Can anyone explain how the "Bonus Cushion" works?

[puckhead]

You've got to pay the piper at some point for that cap space, don't you?

 

[Automattic]

I believe if a player has any added bonuses in their contract such as scoring X amount of goals, and they don't reach that goal, then the money can be spent elsewhere. At the end of the year, paid bonuses count towards the cap.

 

[HonusWagner66]

If a team's bonuses exceed the salary cap at the end of a season, the excess amount is deducted from the team's cap the following season.

 

[puckhead]

I believe if a player has any added bonuses in their contract such as scoring X amount of goals, and they don't reach that goal, then the money can be spent elsewhere. At the end of the year, paid bonuses count towards the cap.

that doesn't quite make sense, as you can go over the cap with bonuses. If the players don't hit their bonuses, you won't know it until the end of the year, at which point, you can't really spend more.

If a team's bonuses exceed the salary cap at the end of a season, the excess amount is deducted from the team's cap the following season.

that's what I thought too. Seems a team like Chicago hasn't really been called on it yet though.
according to nhlnumbers, their payroll was $62 mill for this past year (well above the cap) and are already sitting at $57.6 mill cap for next year with only 14 players signed (pretty much no room left). Bonus cushion # for next year is almost $63 mill.
nhlnumbers.com Team Overview

I'm missing something.


/fwiw, i wasn't on a Chicago witch-hunt (trying to understand my own team's structure better), but the Hawks were the best example of going over the cap, and apparently staying over the cap.

 

[Automattic]

Maybe i misunderstood. Could it possibly be added to the next year just as it could be subtracted?

 

[HonusWagner66]

that's what I thought too. Seems a team like Chicago hasn't really been called on it yet though.
according to nhlnumbers, their payroll was $62 mill for this past year (well above the cap) and are already sitting at $57.6 mill cap for next year with only 14 players signed (pretty much no room left). Bonus cushion # for next year is almost $63 mill.
nhlnumbers.com Team Overview

I'm missing something.


/fwiw, i wasn't on a Chicago witch-hunt (trying to understand my own team's structure better), but the Hawks were the best example of going over the cap, and apparently staying over the cap.

If I'm reading it correctly, and I'm probably not, their cap hit was 60.724 million this year and they had a 4.260 million bonus cushion (totals on the far left). Next season it shows them with a 57.566 cap hit, and right below it a 62.973 million estimated payroll, which I'm pretty sure is their cap hit + the bonus cushion overage from this season (since the number is in the row titled "Bonus Cushion" on the left..

EDIT: actually I don't think the estimated payroll has to do with the bonus cushion. I'm gonna assume that nhlnumbers just doesn't count the bonus cushion overage until the cap is set in place.