Cowboys Have Cap Woes Coming in 2014
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Simpleton
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I'm not particularly concerned over the cap. We won't be able to make any splash signings but I think we will be able to make a couple of low-level signings and perhaps one mid-level signing after getting rid of deadweight like Ratliff, Livings, Austin and possibly Bernadeau, and letting Spencer walk.
Several solid free agent DL got short, relatively low dollar deals last year. Alan Branch: 1 year, 3 million, Cliff Avril: 2 years, 13 million, Michael Bennet: 1 year, 4.8 million.
Give me one mid-level signing on the DL like that, perhaps with Melton, and a draft pick or two and we'll be ok.
Several solid free agent DL got short, relatively low dollar deals last year. Alan Branch: 1 year, 3 million, Cliff Avril: 2 years, 13 million, Michael Bennet: 1 year, 4.8 million.
Give me one mid-level signing on the DL like that, perhaps with Melton, and a draft pick or two and we'll be ok.
Plan9Misfit
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This is exactly what happens when you overpay mediocre players, hand them albatross contracts, and then restructure deals rather than cutting them. Kicking the financial can down the road never works because it prevents the team from actually getting better. You hold onto shit players for too long, can't sign anyone in free agency, and prohibit yourself from drafting replacements for those losers because their contracts are too rich to allow you to bench them.
VA Cowboy
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Thanks Jay Carney!
NoDak
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Fisher on the Cowboys 2014 Cap...
IRVING (105.3 THE FAN) – Calculators all over Cowboys Nation are spitting sparks and being enveloped in smoke as a result of the ESPN report that alleged Dallas’ 2014 cap is going to be a “train wreck.’’
There is no argument here regarding the Cowboys’ cap challenges for 2014 – and that’s true whether you believe ESPN’s numbers (claiming Dallas is $31 million over) or numbers we’ve gathered (making it possible the Cowboys are $22 million over what we can project to be a $123-million cap). The argument is about “the train wreck,’’ and whether there are planned escape routes to avoid what is now perceived as some sort of head-on collision with financial disaster.
With the help of the capologists at Blogging The Boys, let’s battle through the sparks and the smoke to bullet-point our way to answers:
*Some league-wide perspective might be helpful. The Cowboys are presently scheduled to be over next year’s cap. As near as we can tell, 13 other teams might share that distinction. Does this mean almost half the NFL’s teams are about to “wreck’’? Or is there more media-attention value in mentioning Dallas’ circumstance than there is mentioning, say, Detroit’s or New Orleans’?
*Some historical perspective is also due. In 2011, Dallas faced “cap hell.’’ A “head-on collision with financial disaster.’’ Yessir, a “train wreck.’’ They were $18 million over the cap in July 2011. But … they never collided with a train. The Cowboys released Roy Williams, Marion Barber and Leonard Davis and restructured the contracts of Tony Romo, DeMarcus Ware and Miles Austin. Those moves allowed the re-signing of/extensions for players like Jason Witten, Doug Free and Jason Hatcher.
*In 2012? “Cap hell’’ once again was predicted due to $30 million of dead money. The how-to’s were so tricky that even owner Jerry Jones himself admitted to fearing “Armageddon.’’ But exec Stephen Jones oversaw moves that eventually allowed the over-the-cap Cowboys to sign Brandon Carr to a $50 million, five-year deal.
Not only was “Armageddon’’ avoided, but the Cowboys actually entered the season $12.6 mil under the cap.
*In 2013? Same song, different verse. The Cowboys started $20 million over the cap. But by the time the season arrived, they’d re-upped Romo and Sean Lee and left themselves plenty of room to also sign Brian Waters. (Oh, and I’m told they’ve also touched base with kicker Dan Bailey, with plans to retain him as well.)
*And here we are in 2014 … but wait. We AREN’T in 2014. Why is this a story for a first-place team in October? Why is Cowboys Nation suffering from hyperventilation and aneurysms NOW? That’s a question for ESPN to answer. Meanwhile, we’re busy with answers that truly matter inside Valley Ranch. … which will include the moving of some money and the dumping of some money … as occurs every year with Dallas and pretty much every team in the NFL.
Examples of options:
*The restructuring of the contracts of Romo and Ware alone, depending on how they are done, could create as much as $19 million in cap space in 2014. Forget for a moment whether that means more years on those deals and whether that’s advisable (in the case of Ware, perceived to be in physical decline, there may be more drastic measures considered). Just know that it is do-able … and a restructuring of those two deals moving $19 million essentially gets you near where you must be if you buy the $22-million-over number.
*Want more money, or different sources for it? Restructuring the contracts of Carr, Lee and Witten can be made to open up $12 million of room for 2014. In fact, the Romo and Lee deals are specifically built for a 2014 re-jiggering.
*Want to escape Miles Austin’s contract? He can be designated a June 1 release, thus creating $5.5 million in space.
*Ready to move on from veteran backups Kyle Orton, Mackenzy Bernadeau, and Phil Costa? Doing so would generate an additional $3.9 million of cap room in 2014.
*Want to give up on more non-standouts? Justin Durant and Jermey Parnell have contracts structured purposely with almost no prorated signing-bonus money. If they are released, that’s another $2.75 million of room. (Also available on many of these players: A Doug Free-like proposal where they cut their salaries to remain with the team.)
If Dallas were to pull the trigger on all the above? The Cowboys could generate about $43 million of cap space in 2014. … and be $10 to $20 million UNDER the cap.
I don’t mean to treat the transactions needed to manage the NFL salary cap as simple or painless. But they are realities in every NFL city. And there are options in every NFL city. Worrying, “Will the Cowboys have enough money?’’ is a pointless endeavor. There might be a year when a good player is allowed to leave because of the cap (Anthony Spencer, before his injury, was going to be that in 2014.) Some year, there might be a handful of those, if affordable draftees don’t come through … and the team will suffer for a year and you will have your football version of Jerry’s “Armageddon.’’ Of course, then there will be the year after that, when cap room is ample and the process begins again.
Amid the sparks and the smoke, there’s no fearsome train bearing down on the Cowboys. All that’s coming is the continuous search for solutions.
IRVING (105.3 THE FAN) – Calculators all over Cowboys Nation are spitting sparks and being enveloped in smoke as a result of the ESPN report that alleged Dallas’ 2014 cap is going to be a “train wreck.’’
There is no argument here regarding the Cowboys’ cap challenges for 2014 – and that’s true whether you believe ESPN’s numbers (claiming Dallas is $31 million over) or numbers we’ve gathered (making it possible the Cowboys are $22 million over what we can project to be a $123-million cap). The argument is about “the train wreck,’’ and whether there are planned escape routes to avoid what is now perceived as some sort of head-on collision with financial disaster.
With the help of the capologists at Blogging The Boys, let’s battle through the sparks and the smoke to bullet-point our way to answers:
*Some league-wide perspective might be helpful. The Cowboys are presently scheduled to be over next year’s cap. As near as we can tell, 13 other teams might share that distinction. Does this mean almost half the NFL’s teams are about to “wreck’’? Or is there more media-attention value in mentioning Dallas’ circumstance than there is mentioning, say, Detroit’s or New Orleans’?
*Some historical perspective is also due. In 2011, Dallas faced “cap hell.’’ A “head-on collision with financial disaster.’’ Yessir, a “train wreck.’’ They were $18 million over the cap in July 2011. But … they never collided with a train. The Cowboys released Roy Williams, Marion Barber and Leonard Davis and restructured the contracts of Tony Romo, DeMarcus Ware and Miles Austin. Those moves allowed the re-signing of/extensions for players like Jason Witten, Doug Free and Jason Hatcher.
*In 2012? “Cap hell’’ once again was predicted due to $30 million of dead money. The how-to’s were so tricky that even owner Jerry Jones himself admitted to fearing “Armageddon.’’ But exec Stephen Jones oversaw moves that eventually allowed the over-the-cap Cowboys to sign Brandon Carr to a $50 million, five-year deal.
Not only was “Armageddon’’ avoided, but the Cowboys actually entered the season $12.6 mil under the cap.
*In 2013? Same song, different verse. The Cowboys started $20 million over the cap. But by the time the season arrived, they’d re-upped Romo and Sean Lee and left themselves plenty of room to also sign Brian Waters. (Oh, and I’m told they’ve also touched base with kicker Dan Bailey, with plans to retain him as well.)
*And here we are in 2014 … but wait. We AREN’T in 2014. Why is this a story for a first-place team in October? Why is Cowboys Nation suffering from hyperventilation and aneurysms NOW? That’s a question for ESPN to answer. Meanwhile, we’re busy with answers that truly matter inside Valley Ranch. … which will include the moving of some money and the dumping of some money … as occurs every year with Dallas and pretty much every team in the NFL.
Examples of options:
*The restructuring of the contracts of Romo and Ware alone, depending on how they are done, could create as much as $19 million in cap space in 2014. Forget for a moment whether that means more years on those deals and whether that’s advisable (in the case of Ware, perceived to be in physical decline, there may be more drastic measures considered). Just know that it is do-able … and a restructuring of those two deals moving $19 million essentially gets you near where you must be if you buy the $22-million-over number.
*Want more money, or different sources for it? Restructuring the contracts of Carr, Lee and Witten can be made to open up $12 million of room for 2014. In fact, the Romo and Lee deals are specifically built for a 2014 re-jiggering.
*Want to escape Miles Austin’s contract? He can be designated a June 1 release, thus creating $5.5 million in space.
*Ready to move on from veteran backups Kyle Orton, Mackenzy Bernadeau, and Phil Costa? Doing so would generate an additional $3.9 million of cap room in 2014.
*Want to give up on more non-standouts? Justin Durant and Jermey Parnell have contracts structured purposely with almost no prorated signing-bonus money. If they are released, that’s another $2.75 million of room. (Also available on many of these players: A Doug Free-like proposal where they cut their salaries to remain with the team.)
If Dallas were to pull the trigger on all the above? The Cowboys could generate about $43 million of cap space in 2014. … and be $10 to $20 million UNDER the cap.
I don’t mean to treat the transactions needed to manage the NFL salary cap as simple or painless. But they are realities in every NFL city. And there are options in every NFL city. Worrying, “Will the Cowboys have enough money?’’ is a pointless endeavor. There might be a year when a good player is allowed to leave because of the cap (Anthony Spencer, before his injury, was going to be that in 2014.) Some year, there might be a handful of those, if affordable draftees don’t come through … and the team will suffer for a year and you will have your football version of Jerry’s “Armageddon.’’ Of course, then there will be the year after that, when cap room is ample and the process begins again.
Amid the sparks and the smoke, there’s no fearsome train bearing down on the Cowboys. All that’s coming is the continuous search for solutions.
E_D_Guapo
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Very informative article.
Simpleton
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Who?
Bernadeau, Orton and Costa?
I'm pretty sure at least 90% of the board has been calling for at least 2 of those 3 to be cut.
Smitty
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Bernadeau, Costa, Orton, Durant, Parnell, and Austin. Don't forget Spencer walking too.
I'm not saying we shouldn't do it. Just that this situation, now causing us to purge the bad contracts, is also gonna shorthand us in terms of getting their replacements.
Simpleton
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We aren't going to cut all of those guys. Spencer and Austin are gone for sure but I'm guessing we only cut one of Bernadeau or Costa and then I'd imagine we'd only cut guys like Durant, Parnell or Orton if we replaced them in the draft.
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Cowboys' cap jail not life sentence
October, 21, 2013
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- As Adam Schefter reported on Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys are projectedto be over the 2014 salary cap by a league-high $31 million, but it’s not as if the team did not know it.
With the quick work of the calculator, the Cowboys can shave nearly $37 million off the salary cap with six restructures and just two roster moves.
When the Cowboys signed Tony Romo to a six-year extension worth $108 million last offseason, and Sean Lee to a six-year extension worth $42 million last summer, they did so knowing they would re-work the players’ deals in Year 2. The Cowboys can create roughly $13 million in salary-cap room just with those two moves alone.
Restructuring the deals of DeMarcus Ware, Brandon Carr, Jason Witten and Orlando Scandrick could create another $17 million in cap space.
They can get another $5.5 million in salary-cap space by making wide receiver Miles Austin a post-June 1 cut, or could come up with less savings by asking Austin to take a pay cut the way right tackle Doug Free did in 2013. The possible release of Mackenzy Bernadeau would give the Cowboys $1.4 million in space, but create a hole on the line, especially if Brian Waters does not want to continue to play.
The downside of restructuring the deals of veterans is that it increases their cap figures in the future. Romo’s 2015 salary-cap figure would balloon to more than $27 million, but the team would simply re-work the contract again and push the due bill out again.
Teams expect a spike in the salary cap in 2015 or ’16 that could make it all more palatable.
By then the Cowboys will have to make decisions on free agents like Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith and possibly Bruce Carter.
Executive vice president Stephen Jones, who is in charge of the salary cap, says the same thing every year when it comes to free agency: the Cowboys will be able to do what they want to do in free agency.
And 2014 should not be any different, even if it looks daunting right now.
October, 21, 2013
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- As Adam Schefter reported on Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys are projectedto be over the 2014 salary cap by a league-high $31 million, but it’s not as if the team did not know it.
With the quick work of the calculator, the Cowboys can shave nearly $37 million off the salary cap with six restructures and just two roster moves.
When the Cowboys signed Tony Romo to a six-year extension worth $108 million last offseason, and Sean Lee to a six-year extension worth $42 million last summer, they did so knowing they would re-work the players’ deals in Year 2. The Cowboys can create roughly $13 million in salary-cap room just with those two moves alone.
Restructuring the deals of DeMarcus Ware, Brandon Carr, Jason Witten and Orlando Scandrick could create another $17 million in cap space.
They can get another $5.5 million in salary-cap space by making wide receiver Miles Austin a post-June 1 cut, or could come up with less savings by asking Austin to take a pay cut the way right tackle Doug Free did in 2013. The possible release of Mackenzy Bernadeau would give the Cowboys $1.4 million in space, but create a hole on the line, especially if Brian Waters does not want to continue to play.
The downside of restructuring the deals of veterans is that it increases their cap figures in the future. Romo’s 2015 salary-cap figure would balloon to more than $27 million, but the team would simply re-work the contract again and push the due bill out again.
Teams expect a spike in the salary cap in 2015 or ’16 that could make it all more palatable.
By then the Cowboys will have to make decisions on free agents like Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith and possibly Bruce Carter.
Executive vice president Stephen Jones, who is in charge of the salary cap, says the same thing every year when it comes to free agency: the Cowboys will be able to do what they want to do in free agency.
And 2014 should not be any different, even if it looks daunting right now.
Smitty
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Except that's not true since we are routinely limited in our ability to sign even mid tier FAs.
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That's the part that superpunk and others overlook is, sure we can get down under the cap but can we sign FAs that we need as well? The answer is no. We were limited this year and we will be handcuffed next year as well.
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We didn't sign Carr this year, and we got the rest of our FAs off the scrap heap.
Smitty
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No, like we didn't.
That was two years ago. Last year we had trouble filling our myriad holes in free agency and ignored problems on the OL and DL because of those constraints.
And three years ago we also were very quiet in free agency.
superpunk
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The year we signed Carr we were also in "cap hell". Our non-flashy signings include locking up our young stars to long term deals. I mean I wish we could have gotten Goldson here to commit 2-3 personal fouls per game as much as anyone but you can't sign everyone, particularly when you've got a talented core (and top tier QB) to retain. We make some mistakes, everyone does, but at least noone is bitching about our "albatross contracts" to Scandrick and Church anymore.
Thanks scouting dept.
Thanks scouting dept.
superpunk
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This just in: You can't go on spending sprees every season. More at This Ain't Madden, son.