Dollars And Sense Of Romo's Financial Future With Cowboys
By Mike Fisher
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FRISCO (105.3 The Fan) - In 2013, the Dallas Cowboys signed Tony Romo to a six-year, $108-million contract.
"Too much'' said many, to which I responded: "It's not too much if he wins. If the Cowboys win, there is no 'too much.'''
And indeed, when the Cowboys went 12-4 in 2014 captained by Romo experiencing one of the greatest QB years in NFL history, nobody complained about his salary.
The critics did, however, eventually return to trying to predict a gloomy cap-related future for a player who was involved in a series of restructures that are commonly ripped as "kicking the can'' moves that sends a franchise careening toward eventual financial suicide.
And now, here we are. We're deep into the contract. The can has been kicked. Romo's goodbye can at least be envisioned from here, as the corner is not so sharp and the shadow is not so undetectable.
So what if?
If Romo is on the team beyond this year he costs you $24.7 million in 2017 and $25.2 million in 2018. That was a perfectly acceptable plan … pre Dak Prescott. It now seems excessive.
If Romo is a post-June 1 2017 cut, that drops to $10.7 million of dead money in 2017 and $8.9 million of dead money in 2018. So you will save $30 million (less than the planned $50 mil) over the two years.
If Romo is a "standard'' cut (or retirement) as a pre-June 1 move, all of the bonus rolls up into 2017, so his cap number goes from $24.7 million in 2017 to $19.6 million, with no dead money in 2018.
A trade leaves Dallas in essentially the same financial spot: $19.6 mil of money, one way or another, committed to the cap for two years or less. It's simply not that painful, cap-wise. (The trade issue isn't about the money; Romo's new team only pays him $14 mil. The issue is who wants him, what do they trade to get him, and how much of the Cowboys' take can be conditional.)
Emotionally? That's a different story, and one for owner Jerry Jones to work through.
Said Jerry after Dallas' 34-31 playoff ouster on Sunday at the hands of the Packers and Aaron Rodgers: "That's not for (discussion now). We'll be talking and addressing those things as we move ahead here over the next weeks and months.''
But the future is now and the decision is coming. Dak Prescott is costing you just $600,000 annually; Jerry's Cowboys have made a very smart and affordable transition at the position. Can Dallas renegotiate Tony's number down? Sure, and Jerry can envision Romo staying even at his present number — in which case you invite into the locker room the QB controversy that never happened this year, but would be impossible to block next season.
Now, is $10 mil of dead money in a year "bad''? Well, it's the same sort of number teams like the Eagles, Giants, Redskins, Patriots, Steelers, Seahawks and Chiefs are dealing with this season. The Falcons are dealing with twice the number. The Saints are dealing with three times that number. (How are the "Cap-Hell Cowboys'' dealing with dead money this year? The figure is less than $1 mil, among the lowest in the NFL.)
To be clear (and again, there are some "grays'' here but some definitive "black-and-whites,'' too): The Cowboys can divorce themselves from Romo, cap-wise, and actually end up SAVING money at the position.
There are hellish things about Tony Romo's NFL window possibly closing sooner than the future Ring-of-Honor cinch might wish. But they aren't about the financial burdens. They are about the emotional ones.
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