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Cutting Matters
Mickey Spagnola
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
IRVING, Texas - And the wait continues ... and even though the long-anticipated court case on the legality of the NFL locking out the players began on Friday in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis with oral arguments, chances are another week or two will pass before a ruling is handed down, though the two sides did admit to meetings over the previous three days in Chicago that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did attend.
(Insert oral angst now or mere ray of sunshine?)
So while we wait, here is something I've been meaning to do, hoping to lend some perspective to those of you out there subscribing to that roster-slash mentality that has been growing during this for once appropriately-named offseason since everything has really been truly off.
You know, cut Roy Williams.
Cut Leonard Davis.
Cut Terence Newman.
Cut ... cut ... cut.
Now, some of this is born out of last season's 6-10 frustration, and understandably so when your team laced with such great expectations falls off the face of the NFL in the first eight games of the season. And some of this is born out of merit when some of the guys' production does not nearly match their take-home pay.
Such a cavalier attitude under normal circumstances would get a team into a heap of salary-cap trouble when you are dealing with players who have like three or more years remaining on their contracts that were sweetened with hefty signing bonuses being prorated over the life of the deal for salary cap purposes.
It's called dead money, and most of you should be highly familiar with that term since that's what plummeted the Cowboys into salary-cap hell back in 2000 and 2001, when those escalations for veterans who were let go, like Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin and Daryl Johnston and Kevin Smith et al for whatever reason, be it health or production, crippled this roster.
We have no idea what system the NFL will operate under, assuming there is a 2011 season and a new CBA. Will there be a salary cap this season? (And there will be a more restrictive one if the owners are to agree to a new deal.) Or might the league operate under an uncapped year as they did last season since we already are within 100 days of the 2011 season opener and getting mighty late to begin legislating such roster restrictive rules?
Who knows, but the guess here is a new CBA will not allow teams wholesale dumping of salaries without some sort of retribution down the line, no matter if the cap returns this year or next. In fact, there still are some concerns throughout the league over the after-effects from the salary dumping that did take place last season. (See Flozell Adams and Ken Hamlin.)
So let's do this, let's assume there is going to be a salary cap, and just know that the last cap in place (2009) was right at $123 million and remember the Cowboys, and most of this was planned, went as high as $160 million in last year's uncapped season. All of which puts the team in a delicate position since having an uncapped year this season would help them with their budget, yet Jones knows a cap is needed for the good of the league's future.
The Cowboys would receive a break this year under a capped system since we've already passed the normal June 1 deadline, meaning any player cut in a capped season before June 1 caused the entire prorated signing bonus and existing guarantees to escalate into the a team's salary cap total. And if cut after June 1, then only the normal proration would count for that season and the remaining portions would escalate into the next season.
Now why don't we start with veteran running back Marion Barber for a simple example since there seems to be a clamoring out there to let him go after the Cowboys selected Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray in the third round. Barber still has $6 million of signing bonus to be accounted for over the final three years of his deal, or $2 million per season. So under the previous rules and assuming the June 1 deadline still is in play, then cutting Barber would cost the Cowboys $2 million this year and another $4 million next year. In other words, $6 million of dead money. His base salary for 2011 plus roster bonus would total $4.75 million, meaning a $6.75 million cap charge if he's on the 2011 roster.
So good for 2011 finances and bad for 2012 if uncontrolled dumping is not allowed.
Then there is Davis, who's quite big to start with, but who appeared a tad bigger than usual at Tony Romo's wedding last Saturday if a guy weighing 360 can possibly look heavier. If cut, the Cowboys would have to account for $6.6 million of escalation, either all this year, depending on the system, or one-third this year and two-thirds next year if the June 1 rule stands. His base salaries over the final three years of his deal are $6 million a year.
Moving on, next up would be everyone's whipping boy, Roy Williams. He still carries $13.12 million of unaccounted proration over the next two years if he's released, yet his base salaries aren't all that unreasonable, $5.1 million this year and $6.8 million the next. What you gonna do with three years left on his deal? That's a big hit for nothing.
As for Newman, another popular choice among you guys to be released since he's turning 33 a week before the Cowboys' season opener, he's in basically the same boat as Barber, with $6 million of proration still remaining over the final three years of his deal. And again, under previous rules, then that means $2 million this year and $4 million next year. Giving pause, though, would be his $8 million base salary for 2011.
And then there is Marc Colombo, turning 33 this season and having fought through leg and knee injuries. His is a complicated deal, one laced with roster bonuses, options and guarantees, and worth $2.4 million this year. Cutting him would charge $5.4 million, so no mega sale going on here.
Knowing all this likely will cause you some head scratching when randomly suggesting dumping this guy or that guy, no different than the Cowboys when it comes to this season and then especially next season if the cap is put back in place this year. And you know, even if this is an uncapped year and the salary cap rules aren't reinstituted until next year, there is a fear cutting guys in 2011 to dump escalation might carry some sort of penalty once the cap returns in 2012.
I know it's a popular argument that getting a push on the base salary savings and escalation cost is a good thing. But I'm thinking, if I have to subtract $6 million from my cap for absolutely nothing, how do I count that as a victory even if I've already paid out all that money? Sort of like buying a new car, yet still having to make payments on the old car I dumped without a trade-in, thus two car payments.
Talk about dead money.
So just a little food for thought.
And in the meantime, we'll continue to just hurry up and wait.
Mickey Spagnola
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
IRVING, Texas - And the wait continues ... and even though the long-anticipated court case on the legality of the NFL locking out the players began on Friday in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis with oral arguments, chances are another week or two will pass before a ruling is handed down, though the two sides did admit to meetings over the previous three days in Chicago that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did attend.
(Insert oral angst now or mere ray of sunshine?)
So while we wait, here is something I've been meaning to do, hoping to lend some perspective to those of you out there subscribing to that roster-slash mentality that has been growing during this for once appropriately-named offseason since everything has really been truly off.
You know, cut Roy Williams.
Cut Leonard Davis.
Cut Terence Newman.
Cut ... cut ... cut.
Now, some of this is born out of last season's 6-10 frustration, and understandably so when your team laced with such great expectations falls off the face of the NFL in the first eight games of the season. And some of this is born out of merit when some of the guys' production does not nearly match their take-home pay.
Such a cavalier attitude under normal circumstances would get a team into a heap of salary-cap trouble when you are dealing with players who have like three or more years remaining on their contracts that were sweetened with hefty signing bonuses being prorated over the life of the deal for salary cap purposes.
It's called dead money, and most of you should be highly familiar with that term since that's what plummeted the Cowboys into salary-cap hell back in 2000 and 2001, when those escalations for veterans who were let go, like Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin and Daryl Johnston and Kevin Smith et al for whatever reason, be it health or production, crippled this roster.
We have no idea what system the NFL will operate under, assuming there is a 2011 season and a new CBA. Will there be a salary cap this season? (And there will be a more restrictive one if the owners are to agree to a new deal.) Or might the league operate under an uncapped year as they did last season since we already are within 100 days of the 2011 season opener and getting mighty late to begin legislating such roster restrictive rules?
Who knows, but the guess here is a new CBA will not allow teams wholesale dumping of salaries without some sort of retribution down the line, no matter if the cap returns this year or next. In fact, there still are some concerns throughout the league over the after-effects from the salary dumping that did take place last season. (See Flozell Adams and Ken Hamlin.)
So let's do this, let's assume there is going to be a salary cap, and just know that the last cap in place (2009) was right at $123 million and remember the Cowboys, and most of this was planned, went as high as $160 million in last year's uncapped season. All of which puts the team in a delicate position since having an uncapped year this season would help them with their budget, yet Jones knows a cap is needed for the good of the league's future.
The Cowboys would receive a break this year under a capped system since we've already passed the normal June 1 deadline, meaning any player cut in a capped season before June 1 caused the entire prorated signing bonus and existing guarantees to escalate into the a team's salary cap total. And if cut after June 1, then only the normal proration would count for that season and the remaining portions would escalate into the next season.
Now why don't we start with veteran running back Marion Barber for a simple example since there seems to be a clamoring out there to let him go after the Cowboys selected Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray in the third round. Barber still has $6 million of signing bonus to be accounted for over the final three years of his deal, or $2 million per season. So under the previous rules and assuming the June 1 deadline still is in play, then cutting Barber would cost the Cowboys $2 million this year and another $4 million next year. In other words, $6 million of dead money. His base salary for 2011 plus roster bonus would total $4.75 million, meaning a $6.75 million cap charge if he's on the 2011 roster.
So good for 2011 finances and bad for 2012 if uncontrolled dumping is not allowed.
Then there is Davis, who's quite big to start with, but who appeared a tad bigger than usual at Tony Romo's wedding last Saturday if a guy weighing 360 can possibly look heavier. If cut, the Cowboys would have to account for $6.6 million of escalation, either all this year, depending on the system, or one-third this year and two-thirds next year if the June 1 rule stands. His base salaries over the final three years of his deal are $6 million a year.
Moving on, next up would be everyone's whipping boy, Roy Williams. He still carries $13.12 million of unaccounted proration over the next two years if he's released, yet his base salaries aren't all that unreasonable, $5.1 million this year and $6.8 million the next. What you gonna do with three years left on his deal? That's a big hit for nothing.
As for Newman, another popular choice among you guys to be released since he's turning 33 a week before the Cowboys' season opener, he's in basically the same boat as Barber, with $6 million of proration still remaining over the final three years of his deal. And again, under previous rules, then that means $2 million this year and $4 million next year. Giving pause, though, would be his $8 million base salary for 2011.
And then there is Marc Colombo, turning 33 this season and having fought through leg and knee injuries. His is a complicated deal, one laced with roster bonuses, options and guarantees, and worth $2.4 million this year. Cutting him would charge $5.4 million, so no mega sale going on here.
Knowing all this likely will cause you some head scratching when randomly suggesting dumping this guy or that guy, no different than the Cowboys when it comes to this season and then especially next season if the cap is put back in place this year. And you know, even if this is an uncapped year and the salary cap rules aren't reinstituted until next year, there is a fear cutting guys in 2011 to dump escalation might carry some sort of penalty once the cap returns in 2012.
I know it's a popular argument that getting a push on the base salary savings and escalation cost is a good thing. But I'm thinking, if I have to subtract $6 million from my cap for absolutely nothing, how do I count that as a victory even if I've already paid out all that money? Sort of like buying a new car, yet still having to make payments on the old car I dumped without a trade-in, thus two car payments.
Talk about dead money.
So just a little food for thought.
And in the meantime, we'll continue to just hurry up and wait.
