SportsFan215 wrote:Due to his unfortunate situation, does anyone know what the CBA/cap impact is for his contract? I keep hearing that his contract will most likely be covered by insurance. Does that mean it still counts against the cap?
Nothing changes anytime soon. This year the salary is what it is.
Next year MIL has some choices of how they might make it play out, and the potential for either some cap adjustment or an extra latitude in spending, depending on what choices they make.
Insurance? Maybe, maybe not. There may be none on him at all. Even if he is insured, he would currently be in a waiting period (it's like a deductible), so at best the team might get some minor reimbursement this season, and perhaps more next season. That helps team cash flow but has no impact on the cap.
Coon FAQ:
There is a league-wide policy that insures the contracts of around 150 players each season. Each team submits at least five players for coverage from their five most expensive contracts based on total remaining salary (with two or more years remaining) and their five most expensive contracts based on current season salary. Teams also have the option of submitting additional names for coverage. The carrier has the right to exclude 14 contracts per season, such as when they consider a player with a very large remaining contract to be a medical risk. For example they excluded Luol Deng in 2008-09 because he had $71 million remaining and a history of back injuries. The list of excluded players changes each year, so a player who is not covered one season might be covered the following season. However, once a player is covered the carrier can't exclude the player for the remainder of his current contract.
If an insured player is disabled, there is a 41 game waiting period, after which the insurance company pays 80% of the guaranteed portion of the player's remaining base salary, up to $175,000 per regular season game. The waiting period can span seasons. The player even can attempt to come back -- if he does and finds that he is unable to play, the 41-game count resumes (as long as he stopped playing due to the same injury).