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Sources: Signs point to Cowboys exercising 5th-year option on Tyron Smith; long-term contract talks could be delayed
By Brandon George / Reporter
bgeorge@dallasnews.com
10:38 am on March 25, 2014 |
All signs point to the Dallas Cowboys exercising their fifth-year option on Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith that would extend his rookie contract through 2015 and could push off the club’s plan to sign him to a long-term contract.
The NFL’s 2011 collective bargaining agreement required all first-round draft picks to sign four-year contracts with a fifth-year team option built into the deal. Smith, the No. 9 overall pick in 2011, is coming off of his first Pro Bowl season and just turned 23 in December.
According to the CBA, the Cowboys must give “written notice” to Smith before May 3 if they plan to pick up his fifth-year option.
A Cowboys official said this week that it’s reasonable to expect the club will pick up the fifth-year option for Smith, but there’s no need to do so until the deadline.
A source close to Smith said “it’s a given” that the Cowboys will exercise their option and add the fifth year to Smith’s contract.
If the Cowboys exercise their fifth-year option with Smith, he’ll be fully guaranteed $10.039 million in 2015, which is equal to the transition tag for offensive linemen in the 2014 season. Smith’s base salary in 2014 is $2.079 million.
So what does this all mean? The Cowboys plan to sign Smith to a long-term contract and could begin talks on a long-term deal at any point.
However, the Cowboys don’t have to get in a hurry to give Smith a long-term contract now with their built-in team option in place to extend his deal through 2015. The Cowboys could decide to wait until next off-season to sign Smith to a long-term contract.
The NFL salary cap is expected to continue to rise in 2015 and that will give the Cowboys even more cap space to work with in extending Smith’s contract.
However, the longer the club waits to extend Smith might benefit him more than the Cowboys. Smith is clearly on the rise and if the Cowboys sign him now the market price could come in at somewhere between $10-$12 million a year. If Smith waits another year or two to sign a contract extension, his market value could jump to the $14-$15 million a year range considering other top, young left tackles such as Washington’s Trent Williams and Seattle’s Russell Okung will likely sign contract extensions before the 2015 season (the last year of their current deals).
Regardless, Smith is set to cash-in big-time. And, considering he won’t be 30 until December of 2020, Smith will likely receive big bucks twice in free agency before his career is finished.
By Brandon George / Reporter
bgeorge@dallasnews.com
10:38 am on March 25, 2014 |
All signs point to the Dallas Cowboys exercising their fifth-year option on Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith that would extend his rookie contract through 2015 and could push off the club’s plan to sign him to a long-term contract.
The NFL’s 2011 collective bargaining agreement required all first-round draft picks to sign four-year contracts with a fifth-year team option built into the deal. Smith, the No. 9 overall pick in 2011, is coming off of his first Pro Bowl season and just turned 23 in December.
According to the CBA, the Cowboys must give “written notice” to Smith before May 3 if they plan to pick up his fifth-year option.
A Cowboys official said this week that it’s reasonable to expect the club will pick up the fifth-year option for Smith, but there’s no need to do so until the deadline.
A source close to Smith said “it’s a given” that the Cowboys will exercise their option and add the fifth year to Smith’s contract.
If the Cowboys exercise their fifth-year option with Smith, he’ll be fully guaranteed $10.039 million in 2015, which is equal to the transition tag for offensive linemen in the 2014 season. Smith’s base salary in 2014 is $2.079 million.
So what does this all mean? The Cowboys plan to sign Smith to a long-term contract and could begin talks on a long-term deal at any point.
However, the Cowboys don’t have to get in a hurry to give Smith a long-term contract now with their built-in team option in place to extend his deal through 2015. The Cowboys could decide to wait until next off-season to sign Smith to a long-term contract.
The NFL salary cap is expected to continue to rise in 2015 and that will give the Cowboys even more cap space to work with in extending Smith’s contract.
However, the longer the club waits to extend Smith might benefit him more than the Cowboys. Smith is clearly on the rise and if the Cowboys sign him now the market price could come in at somewhere between $10-$12 million a year. If Smith waits another year or two to sign a contract extension, his market value could jump to the $14-$15 million a year range considering other top, young left tackles such as Washington’s Trent Williams and Seattle’s Russell Okung will likely sign contract extensions before the 2015 season (the last year of their current deals).
Regardless, Smith is set to cash-in big-time. And, considering he won’t be 30 until December of 2020, Smith will likely receive big bucks twice in free agency before his career is finished.
