FAQ Category: Financials

  • What happens to cash at the end of the season?

    As mentioned, each franchise begins the new league year (June 1) with $100. After paying out salaries for players already under contract and paying out salaries for players signed via the Auction, whatever money is left over can be used to sign in-season free agents.

    But what happens if a team concludes the season with cash still in hand?

    Teams can use whatever cash remaining they have to pay future salaries of players under contract. By doing this, however, they are taking on additional salary for this year, so their Active Roster salary must remain under the league’s Salary Cap.

  • What is Dead Money?

    Dead Money is salary that is being paid to a player under contract on a different team.

    Example: Team A agrees to trade Player X to Team B. Team A says they will pay $5 of Player X’s $10 salary to help make contract numbers work for both teams. Team A thus would have $5 of “Dead Money” because they are on the hook for that amount but Player X no longer plays for their team.

  • How much is a Cap Hit?

    If a player under contract is cut before his contract concludes, a franchise will be penalized half that player’s salary for the remaining portion of his contract.

    That penalty can be paid in one lump sum or divided over the remaining years of the contract (in descending fashion).

  • What are Cap Hits?

    Cap Hits are penalties for contracts that are terminated before completion.

    If a franchise cuts a player before his contract is complete, and that contract was given to a player signed via the Auction, then a cap hit will be assessed.

    How much is a Cap Hit?

  • Can cash be traded?

    Yes, cash is one of the assets that can be traded. Every teams starts each league year (June 1) with $100 (unless they previously traded some of that cash). That money is used to pay players’ salaries and sign new players via the Auction. If there is leftover cash, that can be traded to other teams or used to spend on in-season free agents.

  • What is FAAB?

    FAAB stands for Free Agent Acquisition Budget. It is the amount of money you have to spend on free agents. As it pertains to the DFL, every franchise starts the season with $100 to spend. That money dwindles after they pay their players’ contracts and sign new players via the Auction. Whatever money they have left over after the Auction is what they can spend on free agents during the season.

  • What is the difference between cap space and cash?

    Cash is a limited resource a team has per season. Each team gets to spend $100 each season (which they can add to or subtract from via trades, but they do not get any more in any other ways).

    Cap Space is the amount of money a team has under the Salary Cap. Cap Space is calculated as such:

    Cap Space = Salary Cap – Team Salary – Cap Hits – Dead Money

    So, if a team has 20 players on its Active Roster worth $82, and they have a $1.5 Cap Hit and are holding $2.5 in Dead Money, their “Cap Space” would be: $100 Salary Cap – $82 Team Salary – $1.5 Cap Hit – $2.5 Dead Money = $14.

  • What is the league salary cap?

    The league’s salary cap is $100 million.