10 NFL Players Who'll Need To Take Drastic Pay Cuts To Stay with Their Teams

The truly elite franchises in the NFL today don't just have a good season here or there; they are consistently good and consistently make the playoffs.

Take Pittsburgh, New England and Green Bay, for example. Since 2000, none of those teams have had more than two losing seasons. That's a credit to the coaching staffs and the players, but it's also a credit to the front offices, who have repeatedly made the "tough" decisions when it comes to salary.

In this era of the salary cap, teams often have to cut players who either aren't earning their salary or who have shown signs that they won't earn it next season. That even includes iconic players who the fans and/or the coaching staff love.

The 2012 offseason will be no different. If these 10 players aren't willing to take a substantial pay cut, their teams will have to make the tough decision and let them go.

No. 10: Chris Gamble, CB, Carolina Panthers

Years Remaining: Three

Salary Due: $6.75 million (2012), $7.9 million (2013), $8.85 million (2014)

2011 Stats: 29 tackles, three INTs, nine pass breakups

The Panthers' rebuilding process seems to be way ahead of schedule, but they still have too much money concentrated in a few players.

Granted, the Panthers have to be pretty unhappy about the money they'll be paying Steve Smith in 2012 ($7.5 million), but since he could finish the season as the NFL's leading receiver, they can't ask him to take a pay cut, especially since he has only one year left on his deal. The same goes for DeAngelo Williams and Charles Johnson; they just re-signed those two.

Chris Gamble is a fine corner, and they absolutely should keep him, but for the Panthers to improve enough to compete in one of the league's toughest divisions, they will have to go out and sign some free agents.

No. 9: Jason Peters, OT, Philadelphia Eagles

Years Remaining: Three

Salary Due: $7.9 million (2012), $10.4 million (2013), $8.3 million (2014)

Clearly, the Eagles have tons of problems...problems that the front office might try to resolve by cutting Andy Reid, Marty Mornhinweg, Juan Castillo and that entire coaching staff loose. 

But doing that won't earn them any relief in terms of the salary cap, which has some huge numbers on it thanks to the contracts given to Michael Vick, Nnamdi Asomugha, Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins.

Oh, and even though he's a "troublemaker," they are still going to want to re-sign DeSean Jackson.

To do that, they'll have to unload salary, and the team's highest-paid offensive lineman might be the target. Peters is making a ton of money to anchor a unit that has been pretty average this year and not done much to keep Michael Vick upright.

By no means is Peters the weak link on that unit—he might be the best, in fact—but to concentrate all that money in him is tough to justify. Asking him to take a pay cut so they can bring in a stud guard or another tackle so they can put Todd Herremans back at guard could be the key to righting the Dream Team ship next year.

No. 8: Cedric Griffin, CB, Minnesota Vikings

Years Remaining: Two

Salary Due: $7 million (2012), $7.25 million (2013)

2011 Stats: 40 tackles, one INT, one pass breakup 

The Vikings have enough problems in their pass defense (aside from Jared Allen, of course), and it's tough to see them paying two corners over $11 million next season when they're ranked 29th in the NFL against the pass.

Cedric Griffin has been the most criticized, and he probably deserves to be, having lost significant playing time to Asher Allen. But don't forget that he's only a year and a half removed from that torn ACL. Conventional wisdom says it takes a player two full years to recover from that, so expect him to be better in 2012.

More importantly, he's making far less money and is far younger than Winfield, who suffered another injury that cost him a huge chunk of the season, his third in the past five years.

No. 7: Kellen Winslow, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Years Remaining: Three

Salary Due: $3.3 million (2012), $4.5 million (2013), $5.5 million (2014) 

2011 Stats: 52 catches, 528 yards, two TDs

Granted, the Bucs can't really afford to unload any decent pass-catcher at this point, and they do have a good bit of room to work with when it comes to the cap.

Still, Winslow (at his current price) might be a luxury they can't afford. Luke Stocker still has loads of potential and seems like more of an ideal fit for that style of offense: Run the ball and pass only when necessary.

Furthermore, the Bucs have an obligation to go out and get a wide receiver who can make Josh Freeman better and open things up for LeGarrette Blount. To acquire one of those studs, like DeSean Jackson, Dwayne Bowe, Wes Welker or Mike Wallace, and shore up some of their defensive issues, they'll have to find more room under the cap. You can thank the contract they gave punter Mike Koenen for that.

No. 6: Dallas Clark, TE, Indianapolis Colts

Years Remaining: Two

Salary Due: $4.53 million (2012), $5.33 million (2013)

2011 Stats: 28 catches, 287 yards, two TDs

This is a textbook example of the "heartbreaking" decision that teams often have to make. Clark has been a staple of that Colts team for years and classic "good locker room guy."

Still, Clark is clearly on the downside of his career. Now obviously, the diminished numbers are a product of the Grand Canyon-sized hole at the quarterback position, but he's also going to be 33 before the start of next season. Jacob Tamme did stand in quite well last season when Clark suffered his season-ending wrist injury.

More than anything, you get the point that the Colts will be undergoing sweeping changes to their entire organization next season, and they might be turning the page on that pseudo-dynasty of the early 2000s.

No. 5: Steve Hutchinson, G, Minnesota Vikings

Years Remaining: One

Salary Due: $6.95 million (2012)

As good as Hutchinson has been, and as vital as he is to Adrian Peterson's running, that's still a ton of money to pay a 34-year-old guard.

It would be one thing if the Vikings were in contention for the playoffs, but this is going to be the second straight dismal season in Minnesota, and they too seem to be trying to start fresh.

Even if they do cut salary with Antoine Winfield, they should try extending Percy Harvin and will want to re-sign unrestricted free agent Visanthe Shiancoe. To do that and improve their shoddy defense (again, not counting Jared Allen), they'll have to clear some space.

No. 4: Terence Newman, CB, Dallas Cowboys

Years Remaining: Three

Salary Due: $6.016 million (2012), $7.6 million (2013), $7.5 million (2014)

2011 Stats: 27 tackles, four INTs, seven pass breakups 

Last year, both starting corners in Big D were rumored to be on the chopping block, but for several reasons, keeping Mike Jenkins and asking Terence Newman to either take a pay cut or walk makes more sense.

Newman will be 34 the start of next season and is due to make way more than Jenkins, who is seven years younger.

Newman is having a fine season, however, so simply releasing him as a cap casualty might be a mistake for a defense that has taken great strides in 2011. Even a slight pay cut should be enough to keep him around.

No. 3: Richard Seymour, DT, Oakland Raiders

Years Remaining: One

Salary Due: $15 million (2012)

2011 Stats: 25 tackles, six sacks

I can appreciate the fact that Seymour has been a key influence on a resurgent Raiders team that seems headed for the playoffs for the first time since the Super Bowl XXXVII disaster.

But $15 million for next season? That's just too much to pay a player who isn't a serious threat to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, especially one who is nursing a bum knee right now.

Is Seymour worth a huge contract? Certainly, but the highest-paid defender in the NFL? Nope.

It's worth pointing out this as well: Because of the Carson Palmer trade (and the trade for Seymour himself), there's a good chance that the Raiders will be without a first-round pick for three consecutive years: 2011, 2012 and 2013. If they can't get an impact player via the draft, they must sign free agents, and that option is greatly limited if they're paying Seymour roughly 12 percent of their entire cap.

No. 2: Hines Ward, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

Years Remaining: Two

Salary Due: $4 million (2012), $4 million (2013)

2011 Stats: 31 catches, 289 yards, two TDs

To be honest, the Steelers have a host of great, yet older players who are serious threats for the "cap casualty" tag this offseason. Casey Hampton is one, James Farrior yet another, Ryan Clark yet another. 

Although the young wide receivers (Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders) are really emerging, I do think the Steelers would like to keep Hines Ward above any of those other veterans. He's just such a great presence in the locker room and has already said that he cares about winning and the team rather than his pass catch totals.

That type of statement suggests that he is willing to cut his salary at least in half to remain with the club he loves so much, retire a lifelong Steeler and possibly earn a fourth trip to the Super Bowl in the process.

No. 1: Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts

Years Remaining: Four

Salary Due: $7.4 million (2012), $8.4 million (2013), $9.4 million (2014), $10.4 million (2015)

2011 Stats: None

Of all the uncertainties in the NFL right now—and the status of Peyton Manning's neck is near the top of that list—there does seem to be one guarantee right now: The Colts are going to finish with the NFL's worst record.

In the Suck for Luck campaign, they have a two-game "lead" on every other team, a lead that will likely increase over the next two weeks with road trips to Baltimore and New England on the schedule.

(Make no mistake about it: Despite Andrew Luck's recent "slumps," he will still be the top pick in the draft no matter what.)

Pairing Luck with Manning is probably fine for one season, especially since Luck's rookie salary won't be quite as lucrative as it would have been three or four years ago. But the Colts have so many holes to fill this offseason (Reggie Wayne and Robert Mathis are both free agents) that paying two quarterbacks somewhere around $50 million over the next three seasons just isn't in the cards.

They'll do whatever they can to keep Manning and keep Manning happy, but he's going to have to meet them halfway.