Breaking down Greg Hardy's contract
March, 18, 2015
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- Here is a breakdown of Greg Hardy's contract with the Dallas Cowboys:
Workout bonus: $1.3116 million
Base salary: $750,000
Per-game 53-man roster bonuses: $9.25 million
Incentives: Max of $1.804 million.
The Cowboys have not guaranteed Hardy any money. He will have to earn it as he goes.
The per-game roster bonuses are worth roughly $578,125 per game. Should he miss a game for a suspension, the Cowboys, in effect, will receive a cap credit for each game he misses if he is suspended or is on injured reserve.
For now, Hardy’s cap figure is roughly $3.2 million because only two weeks of the $9.25 million per-game roster bonuses are considered likely to be earned since he was on the Carolina Panthers’ 53-man roster for two weeks in 2014. As a result the Cowboys did not have to restructure a contract to fit Hardy under the cap, but they will have to make an adjustment down the road, likely with Tony Romo's contract. There remains the possibility the team reaches a long-term deal with Dez Bryant, who has received the franchise tag.
Hardy can earn up to $1.804 million in incentives. He can earn$500,000 for eight sacks, $1 million for 10 sacks, $1.4 million for 12 sacks and $1.804 million for 14 or more sacks.
All told, the deal is $13.1 million … or what he earned last year on the franchise tag from the Panthers in 2014.
