Recent large contracts by the Cowboys

Sydla

Well-Known Member
Messages
61,345
Reaction score
94,417
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.

So I assume you have a problem with the Eagles and Brandon Brooks’ contract? His cap hit is 12MM this year. Martin’s is 14MM and he’s a better OG than Brooks.
 

Aerolithe_Lion

Well-Known Member
Messages
11,592
Reaction score
12,673
So I assume you have a problem with the Eagles and Brandon Brooks’ contract? His cap hit is 12MM this year. Martin’s is 14MM and he’s a better OG than Brooks.

I’m starting to feel a little gassy, sure. Brooks is 12 this year then goes back down to 11, Martin keeps baloooning to consecutive years at 15! Brooks should be about the limit for guards, but even 12 is a bit high
 

irishline

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,686
Reaction score
4,095
CowboysZone DIEHARD Fan
His first contract was a bargain. But the second contract wiped all that away.

He had just come off of three years with an average of 91 receptions, 1,312 yards, and 14 TDs. The contract matched what he had done, as others have said no one could predicte he would suffer a Jones fracture that would require a bone graft and stem cell injection. Not saying he would be all world, but we have no idea what the next few years would have been like had it not been for those injuries. I can agree with his attitude at the end, but give the man some due for what he did for this team at a high level prior to getting hurt,

Give it a rest already, we get it, you don't like him. No idea what he did to you personally but this obsession with bashing him every. single. opportunity. for. years. is getting old.
 

Sydla

Well-Known Member
Messages
61,345
Reaction score
94,417
I’m starting to feel a little gassy, sure. Brooks is 12 this year then goes back down to 11, Martin keeps baloooning to consecutive years at 15! Brooks should be about the limit for guards, but even 12 is a bit high

Funny how Brooks at 12MM is the limit for an OG.

Typical.

Oh and Brooks signed his deal 2 years before Martin so the deals aren’t that far apart when you factor in timing.

If Martin is a bad contract, so is Brooks’.
 

Aerolithe_Lion

Well-Known Member
Messages
11,592
Reaction score
12,673
Funny how Brooks at 12MM is the limit for an OG.

Typical.

Oh and Brooks signed his deal 2 years before Martin so the deals aren’t that far apart when you factor in timing.

If Martin is a bad contract, so is Brooks’.

I literally said brooks is still a little high. And brooks contract isn’t near Martin’s, regardless of length
 

Sydla

Well-Known Member
Messages
61,345
Reaction score
94,417
I literally said brooks is still a little high. And brooks contract isn’t near Martin’s, regardless of length

You literally said Brooks’ is the limit, meaning it’s not that bad.

But Martin’s cap hit, which is onmy couple million more for a superior player, well that’s bad.

LOL. Take everything into account, timing, rising cap each successive year, quality of player, if Martin has a bad contract than so did Brooks.
 

Aerolithe_Lion

Well-Known Member
Messages
11,592
Reaction score
12,673
You literally said Brooks’ is the limit, meaning it’s not that bad.

But Martin’s cap hit, which is onmy couple million more for a superior player, well that’s bad.

LOL. What an Eagles homer.

I said he *should* have been the limit but his is still too high. Where are you getting that I didn’t say that? It’s right there.


Brandon Brooks signed 5 years 40m$

Zack Martin signed 6 years 84m$.

“Couple million more” is nearly DOUBLE in size over the entirety of the contract. Martin’s only gets larger in cap hit as his contract increases while Brooks will deflate. It’s a circumstantial thing for your argument that they’re this bear at the moment, because it won’t be that way for long. Brooks is too high and Martin is way too high.
 
Last edited:

Whyjerry

Well-Known Member
Messages
17,219
Reaction score
26,397
His first contract was a bargain. But the second contract wiped all that away.

Dez was very overrated. Had talent but he was a complete moron. Look how this season unfolded. No one wanted the guy. It would not shock me if he never plays again.
 

Verdict

Well-Known Member
Messages
26,189
Reaction score
20,421
He had just come off of three years with an average of 91 receptions, 1,312 yards, and 14 TDs. The contract matched what he had done, as others have said no one could predicte he would suffer a Jones fracture that would require a bone graft and stem cell injection. Not saying he would be all world, but we have no idea what the next few years would have been like had it not been for those injuries. I can agree with his attitude at the end, but give the man some due for what he did for this team at a high level prior to getting hurt,

Give it a rest already, we get it, you don't like him. No idea what he did to you personally but this obsession with bashing him every. single. opportunity. for. years. is getting old.

Not really getting old. I think it just offends you so much because you love Dez so much.
 

BigCatMonaco

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,177
Reaction score
1,723
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.


But OP stated that dez was overpaid at the inception of the deal, which is untrue.

Statistically he was a one of the best in the game for three years straight. He signed for market value, as four other WRs did almost immediately before and after he did for the same amount give or take a couple hundred K.


And with his bad years, his injuries and him not playing this past season at all...

He still has more TDS than any one of them, which shows just how dominant he was during the years prior to his deal, especially given his drop off in production following, but which lends itself back to my point of him not being overpaid at the time of the deal.
22 more than Julio.
10 more than AJ
11 more than DT
 

Blackspider214

Well-Known Member
Messages
13,057
Reaction score
15,891
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.

Paying for past performance and not taking into account the performance over that new contract is terrible strategy. Dez was and always will be a one trick pony who rarely just took over a game.
 

Galian Beast

Well-Known Member
Messages
14,735
Reaction score
7,457
What a lot of people don't realize on the board is that it isn't just about the money. It's risk. The more money you pool into a single player, the higher the impact when that player becomes unavailable due to injury, suspension, or other issues.

Players get injured all the time, if all your money is pooled into just a few players, the rest of your team is likely to be pretty poor. That means you need those players to play every game and to play to their potential in every game.
 

AKATheRake

Well-Known Member
Messages
6,968
Reaction score
2,963
When your organization is worth $5 Billion + and the annual expenditure which is the product you generate all other revenues from is capped at $200 million +. That product has to get paid somewhere.
 

Verdict

Well-Known Member
Messages
26,189
Reaction score
20,421
What a lot of people don't realize on the board is that it isn't just about the money. It's risk. The more money you pool into a single player, the higher the impact when that player becomes unavailable due to injury, suspension, or other issues.

Players get injured all the time, if all your money is pooled into just a few players, the rest of your team is likely to be pretty poor. That means you need those players to play every game and to play to their potential in every game.

It's all about the risk vs reward.
 

xwalker

Well-Known Member
Messages
57,162
Reaction score
64,684
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
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.

The Dez contract was doomed from day 1 because he is the biggest moron in Cowboys history.

I think the Frederick contract was a bargain when he signed it averaging 9.4M compared to Zack Martin averaging 14M.

Center is a harder position to fill than OG. Center was a long time problem before Frederick with the likes of Phil Costa. Gurode was a good blocker but terrible snapping the ball.


La'el is a unique situation. I think they promised to give him a decent extension back when they convinced him to sign with the Cowboys after the odd snafu where he didn't get drafted. He is a little over-paid but they saved some money when he picked the Cowboys after the draft.

La'el is an OK player at RT. Not great but not terrible. He might be elite if moved back to OG. He has the perfect physical ability to play OG but he seems a bit slow witted.

The big mistake was the player they didn't re-sign, Jermey Parnell. He was a better player when he departed than La'el is right now and Jax got him for a good deal at 6.4M per.
 

Verdict

Well-Known Member
Messages
26,189
Reaction score
20,421
The Dez contract was doomed from day 1 because he is the biggest moron in Cowboys history.

I think the Frederick contract was a bargain when he signed it averaging 9.4M compared to Zack Martin averaging 14M.

Center is a harder position to fill than OG. Center was a long time problem before Frederick with the likes of Phil Costa. Gurode was a good blocker but terrible snapping the ball.


La'el is a unique situation. I think they promised to give him a decent extension back when they convinced him to sign with the Cowboys after the odd snafu where he didn't get drafted. He is a little over-paid but they saved some money when he picked the Cowboys after the draft.

La'el is an OK player at RT. Not great but not terrible. He might be elite if moved back to OG. He has the perfect physical ability to play OG but he seems a bit slow witted.

The big mistake was the player they didn't re-sign, Jermey Parnell. He was a better player when he departed than La'el is right now and Jax got him for a good deal at 6.4M per.

Between Free and Parnell we chose the wrong player.
 
Top