Quoting: RobbStark03
Recapture gets worse with every year. Nashville's SB Nation group broke it down last summer.
Information you shared seems to be correct.
The important point is that Nashville "owes" $24M regardless of when he retires.
The only way to decrease that amount is for them to re-acquire his contract.
The penalty will be reduced by the difference between his cap hit and actual salary, for each year they retain his contract.
I'm rounding the numbers for simplicity ...
If they keep him for 22-23 ($8M - $3M in actual salary), the recapture is $19M
23-24 ($8M - $1M) = $12M penalty
24-25 ($8M - $1M) = $5M penalty
25-26 ($8M - $1M) = penalty gone.
So you can see, the time to acquire him is at the end of this season, if they want his cap hit to expire at the same time as his contract.
However, if he retires early, they still benefit from the reduction for each year they own his contract.
Weber retires after 22-23 = $6,33 For 3 years vs. $8M for 3 years
After 23-24 = $6M For 2 years vs. $8M for 2 years + $8M through the 26-27 season
After 24-25 = $5M for 1 year vs. $8M for 1 year + $8M through the 27-28 season
After 25-26 = $0 vs. $8M through the 28-29 season.
Aside from those obvious benefits, they currently don't have to count his cap hit at all, as he's on LTIR.
This is a perfect situation for them to get off almost completely free of any repercussions from the contract.
It's understandable why people may not understand how it works, but hopefully this information, along with the link you shared, helps with that understanding.
How much would you pay another team to take a contract that will save you $8M in cap space for multiple years? You can look at this similarly.
Of course if you hold them hostage, they are more likely to risk it, but any reasonable offer should be considered.