Cowboys Cap Hell: The Scoop On The Latest Myth
By Mike Fisher | @fishsports
OXNARD (105.3 THE FAN) -- The mythology of "Cowboys Cap Hell'' rages on.
A DFW-based report on Tuesday declared, to paraphrase, that "Dallas is in cap trouble and cannot sign its young players.'' The report is completely inaccurate … in every single way.
The Cowboys are in fact scheduled to be $11.9 million under the cap, putting them right in the middle of the NFL in that regard. That provides Dallas plenty of room to start the securing of the next young standout on the roster due to be re-upped before he hits free agency, defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford.
How Dallas got here, including three recent beneficial moves, is not very complex … but it takes attention to detail to understand it.
1. If Greg Hardy is active for 12 games (as expected following his four-game suspension) his original cap hit of $3.2 million will now include an additional $5.7 million. So that's $8.9 mil scheduled for him. (Hardy's sack total can earn him an additional $1.8 mil but doesn't have to factor into this year's cap.)
2. Rolando McClain's four-game suspension means the Cowboys will not pay him his base salary for those games equalling $176,500 in savings. His total cap hit has been reduced by $364,000.
3. Dez Bryant's new deal seems to be the most misunderstood of all. Because it's a "$70 million deal,'' some think it hurts Dallas cap this year. To the contrary. The Dez structure and spread-out actually SAVES the Cowboys $5.8 million in room this year.
In total: The Cowboys will have approximately $11.9 million of cap space to either extend current players, trade for other team's players, sign free agents in camp or during the season, or roll over into 2016.
"Cowboys Cap Hell'' has always been a myth. But at this moment, it is a measurable myth — measurable by being $11.9 million worth of wrong.
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