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With Romo, Cowboys' salary cap path is set; will it lead to ruin in future?
DAVID MOORE
Staff Writer dmoore@dallasnews.com
Published: 04 March 2014 10:45 PM
Updated: 04 March 2014 10:45 PM
All the Cowboys need is a nip here or a tuck there to be under the salary cap once the new limit takes effect early next week.
There is no time limit on the debate regarding the wisdom of their approach.
A club that began the week approximately $18 million over the impending cap figure whittled that largesse to less than $1 million before Tuesday was done. By restructuring the contracts of Tony Romo, Sean Lee and Orlando Scandrick, the club reduced its payroll for the upcoming season by roughly $17 million.
Critics argue this credit card approach is irresponsible and wonder if the front office knows what it’s doing. While the merits of this strategy can be called into question, the club’s intentions are clear.
The Cowboys have made a conscious decision to manage the cap in this manner as long as Romo is the starting quarterback. It’s the fiscal path they’ve chosen because owner Jerry Jones and his son Stephen believe Romo gives this franchise a chance to return to the Super Bowl and win.
The fork in the road came when the Jones family made that determination. It’s too late to travel a different path now that Romo is about to turn 34 and is only one year deep into the most expensive contract in franchise history.
The quarterback signed a six-year, $108 million extension last spring with a guarantee of $55 million. The contract called for the deal to be restructured in 2014 to reduce the cap hit.
Romo was scheduled to make $13.5 million in base salary this season. The club took all but $1 million of that total and converted it into a signing bonus that is spread over the remainder of the contract. This reduces the quarterback’s cap hit from $21.7 million to $11.7 million in 2014. The club did similar conversions with linebacker Sean Lee and cornerback Orlando Scandrick to create nearly $7 million more in cap space.
All told, these three adjustments cleave close to $17 million out of the payroll. A salary cap of $133 million goes into effect for the new fiscal year March 11.
Clubs have a slight bit of flexibility with this number if they did not spend up to last year’s cap. The Cowboys are one of those teams. The club can apply $1.55 million of unused money in 2013 to this year’s cap.
This small cushion, along with a cap number that came in $7 million higher than many projected, reduced the number of contracts the Cowboys needed to alter to be in compliance next week.
A minor move or two will easily allow the club to be at or under the cap before Tuesday’s deadline. The next order of business is defensive end DeMarcus Ware.
A source confirms the team wants Ware to return but informed his representation Tuesday that it needs to reduce his cap figure.
Ware is on the books for a base salary of $12.25 million with a cap hit of $16.003 million. The club can bite the financial bullet and create $7.4 million in room by releasing Ware, but that’s a last resort.
The Cowboys strive to find a balance that will allow them to retain Ware, give them enough money to spend judiciously in the free-agent market, yet provide the veteran defender with more than he’s likely to make on the open market. The four-year, $16 million extension linebacker Terrell Suggs recently signed to stay in Baltimore is a contract to keep in mind.
The club can pick up another $5.5 million in room if it designates receiver Miles Austin as a post-June 1 cut.
Again, critics will argue the Cowboys are simply kicking the can down the road. The consequences of this financial approach will be felt at some point.
Those critics are right. But the argument ignores the fact the club is aware of its actions. They have chosen this approach and the accompanying risk.
You can argue this is the wrong approach. You can charge the Cowboys have put too much faith in Romo and other key players who have failed to deliver playoff success.
But you can’t say the Cowboys don’t know what they’re doing.
DAVID MOORE
Staff Writer dmoore@dallasnews.com
Published: 04 March 2014 10:45 PM
Updated: 04 March 2014 10:45 PM
All the Cowboys need is a nip here or a tuck there to be under the salary cap once the new limit takes effect early next week.
There is no time limit on the debate regarding the wisdom of their approach.
A club that began the week approximately $18 million over the impending cap figure whittled that largesse to less than $1 million before Tuesday was done. By restructuring the contracts of Tony Romo, Sean Lee and Orlando Scandrick, the club reduced its payroll for the upcoming season by roughly $17 million.
Critics argue this credit card approach is irresponsible and wonder if the front office knows what it’s doing. While the merits of this strategy can be called into question, the club’s intentions are clear.
The Cowboys have made a conscious decision to manage the cap in this manner as long as Romo is the starting quarterback. It’s the fiscal path they’ve chosen because owner Jerry Jones and his son Stephen believe Romo gives this franchise a chance to return to the Super Bowl and win.
The fork in the road came when the Jones family made that determination. It’s too late to travel a different path now that Romo is about to turn 34 and is only one year deep into the most expensive contract in franchise history.
The quarterback signed a six-year, $108 million extension last spring with a guarantee of $55 million. The contract called for the deal to be restructured in 2014 to reduce the cap hit.
Romo was scheduled to make $13.5 million in base salary this season. The club took all but $1 million of that total and converted it into a signing bonus that is spread over the remainder of the contract. This reduces the quarterback’s cap hit from $21.7 million to $11.7 million in 2014. The club did similar conversions with linebacker Sean Lee and cornerback Orlando Scandrick to create nearly $7 million more in cap space.
All told, these three adjustments cleave close to $17 million out of the payroll. A salary cap of $133 million goes into effect for the new fiscal year March 11.
Clubs have a slight bit of flexibility with this number if they did not spend up to last year’s cap. The Cowboys are one of those teams. The club can apply $1.55 million of unused money in 2013 to this year’s cap.
This small cushion, along with a cap number that came in $7 million higher than many projected, reduced the number of contracts the Cowboys needed to alter to be in compliance next week.
A minor move or two will easily allow the club to be at or under the cap before Tuesday’s deadline. The next order of business is defensive end DeMarcus Ware.
A source confirms the team wants Ware to return but informed his representation Tuesday that it needs to reduce his cap figure.
Ware is on the books for a base salary of $12.25 million with a cap hit of $16.003 million. The club can bite the financial bullet and create $7.4 million in room by releasing Ware, but that’s a last resort.
The Cowboys strive to find a balance that will allow them to retain Ware, give them enough money to spend judiciously in the free-agent market, yet provide the veteran defender with more than he’s likely to make on the open market. The four-year, $16 million extension linebacker Terrell Suggs recently signed to stay in Baltimore is a contract to keep in mind.
The club can pick up another $5.5 million in room if it designates receiver Miles Austin as a post-June 1 cut.
Again, critics will argue the Cowboys are simply kicking the can down the road. The consequences of this financial approach will be felt at some point.
Those critics are right. But the argument ignores the fact the club is aware of its actions. They have chosen this approach and the accompanying risk.
You can argue this is the wrong approach. You can charge the Cowboys have put too much faith in Romo and other key players who have failed to deliver playoff success.
But you can’t say the Cowboys don’t know what they’re doing.
