Romo's Next Post-Cowboys Move? Retirement?
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FRISCO (105.3 THE FAN) - It's already a coast-to-coast parlor game: Where will Tony Romo play next?
The facet of the game people keep forgetting to play: What if Tony Romo doesn't play anywhere next?
The Dallas Cowboys have all but said their goodbyes to the veteran star, who is being replaced permanently by young Dak Prescott.
I'm told Romo has yet to do a deep dive into the makeup of the rosters, cap space and management of other potential suitors. (I know the Broncos are the most commonly mentioned name here; I'd make sure we include the Texans in the conversation.)
But what if Romo — who has a lovely young family, the house of his dreams in Dallas, his health and a gigantic bank account — simply walks away from the NFL?
There are financial ramifications for the Cowboys here, as Romo has $19.6 million remaining of unamortized signing bonus. If he retires, that total accelerates onto the 2017 ledger — but is equals the Cowboys' saving $5.1 million of space on next year's cap. And it would also create $25.2 million of 2018 space that is currently earmarked for Romo, and $23.7 million of similar 2019 space.
Makes years of suggestions of "Cap Hell'' look rather ridiculous, eh?
Another option: Part with Romo in the form of a June 1st cap casualty. This option can mean only the 2017 prorated bonus amount ($10.7 million) would be on the cap next year, and only $8.9 million would hit the cap in 2018. (A two-year split of the aforementioned $19.8 mil.)
That second option doesn't provide Dallas with cap relief in time to spend in free agency. But it still represents savings that Dallas can use. (There might be other retirement-paperwork tricks that reduce Romo's cap hit even further, but the above two scenarios are most common.)
And then what? Again, we can have our fun with the Texans and the Broncos and the Chiefs and whomever...but a smart player in the Where's Romo Parlor Game should also include FOX, CBS and ESPN as bidders.
Tony Romo as a football commentator on in the fall and winter and a golf commentator in the spring and summer, and maybe getting involved in the movie business with some of his many Hollywood buddies?
That's the game beyond the game.
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