In previous years, if you released a player with bonus proration left on his contract, you absorbed the prorated amount for just that year, with the remaining proration charged to the following year's cap.
But because of the possibility of 2010 being an uncapped year, the rules have changed a bit. Bonus prorations of released players are being treated the same way as those of traded players.
The Eagles have received several inquiries from teams in recent weeks about Brown's availability, but have been reluctant to pull the trigger on a trade because of the cap hit they'd have to take. Same thing with releasing him. So he sits.
He wasn't even activated for last week's game against Carolina. When the team needed roster space to sign quarterback Jeff Garcia, it dumped another wideout, Hank Baskett, rather than Brown, even though Baskett played last week and, unlike Brown, can contribute on special teams.
There were no cap consequences for releasing Baskett, who signed a 1-year, $1.5 million deal in the offseason.
"I don't know about Hank's contract," Brown said yesterday, when asked if he thought that's why Baskett got released rather than him. "I don't even know about my contract."
He might want to call his agent and find out.
Brown's cap numbers and base salaries for the final 5 years of his deal: 2010, $3 million, $1.2 million; 2011, $2.8 million, $1.3 million; 2012, $3.4 million, $1.7 million; 2013, $3.2 million (all salary); 2014, $3.8 million (also all salary).
