I have admittedly been talking a lot on my show, and in my blogs, about financial literacy guru Dave Ramsey. I may or may not have just finished one of his books. I'll be referencing him again shortly.
But first, a PSA: The Cardinals just shuffled D.J. Humphries' contract to save $7 million in cap space.
I love this for two reasons:
- It gives the Cardinals a rainy day fund.
- It could mean they're about to give DeAndre Hopkins a raise.
Rainy Day Fund
Dave Ramsey has a very simple formula for financial freedom. Get out of debt, and save up a $15k rainy day fund. If nothing else, it provides an incredibly alleviating peace of mind. More likely, the sh*t will hit the fan at some point, and that money will keep you from having to go into crippling, high interest debt. If nothing else, $7 million in cap space gives Steve Keim the wiggle room to sign a free agent in case a key position - like tackle, or cornerback - goes down midseason. Remember that last year, one of Steve Keim's most impactful transactions happened in late October, when he traded for Kenyan Drake to make up for David Johnson's injury.
DeAndre Hopkins' raise
A pet peeve of mine is when an employer brings someone in, knowing exactly who they are, and expects them to change. It happened to me once. It's probably happened to some of you. "I love you, you're great, we're just going to ask you to check all of your values and philosophies at the door." Steve Keim knew what DeAndre Hopkins was about when he traded for him. Hopkins' request for a raise was part of the reason Bill O'Brien was willing to part ways with the pro bowler to begin with. If the $7 million in cap space Keim created with this Humphries' contract reshuffling is for a D-hop raise, I'm totally OK with it. At this point, the Cardinals need Hopkins as much, if not more, than he needs them. I believe in happy employees. Hopkins is currently squeezed between Adam Theilen and Brandin Cooks in average salary per year. Something about that just doesn't feel right.
Whatever this $7 million ends up being for the Cardinals, this was a smart, practical move by Steve Keim