The Mythical Salary Cap Monster

[Nightman]

I can't believe so many fans don't want to get better this year by adding guys like Melton and Allen. The are afraid of the salary cap, but it's not an issue and never has been. Dallas has always signed FAs, extended their own guys and never reached the so called "cap hell" we always hear about.

This is after the cap went from 128m in 2009 to 120m in 2011 and after getting hit with 10m cap penalty. That includes the Barber contract, the RWilliams contract, the Ratliff fiasco and the Newman and Free extensions. They have resigned Romo and Ware to monster deals, tagged Spencer twice for big hits, signed Carr to a huge deal and extended Lee, Scandrick, Church and Bailey.

If they restructure Witten, Carr and Free, they will have over 25m in cap space this year and will still be 28m UNDER the projected cap next year. That number includes Romo's 27m cap hit that will be cut in half, creating 13-14m more space. Orton, Free, Austin, Ware and Bern will be gone after next year. Carr, Witten and hopefully Allen will be gone a couple years later.

That leaves plenty of room for Melton and Allen and still extending Dez, TSmith and Murray. Restructuring isn't scary and should be welcomed by the fans. It's a great way to maximize the cap every year and pay over multiple years in the future when the cap is higher. It's a a zero interest loan and benefits the team and the player. It in no way makes it harder to cut someone. That money is already spent either way. Why do you think most people use Visa over AmEx? You have to pay your bill in full every month with the AmEx, but with Visa you can pay over time and this card has a 0% APR.

What good is cap space if you don't spend it? It's all Monopoly money if you know what you are doing and Stephen does. With the ability to roll-over any extra cap space, there is even less risk to creating as much space as possible. I would rather have an owner/GM that tries to spend to or above the cap every year than one would rather pocket the excess. There is no prize for extra cap space. No one is saying to build thru FA, but don't be afraid to sign a guy or two that can fill a need and make the team better.

 

[HoosierCowboy]

I agree, but there are many Cowboy fans that are only happy when they can whine about something.

 

[AbeBeta]

There are some additional myths in this post - but let me focus on this one -- "Stephen Jones knows what he is doing" -- that isn't wrong - he does. The issue here is that every single team knows what they are doing with the cap. Most college Sophomores studying accounting could reasonably manage an NFL salary cap. It is not very difficult or complicated. The big issue is spending on the right guys. That comes down to scouting -- just like it always has been

 

[Questfor6]

Wouldn't touch the Carr contract but I'd definitely restructure Witten and release Durant to free up cap room. If we can get a guy like Billy Turner or Juwaun James in the draft I'd give Parnell his walking papers then too for more cap relief.

 

[DuDa]

Wouldn't touch the Carr contract but I'd definitely restructure Witten and release Durant to free up cap room. If we can get a guy like Billy Turner or Juwaun James in the draft I'd give Parnell his walking papers then too for more cap relief.

Why release Parnell if he could potentially take over for Free and save you even more money. I'm pretty sure thats what the front office is hoping for.

 

[Nightman]

Why release Parnell if he could potentially take over for Free and save you even more money. I'm pretty sure thats what the front office is hoping for.

Same with Durant. The savings is minimal when you factor in the Rule of 51 replacement. Let them fight it out and camp after the Draft and then you can cut them.

 

[Doomsay]

At the moment, we probably have the worst DL in football and we have $20 million in dead cap attributable to mostly + 30 year old, no longer on the team, defensive linemen. Those lost cap dollars would be sufficient to re-stock the line. Poor salary cap management is not a "fear", it is a reality.

 

[texbumthelife]

We may not have crossed into salary cap hell territory, but we have certainly walked the line.

I think everyone wants to add talent but

1) We don't want to mortgage the future which, while we may avoid the mythical salary cap hell, we have handicapped our ability to sign the big names. Thats a fact. Structuring your roster around dead money is just not a good way to do things.

2) We want to show an ability to add difference makers through the draft, not simply rely on free agency.

What your saying isn't entirely wrong, but its looking at things very optimistically and not entirely right. You act as if money is no issue, which it is. Yes, the cap goes us most years but then, so does the median contract. If money wasn't an object we would have kept Ware. If money wasn't an object the Ratliff situation wouldn't matter. It's still important to pay the right players the right amount and to not overpay for their services. We can't and should't just throw money at Melton/Allen. If what you're saying was entirely true, Jerry would.

It's not about stopping all spending. It's about making better investments.The bad investments keep us and have kept us from making the right investments too many times.

As much as you may be shocked by my side, I am flabbergasted that some of you want to continue to do things the way we always have and refuse to see that it absolutely has put us in a crunch this season.

 

[Nightman]

There are some additional myths in this post - but let me focus on this one -- "Stephen Jones knows what he is doing" -- that isn't wrong - he does. The issue here is that every single team knows what they are doing with the cap. Most college Sophomores studying accounting could reasonably manage an NFL salary cap. It is not very difficult or complicated. The big issue is spending on the right guys. That comes down to scouting -- just like it always has been

Exactly, I make pizzas for a living and have a real solid grasp of it. People act like the managing a 130m salary cap is too much for a organization that is worth billions and helped write the CBA. They knew increases were coming and when. League revenues go up, the salary cap goes up.

 

[Risen Star]

If the salary cap wasn't an issue the Cowboys wouldn't worry about the price tag for any of these players.

You can chalk up "the salary cap isn't an issue" with the "GMs don't matter" gem. It's what some fans have resorted to to make the state of the team more palatable.

 

[texbumthelife]

At the moment, we probably have the worst DL in football and we have $20 million in dead cap attributable to mostly + 30 year old, no longer on the team, defensive linemen. Those lost cap dollars would be sufficient to re-stock the line. Poor salary cap management is not a "fear", it is a reality.

Thank you. Someone gets it.

It's not that any of us think we have no money or flexibility, just not the money or flexibility we could/should have.

 

[texbumthelife]

If the salary cap wasn't an issue the Cowboys wouldn't worry about the price tag for any of these players.

You can chalk up "the salary cap isn't an issue" with the "GMs don't matter" gem. It's what some fans have resorted to to make the state of the team more palatable.

This may be the best post you've ever made.

 

[starfrombirth]

What good is cap space if you don't spend it? It's all Monopoly money if you know what you are doing and Stephen does. With the ability to roll-over any extra cap space, there is even less risk to creating as much space as possible. I would rather have an owner/GM that tries to spend to or above the cap every year than one would rather pocket the excess. There is no prize for extra cap space. No one is saying to build thru FA, but don't be afraid to sign a guy or two that can fill a need and make the team better.

Well, i understand what you are trying to say but consider this: When you restructure people and then cut them prematurely that money becomes "dead" money which sucks up salary cap space meaning we have less and less to spend as you keep restructuring. This "salary cap hell" refers mostly to this phenomenon which is exactly where we are this year. We had to cut veterans that Jerry very much would have liked to keep just out of sheer loyalty. So we give walking papers to two homegrown cowboys beloved by the owner and fans so we can get a mere 8 million cap room when other teams have 20, 30, and even 40 million to spend. That is the salary cap hell. To add to that the restructures we have done in the past to put us into this situation are now keeping us from being a serious contender for the services of two people and really help us even in the short term. I would never be a proponent of Melton or Allen long term given Allens age and Meltons injury but to be able to be a contender for 2-3 years would be nice. But, because of "salary cap hell" we are not truly contenders for their services.

 

[Nightman]

We may not have crossed into salary cap hell territory, but we have certainly walked the line.

I think everyone wants to add talent but

1) We don't want to mortgage the future which, while we may avoid the mythical salary cap hell, we have handicapped our ability to sign the big names. Thats a fact. Structuring your roster around dead money is just not a good way to do things.

2) We want to show an ability to add difference makers through the draft, not simply rely on free agency.

What your saying isn't entirely wrong, but its looking at things very optimistically and not entirely right. You act as if money is no issue, which it is. Yes, the cap goes us most years but then, so does the median contract. If money wasn't an object we would have kept Ware. If money wasn't an object the Ratliff situation wouldn't matter. It's still important to pay the right players the right amount and to not overpay for their services. We can't and should't just throw money at Melton/Allen. If what you're saying was entirely true, Jerry would.

It's not about stopping all spending. It's about making better investments.The bad investments keep us and have kept us from making the right investments too many times.

As much as you may be shocked by my side, I am flabbergasted that some of you want to continue to do things the way we always have and refuse to see that it absolutely has put us in a crunch this season.

At the moment, we probably have the worst DL in football and we have $20 million in dead cap attributable to mostly + 30 year old, no longer on the team, defensive linemen. Those lost cap dollars would be sufficient to re-stock the line. Poor salary cap management is not a "fear", it is a reality.

We are not in a crunch. We are 26m under the cap with 3 pen strokes and that includes the 20m in dead money. As long as you can create 40-50m in cap space with restructures and cutting under-performing players, you can afford plenty of dead money.

 

[Risen Star]

Thank you. Someone gets it.

It's not that any of us think we have no money or flexibility, just not the money or flexibility we could/should have.

They are spinning it this way because if the Cowboys really wanted to, they could make the moves to sign any player. But they can't do it without limiting themselves in future years.

So they take that and run with it that the salary cap doesn't matter. They can do what they want. Except they really can't and anybody paying attention since FA started knows it.

 

[starfrombirth]

Wouldn't touch the Carr contract but I'd definitely restructure Witten and release Durant to free up cap room. If we can get a guy like Billy Turner or Juwaun James in the draft I'd give Parnell his walking papers then too for more cap relief.

I wouldn't restructure Witten either. I love him but he only has a couple of years left and if you restructure him you are going to keep perpetuating the dead money issue we are already fighting with. I know some people here consider restructuring as "interest free loan" but it's more than just the utilization of funds to stay competitive. It's also the cost of not having that money available when you need it. Borrowing against the future is always a bad idea.

 

[Nightman]

If the salary cap wasn't an issue the Cowboys wouldn't worry about the price tag for any of these players.

You can chalk up "the salary cap isn't an issue" with the "GMs don't matter" gem. It's what some fans have resorted to to make the state of the team more palatable.

This may be the best post you've ever made.

Actually it's completely predictable and not very insightful. Just more empty sarcasm.

 

[17yearsandcounting]

I dont think Allen or Melton are putting this team over the top so ultimately I am not too bothered with where they decide to go cash their paychecks.

 

[Nightman]

Well, i understand what you are trying to say but consider this: When you restructure people and then cut them prematurely that money becomes "dead" money which sucks up salary cap space meaning we have less and less to spend as you keep restructuring. This "salary cap hell" refers mostly to this phenomenon which is exactly where we are this year. We had to cut veterans that Jerry very much would have liked to keep just out of sheer loyalty. So we give walking papers to two homegrown cowboys beloved by the owner and fans so we can get a mere 8 million cap room when other teams have 20, 30, and even 40 million to spend. That is the salary cap hell. To add to that the restructures we have done in the past to put us into this situation are now keeping us from being a serious contender for the services of two people and really help us even in the short term. I would never be a proponent of Melton or Allen long term given Allens age and Meltons injury but to be able to be a contender for 2-3 years would be nice. But, because of "salary cap hell" we are not truly contenders for their services.

We cut Ware and Austin because they are not the players they once where. That is what "good teams" do. They offered Ware money that probably still overpaying for his production and he chose to get a little more from somewhere else. Just business. When was the last time they cut someone because of money and they went somewhere else and had a great year. Newman, Canty, Spears, Jenkins, Flozell, Gurode, Robinson? Maybe Kevin Burnett.

 

[burmafrd]

Actually it's completely predictable and not very insightful. Just more empty sarcasm.

no, you just think you know more than you do

how you spend the money is just as important as who you spend it on. Maybe some day you will understand that.

now as regards the cap, revenue is going up. But so is expenses- a little clue for you: if there are any more lawsuits and settlements, that money comes off the top before the revenue is shared. And additional pension and medical expenses also come off the top. think about that.