Buying out a multi-year contract

[BigWil17]

If a contract has 4 years left, but the owner decides to pay all of it right now just to buyout the player, is the salary cap hit (a combined 4 years of salary) accelerated only to the current year? Freeing up cap space in the subsequent years?

[killbuckner]

no

[loserX]

Killbuckner is right. If that were possible, you can rest assured the Knicks would have bought out half their roster in 2009 instead of giving up multiple assets to dump Jared Jefferies.

[Three34]

If a contract has 4 years left, but the owner decides to pay all of it right now just to buyout the player, is the salary cap hit (a combined 4 years of salary) accelerated only to the current year? Freeing up cap space in the subsequent years?

The buyout cap number is split up over the remaining guaranteed years of the deal, no matter how the money itself is paid out. For example, James Jones got all his money up front while the cap hit will last three years; going the other way, the Blazers are still paying Shawn Kemp.

[SamBone]

Is Rasheed Wallace a cap hit since he said he was retiring but had years left. I think Boston bought him out, but is he a cap hit for 3 years?

[Dunkenstein]

Is Rasheed Wallace a cap hit since he said he was retiring but had years left. I think Boston bought him out, but is he a cap hit for 3 years?

He will be a cap hit for this year and next, the two remaining years on his contract.

[Curmudgeon]

Yes, but only for the amount of Sheed's buyout, prorated over two years.