Renegotiating Contracts & IR Cap Hit
Can a player renegotiate his contract down in order to save cap room space?
When a player is put on IR, is his salary included in the cap for that period of time?
Answer
All contracts are fully guaranteed, so no, neither the player nor team can renegotiate or change the contract once it is signed.
When a Player is on IR, they continue to fully count against the cap. There is no Cap relief for a team with a player on IR. Therefore, teams generally aim to start the season with some Cap Space, because if players get hurt they could end up with 24 to 27 players all counting against the Cap at the same time if players get hurt. The only Cap relief for injured players is Long Term Injury Reserve (LTIR), which allows teams to exceed the cap. To qualify for LTIR, a player must miss 10 games or 24 days.
