Cowboys & Redskins Give Fins Salary Cap Space
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Lost amidst the hubbub surrounding the Peyton Manning sweepstakes is news the NFL spanked the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins for their actions during the uncapped year of 2010.
According to the NFL, the Cowboys and Redskins violated a memorandum telling teams not to take advantage of the uncapped year by front-loading contracts among other ways.
As a result, the league has decided to penalize the Cowboys and Redskins by taking away salary cap space over the next two years. The Cowboys lose a total of $10 million in salary cap space to be spread out however the team wants; while the Redskins will lose a total of $36 million in space.
The only possible problem will be if players or teams decided to challenge the league on antitrust grounds, which would likely win in court. A court victory could prevent the fines from being imposed, but could take a while to get in place.
The loss of cap space has a practical impact on the Miami Dolphins in a couple of ways. First, it removes the Cowboys and Skins from pursuing some free agents.
But more importantly, the move gives 28 teams in the NFL an additional $1.643 million in additional cap space for the 2012 season. That gives the Dolphins roughly $16-$18 million in salary cap space to attack free agency and the draft in 2012.
