The Cost Of Cutting Mark Sanchez

Rich Cimini of ESPN New York reports that the Jets would incur a $17.1 million cap hit if they were to release starting QB Mark Sanchez.

Sanchez counts $12.8 million against the Jets salary cap next season, but what makes matters worse is the fact that trading him would still trigger an $8.9 million cap hit. Even renegotiating  Sanchez’s contract next season would still require them to pay majority of the $8.25 million guarantees that he has remaining on his deal.

This further suggests that the Jets decision to re-sign Sanchez was a colossal failure. The organization continues to make major mistakes that end up undermining their ability to build their roster.

From all things considered, Sanchez will almost certainly be on the Jets roster next season. The only question is whether or not he’ll be the starter at the beginning of 2012.