Recent large contracts by the Cowboys

[Verdict]

Here are the recent larger contracts signed by the Cowboys. And let's also consider how the contracts look in retrospect.

1. Dez Bryant (overpaid at inception). Horrible crash and burn contract.
2. Sean Lee. (Team friendly). Good player but poor availability. Probably shouldn't see the last year of his contract.
3. FredBeard. (Mega contract- top market value). Great player. Unforeseen circumstances may make this one a base deal. Hard to fault the team, but it's an example of the risk involved to the team.
4. Zack Martin (mega deal). He was injured for the first time this year. Great player but injury risk does loom large.
5. Tyron Smith. (Team friendly mega deal). He's over performed his contract but back issues could derail his career.
6. L. Collins. (Over paid). He's been a marginal player for his contract. I would argue he has under performed his contract.

As you can see it's a mixed bag, but arguably none of them are considered bargains for their position now. Lots of risk when you sign players to mega deals. Even the best bets (Martin, Fredbeard, Tyron) have been a mixed bag, especially for the money.

4 or the 6 (excluding Dez and Collins) were solid contracts when signed and a better risk than signing Tank.

 

[Teague31]

Zack Martin is not a mixed bag.

 

[CF74]

1) Fail - nobody could have predicted the heart and soul of the team would have gotten injured the way he did....

 

[BigCatMonaco]

Dez was coming off three straight seasons as one of the best in the game.


90/1300/14 TDS.
Per year.

He wasn’t overpaid at inception.

 

[Verdict]

1) Fail - nobody could have predicted the heart and soul of the team would have gotten injured the way he did....

Yeah. He was way over rated at they time. It wasn't that far fetched unless you were a blind homer fan. Much like Tank now.

 

[Verdict]

Dez was coming off three straight seasons as one of the best in the game.


90/1300/14 TDS.
Per year.

He wasn’t overpaid at inception.

He wasn't one of the best at anything except jump balls. One trick pony. Romo made him a ton of money.

 

[CF74]

Yeah. He was way over rated at they time. It wasn't that far fetched unless you were a blind homer fan. Much like Tank now.

Pfffffffffftttttttttt!!!!!

He was a Top 3 receiver prior to injury, always double teamed, unstoppable.....

 

[RodeoJake]

You left out Romo. How much dead money did that one leave us with? Long term mega deals aren't wise in football due to the injury risk.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Zack Martin is not a mixed bag.

I disagree with this assessment.

Every contract on that list makes sense except for Zack. La'el got his contract as sort of an apology for going undrafted and a thank you for choosing Dallas. It made sense.

Look at this list:

1. Titans offensive lineman Taylor Lewan: $16 million
2. Giants offensive lineman Nate Solder: $15.5 million
3. Falcons offensive lineman Jake Matthews: $14.5 million
4. Cowboys offensive lineman Zack Martin: $14 million
5. Jaguars offensive lineman Andrew Norwell: $13.3 million
6. Chargers offensive lineman Russell Okung: $13.25 million
7. Commanders offensive lineman Trent Williams: $13.2 million
8. Saints offensive lineman Terron Armstead: $13 million
9. Cowboys offensive lineman Tyron Smith: $12.2 million
10. Packers offensive lineman David Bakhtiari: $12 million
10. Chiefs offensive lineman Eric Fisher: $12 million
10. Bengals offensive lineman Cordy Glenn: $12 million
10. Browns offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler: $12 million

Even if Zack become the greatest guard in NFL history, that's not a great deal. Guards aren't supposed to make more than all-pro tackles. There's a reason they rarely get drafted in the top 10, it's a less valuable position. It is proven Wide Receivers are more valuable to a football team than any RB. It is proven Corners are valued higher than safeties. To pay a safety top corner money would be outrageous, even if he is Earl Thomas. To pay a guard that much more than Tyron Smith, that much more than David Bakhtiari... that's just nuts.

 

[Vinnie2u]

6. Crawford 10 million cap hit this year.

 

[KingintheNorth]

Dez was coming off three straight seasons as one of the best in the game.


90/1300/14 TDS.
Per year.

He wasn’t overpaid at inception.

Dez stole the OP's girlfriend or something. You're never going to convince him that Dez was ever any good.

 

[Verdict]

You left out Romo. How much dead money did that one leave us with? Long term mega deals aren't wise in football due to the injury risk.

Yes. That's true too. I'm sure there are a few more.

 

[Verdict]

Dez stole the OP's girlfriend or something. You're never going to convince him that Dez was ever any good.

His first contract was a bargain. But the second contract wiped all that away.

 

[Verdict]

Dez stole the OP's girlfriend or something. You're never going to convince him that Dez was ever any good.

And you should really stop with the personal stuff.

 

[buybuydandavis]

6. L. Collins. (Over paid). He's been a marginal player for his contract. I would argue he has under performed his contract.

The Collins extension evaluated in isolation was crap from day one. We extended him in his 3rd year, with that season to go, and another year of rights as a RFA.

The money made no sense except as making good on a hypothetical promise to Collins when he was originally signed.

This year, I don't see how he's worth 10mil, but we probably keep him to churn the comp pick. He's an interesting case, though, as Williams would seem a viable replacement. If Collins had been hit by a bus predraft, we probably would have started Williams at RT and felt ok about it. Late first round Ts start all the time, and we felt he was closer to late first round quality than where we took him.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Yes. That's true too. I'm sure there are a few more.

Tony's extension was an interesting one. His previous contract had a couple of years on the back end that were voidable *if he stayed with the Cowboys". Kind of odd. To maximize that value, we could have traded Tony, and some other team would have gotten those years at a good price.

 

[Jeffkills]

Monster contracts never seem to work out, except for T-Smith, Fredbeard, and the President...

Every other time, seems like we get the short end of the stick....

 

[Jeffkills]

6. Crawford 10 million cap hit this year.

Gotta say I still like that one... I’ll bet he’d even take less money...

Remember how Scandrick got his money? He took those short extensions and never tried to hold us up... He was a very smart player, and he served us well for many years...

 

[RodeoJake]

Dez stole the OP's girlfriend or something. You're never going to convince him that Dez was ever any good.

Dez was good, but the point is the mega contract he received wasn't smart. Chances that he would be productive for the life of the deal weren't good.

 

[fansince68]

Dez was coming off three straight seasons as one of the best in the game.


90/1300/14 TDS.
Per year.

He wasn’t overpaid at inception.

It's been said that contracts are based on what you are "projected" to do not what you have already done. They took the risk with Dez. It would have been next to impossible to not give him his coins.