BTW, the most effective way I've found to reduce your cap is to:
1) Change your roster filter to "Player Contracts"
2) Sort by "Save if release" where the largest is at the top
3) Starting with the top player, see if you can offer him a contract.
4) Without changing the offer, if the "Savings" is positive, make the offer. (If they are requesting a 1-year deal, I usually extend it to 2 years with the lowest bonus I can do.) - (I have an update running in MFN-1 where this interface has been overhauled, I plan to roll it into the other leagues in about a week)
The players should always accept what is initially populated in the form as a renegotiation, because that is their request. You might be able to lessen the cap even more by increasing the bonus and decreasing the base salary, but if you do that you do run the risk of them rejecting the offer. I'd keep notes in the player card about what you did if you try that because the details of what you offered won't be available, just the general "$/X years" in the transaction log.