Mayhew Says Lions Open To Franchising Suh, Which Would Cost More Than $36 Million
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - As much as the Detroit Lions want to bring back four-time All-Pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, there is a line the team will not cross, general manager Martin Mayhew suggested Thursday at his season-ending press conference.
"At any cost?" Mayhew said. "I wouldn't say that."
The sky might not be the limit, but it must be pretty close given the team's willingness to use the franchise tag to keep Suh in town. Suh had the highest cap hit of any player in the NFL this season at $22.4 million, but if the Lions franchised him, the cap hit in 2015 would be much, much higher.
How much it costs for a team to use the franchise tag varies from year to year. A team must pay the higher of two figures - the average of the top five salaries at the position, or 120 percent of what the player counted against the cap the previous season, minus incentives.
Obviously Suh falls into the latter category, so if the Lions franchise Suh, he will make more than $26.7 million in 2015.
On top of that amount, Detroit will have to pay Suh $9.7 million left over from previous restructuring of his contract. The total is about $36.4 million, meaning that if the Lions franchise him, his cap charge in 2015 will be far and away the highest of any player not just next year but through 2018, according to Spotrac.
Mayhew said the salary cap will increase $10 million for 2015, meaning it will be around $143 million. Franchising Suh would eat up about 25 percent of the money Detroit can spend. Between Suh's cap hit of $36.4 million - if the Lions franchise him - and the 2015 cap hits of wide receiver Calvin Johnson and quarterback Matthew Stafford - $20.5 million and $17.7 million, respectively - the Lions would have roughly half their cap space taken up by three players, leaving the other half to cover the other 50 players on the active roster.
Mayhew said he felt the Lions could be active in free agency even if they spent big on Suh. While Mayhew said it bodes well for the Lions that Suh enjoys playing for new head coach Jim Caldwell and that the team won 11 games this season, the general manager knows the bottom line is that the Lions must make a serious financial commitment to the defensive star.
"The good players tend to get paid more money," Mayhew said. "You have to be willing to pay those guys, and we're excited about what he did and what he has done for us in the past and what he can do for us in the future."
With Suh leading the charge, Detroit's defensive line played extremely well this season, but the unit will likely change significantly whether Suh returns or not. Six defensive linemen are free agents - defensive tackles Suh, Nick Fairley, C.J. Mosley and Andre Fluellen and defensive linemen George Johnson and Darryl Tapp.
