Quote:
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho
It just costs a little bit more up front. And when you cut a player (or negotiate a new contract) in the last few years of that deal (which is general practice), you save less actual money (though the cap savings are the same) because you gave more of it in a signing bonus on the front end.
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This is actually a very important point and has nothing to do with the cap.
A signing bonus is just that, a bonus. It's paid. If you give a player a big bonus and then cut him 2 years later, that is cash you will never get back, regardless of the cap ramifications.
Think of it as an investment. The more guaranteed money, the bigger the risk. It's not that Clark is cheap. He's risk averse. He doesn't want to invest in an uncertain future. Just look at the money he's given to front office staff. Regardless of how those moves turned out, none of the guys he's hired have been overly risky.