clydewally wrote:I know teams over the cap can freely add vet minimum players. But if they are under the cap can they exclude those vet minimum contacts already in place when calculating available cap room?
No. They count either as their minimum amount (rookie minimum and 1 YOS minimum) or at the 2 YOS minimum (regularly called the Veteran Minimum) for players with 2 or more YOS. So, if a team signs, or already has under contract, a player for the Veteran Minimum, that amount counts towards any cap space calculations.
This is why if a team is signing a player for the minimum AND also using cap space, they'll wait to complete the minimum signing until all their cap space has been used. The exception is mostly regarding rookies who a team wants to give more than a two-year contract to, as the minimum exception only allows for two-year contracts.
FWIW, this is why whenever a team is planning to use the minimum exception or the room exception, they use their cap space first. As the exceptions, as the name implies, allow you to exceed the cap to sign the player(s).