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Greg Hardy's contract will affect cap eventually
March, 19, 2015
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys did not need to restructure any contracts to get Greg Hardy's contract to fit under the salary cap. Yet.
By the time the third week of the regular season rolls around, they will have to account for roughly $8.1 million in the remaining $9.25 million per-game roster bonuses Hardy will receive throughout the season as long as he is on the 53-man roster.
Because he was on the Carolina Panthers' 53-man roster for two weeks in 2014, 14 of the per-game bonuses are considered not-likely-to-be-earned and will hit the cap one week at a time at $578,125 per game. If he is suspended or on injured reserve, the Cowboys would receive cap credits for each game he misses.
So how do the Cowboys get that cushion?
There are several ways. They could sign Dez Bryant to a long-term deal so he doesn't count $12.823 million against the cap on the franchise tag but that does not appear likely at this time. They could gain $8 million in space by designating Brandon Carr a post-June 1 cut, but then they would need a cornerback.
The easiest and most likely way is to restructure the contract of quarterback Tony Romo. The question is when they do it.
As the Cowboys mapped out their offseason plan, they intended to re-work Romo's contract all along, but instead of taking a small chunk of the quarterback's $17 million base salary to avoid larger cap figures in the future, they will likely have to re-do the full amount.
The Cowboys can create about $12.8 million in cap space, but turning $16 million of Romo's base salary into signing bonus, which would trim his salary-cap figure from $27.773 million to $14.973 million.
The good: that money will allow the Cowboys to cover Hardy's roster bonuses, give them money for their draft picks as well as smaller potential signings and their practice squad.
The bad: Romo's cap numbers from 2016-19 will increase by $3.2 million per season. He turns 35 in April and it's always risky to add cap figures on players as they get older.
It's not the best way to manage the cap, but the Cowboys felt like getting a game-changer like Hardy was worth the potential cap implications in the future.
March, 19, 2015
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys did not need to restructure any contracts to get Greg Hardy's contract to fit under the salary cap. Yet.
By the time the third week of the regular season rolls around, they will have to account for roughly $8.1 million in the remaining $9.25 million per-game roster bonuses Hardy will receive throughout the season as long as he is on the 53-man roster.
Because he was on the Carolina Panthers' 53-man roster for two weeks in 2014, 14 of the per-game bonuses are considered not-likely-to-be-earned and will hit the cap one week at a time at $578,125 per game. If he is suspended or on injured reserve, the Cowboys would receive cap credits for each game he misses.
So how do the Cowboys get that cushion?
There are several ways. They could sign Dez Bryant to a long-term deal so he doesn't count $12.823 million against the cap on the franchise tag but that does not appear likely at this time. They could gain $8 million in space by designating Brandon Carr a post-June 1 cut, but then they would need a cornerback.
The easiest and most likely way is to restructure the contract of quarterback Tony Romo. The question is when they do it.
As the Cowboys mapped out their offseason plan, they intended to re-work Romo's contract all along, but instead of taking a small chunk of the quarterback's $17 million base salary to avoid larger cap figures in the future, they will likely have to re-do the full amount.
The Cowboys can create about $12.8 million in cap space, but turning $16 million of Romo's base salary into signing bonus, which would trim his salary-cap figure from $27.773 million to $14.973 million.
The good: that money will allow the Cowboys to cover Hardy's roster bonuses, give them money for their draft picks as well as smaller potential signings and their practice squad.
The bad: Romo's cap numbers from 2016-19 will increase by $3.2 million per season. He turns 35 in April and it's always risky to add cap figures on players as they get older.
It's not the best way to manage the cap, but the Cowboys felt like getting a game-changer like Hardy was worth the potential cap implications in the future.