stewart comes to Nebraska after spending the past three seasons as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at the University of Maryland. His stop at Maryland continued an impressive coaching resume that includes seven years as a defensive coordinator—five years in college football and two in the National Football League. Stewart also has 15 years of tutoring defensive backs on his coaching resume.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the Nebraska football program,” Stewart said. “The opportunity to coach at Nebraska is awesome. My first impression is ‘wow’. From the weight room to walking down the hallway and seeing the national championship trophies, Nebraska is what you think it is…a football powerhouse.
“The most important thing for me in my coaching career is my family. Coach Riley and his staff have been together so long, and you can just see the loyalty and trust. I’m proud to be a part of that.”
Riley said adding another experienced coach to his staff will provide excellent leadership to a veteran group of Nebraska defensive backs.
“Brian Stewart brings a record of success in both the collegiate and professional ranks and will be a great fit at the University of Nebraska,” Riley said. “He has experience coaching and recruiting in all parts of the country, most recently with experience in the Big Ten Conference. We look forward to Brian getting started with our defensive staff and our secondary.”
The 50-year old Stewart completes a Nebraska defensive staff that includes four coaches who all have professional coaching or playing experience. The defensive staff has three coaches with coordinator experience, including Stewart, defensive coordinator Mark Banker and defensive line coach Hank Hughes. Both Stewart and Banker have served as defensive coordinators in both college and the National Football League.
Including Stewart, the Nebraska staff has eight coaches with professional coaching experience. The group has a total of 46 years coaching in the professional ranks, including 30 years in the National Football League. The staff also has three coaches with professional playing experience.
In his three seasons on the Maryland staff, Stewart helped the Terrapins to a pair of bowl appearances. The attacking Terrapin defense tallied more than 30 sacks each of the past two seasons.
Defensive back Will Likely was a standout under Stewart’s guidance, leading the Big Ten in interceptions in 2014 en route to first-team all-conference honors. In Stewart’s first year at Maryland in 2012, his defense finished in the top three in the ACC in total defense, rushing defense and pass defense, and was 21st nationally in total defense.
Stewart re-joined the college ranks as the defensive coordinator at the University of Houston in 2010 and 2011. Stewart helped the Cougars to a 13-1 record and No. 14 final national ranking in 2011.
He spent the previous eight years in the NFL, including a two-year stint as the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator in 2007 and 2008. As the Cowboys’ defense coordinator, Stewart guided Dallas to two top-10 rankings in fewest yards allowed. He helped the Cowboys to a 13-3 record and NFC East divisional title in 2007.
Stewart also served as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles (2009), San Diego Chargers (2004-06) and the Houston Texas (2002-03). Each of the teams Stewart coached in his final six NFL seasons won at least nine games, including three division champions and four playoff teams. During his time in the professional ranks, Stewart helped 14 players make Pro Bowl appearances.
Before his stint in the National Football League, Stewart had college assistant coaching stops at Syracuse, Missouri, San Jose State, Northern Arizona and Cal Poly. A California native, Stewart played defensive back at Santa Monica City College and Northern Arizona.
Riley also announced that Jon Clark has joined the Nebraska staff as a defensive graduate assistant coach. Clark comes to Nebraska after one season as the secondary coach at East Texas Baptist University. Clark also served as the defensive coordinator at Canyon State Academy and was a student assistant coach for Arizona State. Clark was a letterwinner for the Sun Devil defense as a player.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NFL prospects come to Indianapolis each February to focus on their futures.
It’s their past embarrassments that always seem to get attention at the league’s annual scouting combine.
Here, no question is off limits — dropping the football on the 1-yard line before a score, sitting out a season because of an academic scandal, even aiming too high on an opposing player and getting ejected in a conference championship game.
And here, the possible draft picks will get their chance to explain what happened.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Rams coach Jeff Fisher says the NFL’s competition committee has an unprecedented number of proposals to expand replay reviews next season.
Fisher is the committee co-chair, and he says he’s not sure it will happen. Fisher says everything currently is reviewable — other than penalties — and that it may take too much time to review questionable calls frame by frame.
Footballs also are expected to be part of the discussion, eventually. Fisher says football-maker Wilson usually makes a presentation before the committee, but that it will likely be delayed this year until after the NFL completes its investigation into the underinflated balls used by New England during the AFC championship win against Indianapolis.
NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL’s salary cap is going up $10 million to $143.28 million for the 2015 season.
