But it plays havoc in future years
This is a tad hyperbolic.
Look, its deferring money no matter how anyone looks at it and it has been done for decades in the NFL. What feels somewhat new to me, but maybe it is not, are these void years becoming more and more popular. Teams eat contracts all the time and it goes on the books for the season. However, it seems like many teams are ok with paying players in multiple years when no longer on the contract. I don't think it is as bad as people claim it to be at this point, and the ongoing, increasing future cap projections are likely the reason why, but a team or GM could let it get out of control.
One thing I keep in mind is $15M (arbitrary figure) on the books in a current cap year is not the same as $15M in a future cap year(s). Meaning, the percentage of that figure on your books will be lower as the cap, almost undoubtedly will increase. And if there is a void year of $15M five years from now, thinking of the valuation of that amount/contract as "havoc" relative to your potential spend seems wildly premature. This particularly holds true to a QB like Watson who you traded for in the hopes he is your QB for the next decade....and if so, then he is on your roster far longer than the void year and you renegotiate around that. If he's not, there are other issues and the void year paying him is somewhat mitigated by the QB you just drafted on his first year rookie deal.
