I'm not a Cap Salary Guru... But I've read that the Saints are still on the SC hook for players that they traded,,,, EI, Jimmy Graham, and some D and O lineman...

I thought if U traded or released a player, and is no longer on your team. Salary goes away...

Can someone explain?

Bonus Money can be spread out over multiple years of a contract, if that player is traded or cut the team is still on the hook for the money paid. There are also plenty of other cap scenarios are possible.

as explained above, the "bonus" money that is still owed no matter what, but anything like game checks or production oriented parts in the contract is picked up by the team they are traded to unless the player agrees to restructure a new contract with them to replace the old one.

as i understand it, in the case of a player just being cut, then I think all reporting bonus, bonus being on the team or reporting to training camps on time, and any other form of bonus money is still owed to that player and it counts against the cap because the team severed the contract.

in the case of jimmy graham the contract money for playing is paid by his new team and counts for them, but the guaranteed part of the contract money is still owed to him because it isn't dependent on playing or even being on the team.

you would have to read the contract to know for sure but I don't believe there is much protection for a team to get out of paying guaranteed money short of if the player quit or refused to play and voiding the contract outright

Still above my head.. But I HAVE read Saints are still way over Cap for players that have been traded etc...

Signing brees and graham to those big contracts didn't leave room to keep his big lineman and a few awesome D lineman..

Also.. Leadership starts at the top... Saints management is in disarray with all that is going on with Benson and family...

I guess a way to over simplify it is, when a player leaves a team for another team, or gets cut from a team, all the team getting rids of them saves, is any future money owed to them in the form of game checks or bonuses not yet earned. but any guaranteed money and bonuses in the contract they still have to pay that player, even after he is gone.

that's kinda covers 95% of most situations and it doesn't make much sense to most of us but that's the way they set up the contracts, so the player gets paid no matter what.

where it really gets all fuzzy is with injury situations, like reggie bush who's career may be over because of injury, that's when it takes 20 lawyers on each side to hash things out lol.