Storyteller

If I understand correctly, the Average Player Salary is calculated by taking the total of all the Team Salaries and dividing by 362.5 (29*12.5).

This would NOT include players such as Larry Johnson, Terrell Brandon (if he truly comes "off the books" this year), Matt Geiger, etc.

If so, it looks like the Average Player Salary will actually drop a little bit this year - meaning that next year's MLE will be slightly lower than the $4.917 million that it is this year. Something more like $4.886 million.

Am I right in all this? Or is the figure used to determine the Average Player Salary not the Team Salary figure that applies against the cap but the actual amount of salary paid to players (including disabled and retired players whose salary doesn't count against the cap)? The reason I ask is because the latter is significantly higher than the former.

Dan Rosenbaum

Your assumptions and understanding is correct, and I agree that the MLE is likely to be a bit smaller. In fact, if Baker's contract is terminated (and doesn't count towards the luxury tax), that will drop the MLE another $40,000.

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Storyteller

Thanks for the confirmation, Dan.