Reduced Free Agency This Year...

[silverbear]

One major point that is often neglected is that the new "Final 8" rule for an uncapped season does not cover signing players who have been released (salary, age, behavior) by their prior teams.

We will need to lose a free agent before we can sign one, and the first year salary will have to match, but we can immediately sign any released players we desire.

That's cool, there will probably be a lot of players released this coming offseason, mostly because of the salaries that don't match performance...

 

[silverbear]

Brilliant...........penalize the teams that built the teams the right way in the salary cap era so that the morons like the skins who circumvented the salary cap and still have nothing to show for it can go on free spending.

Great idea.

But if they do that, they're liable to screw themselves when the new CBA is negotiated...

 

[AdamJT13]

No, as I understand it, if we lose a FA, we can then go out and sign one, but only to a contract that does not exceed what our departing FA got... one assumes that Seymour will make a lot more than Spears does...

That's only if we beat the Vikings, and only for true UFAs (not players who were cut).

 

[silverbear]

That's only if we beat the Vikings, and only for true UFAs (not players who were cut).

Right as always, Adam... and from my perspective, the pool of players who will be cut is liable to be a far more interesting group than the pool of unrestricted free agents...

 

[Vegas_Cowboy]

So, just so I understand this right. Teams will be able to cut players without it counting against the cap and the Cowboys will have no limit on signing those players who are cut? Just UFAs? If that's the case then I don't see what the big deal is. The players who are going to get cut are going to probably be a better crop then the FA crop.

 

[Eskimo]

Anyone can sign Boldin if he gets cut, no matter where they finished.

Why Arizona would cut him is the question.

So we could potentially sign anyone that is cut - that could be a large pool of good players who simply aren't worth their original contracts. I think this pool of players could be where we find some vet role players to plug some holes that we couldn't fill by other means.

This leads me to believe that the FO could be a bit more aggressive about dumping bad contracts knowing there may be a sizeable pool of players they can sign to fill the hole created.

 

[LatinMind]

i dont even care about capped or uncapped. all i know is dallas is young and has its core pretty much taken care of. besides austin but that will get done and hes restricted anyways.

i started to like spears but if he does leave and i think he might. so what hes a de in a 3-4. dallas still has hatcher and a very underrated guy in bowen. dallas is fine. id like to see hamlin and possibly roy gone. but idk if jerry would pull the trigger

 

[fan62]

Could we cut RW? No one would pick him up. Jerry could explain that he will resign him at a very reduced salary, but write his contract with a lot of incentive clauses. Make him work to get the money this time.

 

[LatinMind]

i dont know how this works. but if dallas cant sign anybody next yr. then why did they already sign leon williams to a futures contract?

 

[AdamJT13]

i dont know how this works. but if dallas cant sign anybody next yr. then why did they already sign leon williams to a futures contract?

He was not a true UFA (and the free agency period hasn't even started). He was a street free agent who was cut by the Browns back in September.

 

[AdamJT13]

Could we cut RW? No one would pick him up.

You cannot be serious.

 

[AdamJT13]

So, just so I understand this right. Teams will be able to cut players without it counting against the cap and the Cowboys will have no limit on signing those players who are cut? Just UFAs? If that's the case then I don't see what the big deal is. The players who are going to get cut are going to probably be a better crop then the FA crop.

If there's no cap this season, no players -- cut or not -- will count against the cap. But if the cap returns in the next CBA and 2011, 2012, etc., those cut players will still count against the cap, unless all of the rules change (which is unlikely).

 

[CCBoy]

If there's no cap this season, no players -- cut or not -- will count against the cap. But if the cap returns in the next CBA and 2011, 2012, etc., those cut players will still count against the cap, unless all of the rules change (which is unlikely).

So Adam, with an uncapped season in the mix, how DOES the computation of remaining cap for cut players work?

 

[fan62]

You cannot be serious.

Ok, true - point made. I was thinking at his current salary, which of course they don't have to pay.

 

[PullMyFinger]

Brilliant...........penalize the teams that built the teams the right way in the salary cap era so that the morons like the skins who circumvented the salary cap and still have nothing to show for it can go on free spending.

Great idea.

Which is the main reason I hate the cap. Punishing teams for being good.

 

[PullMyFinger]

The flipside is that that with FA now being 6 seasons instead of 4 and with each team getting an additional transition option to use, you'll see a lot fewer guys becoming FA's.

Then you have the ability of teams to simply pay their upcoming FA's lots of money to stay with their original clubs.

I just don't think you're going to see a lot of true FA's out there this offseason.

You'll see a lot of guys who are cut due to their contracts, but not true FA's.

I think there might be some trading going on this coming off season also.

 

[silverbear]

So, just so I understand this right. Teams will be able to cut players without it counting against the cap and the Cowboys will have no limit on signing those players who are cut? Just UFAs? If that's the case then I don't see what the big deal is. The players who are going to get cut are going to probably be a better crop then the FA crop.

Exactly... but I don't see the Boys being real active in that market either... I think they like the team they have... so they might make one or two moves for depth, nothing more...

Just a hunch, you understand...

 

[Eskimo]

If there's no cap this season, no players -- cut or not -- will count against the cap. But if the cap returns in the next CBA and 2011, 2012, etc., those cut players will still count against the cap, unless all of the rules change (which is unlikely).

But could contracts be re-worked to give certain underpaid players large roster bonuses (Jay Ratliff, Jason Witten for example) as this would not be carried forward according to the current cap system?

We should be allowed to give Miles Austin a large 2010 salary + roster bonus in his new contract so that it would not carry forward either, I presume.

The other question I have to ask is how you are so sure there will be a hard cap in the next CBA? The NBA and MLB have avoided it thus far. Couldn't the NFLPA make a stand against hard caps until the owners budge for an altered form of cap and FA?

 

[Beast_from_East]

Yes.

No salary cap would mean no signing bonus pro-ration to account for.

We could cut bait with anyone we want.

But I wouldn't look for it.

We've got a nice team.

I really think this is the main benefit of an uncapped year. Its not "how many probowlers you can sign", the benefit is clearing "mistakes" off the roster.

With a cap, all the signing bonus left would be prorated and the result would be a huge cap hit. If your payroll is already pretty high, you simply cant afford to take the hit. Thus, there are alot of guys on teams right now that have contracts that are just crazy, but the team cant afford to cut them because of the cap hit....................that all changes next year.


EDIT****Nevermind, if I am understanding Adam correctly, he is saying that if the cap comes back in 2011 and beyond that the remaining prorated signing bonus would be carried forward and count against the future cap. If this is indeed the case, teams will not be able to just "erase contracts" off the books like they never happend. So if we released Barber (example only), his cap hit would be carried forward to the 2011 or 2012 season if a cap is restored under a new CBA.

So there really is no benefit to release players with huge contracts if the cap hits are just going to be carried forward, so why would there be a large pool of players getting released then if there is no benefit and the cap hit stays???

 

[AdamJT13]

So Adam, with an uncapped season in the mix, how DOES the computation of remaining cap for cut players work?

Before June 2, the prorations remain in each season. Starting June 2, the 2010 proration stays the same, and everything else counts against 2011.

So, yes, teams can save money by cutting players and not paying their salaries and bonuses this season. But they'll still have some dead money in future seasons, if the cap comes back.