Ray Lewis placed on reserve-retired list

The Ravens have officially placed inside linebacker Ray Lewis and center Matt Birk on the reserve-retired list.

With Lewis, a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and Birk, a six-time Pro Bowl selection, retiring, the Ravens have realized a total savings of $6.4 million against the salary cap for the 2013 fiscal year.

Lewis' retirement gives the Ravens back $4.35 million in cap savings while Birk's retirement gives the Ravens back $2.05 million against the salary cap. Lewis had a scheduled $5.4 million base salary, and Birk was due $2.75 million.

With 49 contract commitments for 2013, including $1.8 million in dead money for former Pro Bowl kicker Billy Cundiff and cap figures of $13.02 million for outside linebacker Terrell Suggs and $11.05 million for defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, the Ravens' new salary-cap total is $105.919 million with Lewis and Birk going off the books.

With the NFL Players Association informing agents via a letter obtained by The Baltimore Sun that the salary-cap limit is set at approximately $123 million with over $200 million carried over from last yesar, then the Ravens currently have $18.2633 million in cap room to spend. That figure includes $1.182 million carried over from 2012, but it doesn't reflect any re-signings yet of the Ravens' unrestricted free agents or tenders assigned to restricted free agents.

Lewis and Birk retired following the Ravens' Super Bowl championship victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Lewis announced that he would retire prior to the start of the postseason. And Birk made his announcement last Friday during an appearance at Battle Grove Elementary in Baltimore.


(baltimoresun.com)