Romo restructuring? Seems like a no brainer to me.

[khiladi]

Smart move to keep restructuring Romo until he physically cant play anymore and has to literally be carried off the field............when Romo is done we are going to suck anyways so eating the remainder of his contract at that point doesn't matter.

Man, we are probably going to be so bad, it will be hilarious to watch.

 

[khiladi]

When you get a chance, could you lend me your crystal ball? I could use one of those. Nobody thought Manning would make it back from multiple neck surgeries in his late 30s and he played at a ridiculously high level. We should all cross our fingers, pray, whatever, that Romo can play for 3-5 more years. He just played a season with multiple injuries and led the NFL in passer rating and was named All-Pro. I would NEVER underestimate Romo or his ability to defy the odds.

Manning can't launch the ball downfield and with his last play-off game, many people argue he is done. Romo gets hit way more than Manning too, based on the nature of the offense.

I love Romo and hope he stays, but it's a strong possibility he won't play that long. I don't think its a far-fetched assumption at all.

For what he has given, I hope he doesn't play risking long term health. He's done enough for us fans and the organization.

 

[Longboysfan]

I wonder if they can structure the payout also so he is not taxed that high. The signing bonus is not taxed by any state.
Also - his vet Minimum pay avoids much of the out of state taxes.

 

[DFWJC]

We will only suck when Romo is done is if we fail to smartly build the team. We've been making decent moves as of late, and it would be smart of us to find a suitable replacement when Romo is done. With that said, restructuring can be a great thing to keep the ball rolling.

Now that the offensive core is in place and is young, I'm sure Romo actually envies the next QB in line. Much easier job with that line and , hopefully, run game.
Of course, I think they plan on him being around another 4 years still if the back continues to improve or at least hold up.
In any case, 9 out 10 times (in the salary cap era) there will be at least a year lag after the franchise QB retires.

People use the GB fluke situation as an example, but from what I can think of, that's only happened once or twice in about 20 years.
The teams that withstand the loss of their QB the best (not even one year setback) usually have a dominant defense.

 

[DFWJC]

I wonder how it feels to get a lump sum of a 17 million dollars in the bank.

Romo would probably get hit with a bigger tax percentage as well. It's not necessarily smart financially from his perspective I would think. It would be a Sacrifice.

Yeah, the tax hit would be enormous.
Then again, guaranteed money is what it's all about in the NFL....as you know.
Suffer a career-ending injury and 100 mil contract with 15 guaranteed becomes a 15 mil contract.

 

[NickZepp]

And there was a transition from Farve to Rodgers that was a bit rough Rodgers first year as a starter the Packers went 6-10. This was after he spent 3 years on the bench.

 

[Doomsday101]

I think by the time Romo deal is restructured along with Tyron Smith and pay cut or release of Carr Dallas should have ample room to get our own FA signed and be able to look to FA for mid level players as well as getting our draft picks signed. Impact down the line? we will likely pay out big to Dez and he will be next man up having to restructure his contract and rookie QB are not overly expensive

 

[CyberB0b]

I wonder how it feels to get a lump sum of a 17 million dollars in the bank.

Romo would probably get hit with a bigger tax percentage as well. It's not necessarily smart financially from his perspective I would think. It would be a Sacrifice.

Romo is already in the highest tax bracket, as are most NFL players. It's actually more advantageous to take the lump sum now, due to inflation. The money is worth more now than it will be a few years down the road.

 

[JD_KaPow]

I wonder how it feels to get a lump sum of a 17 million dollars in the bank.

Romo would probably get hit with a bigger tax percentage as well. It's not necessarily smart financially from his perspective I would think. It would be a Sacrifice.

The top tax bracket kicks it at less than $500,000, so at the dollars we're talking about, it's pretty much irrelevant how he takes them unless the tax code changes. I'm sure his accountant does things to minimize the tax burden: whether those things get easier or harder depending on how the payments are spread out, I have no idea (I'd love to have the opportunity to find out, though!).

 

[khiladi]

But isn't the difference between a BONUS and income still pretty significant? A bonus is taxed at a fixed rate, isn't it?

 

[Temo]

It was the plan before Romo had multiple back issues. Romo is signed through 2019. Restructuring most likely leads to A LOT of dead money when he retires.

I did the math, and you can keep restructuring him and keep his cap hits around ~14m/year and your dead money hit in 2019 (assuming he's cut/retired then) is like 15m. A lot of dead money, but for 4 years of Romo at a reasonable cap number, that's ok by me.

 

[Temo]

But isn't the difference between a BONUS and income still pretty significant?

In the eyes of the IRS, no. My bonuses at work get withheld at slightly higher rates than they should, but I get that money back at refund time.

 

[CyberB0b]

But isn't the difference between a BONUS and income still pretty significant? A bonus is taxed at a fixed rate, isn't it?

No. The withholding is higher for guys like you and me, but when you file, if you aren't in that next higher bracket, you get it back.

I think at Romo's tax bracket, he's already maxed out withholding percentage anyways.

 

[khiladi]

In the eyes of the IRS, no. My bonuses at work get withheld at slightly higher rates than they should, but I get that money back at refund time.

Ahh.

I actually just read this. Apparently, it depends on how the employer pays it out. But if they do it flat rate, it's 25% below the first million and 35% every million after that.

That's crazy... Romo would be paying, if flat tax, around five million dollars.

http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2011/12/09/bonus-time-how-bonuses-are-taxed-and-treated-by-the-irs/

 

[CyberB0b]

Ahh.

I actually just read this. Apparently, it depends on how the employer pays it out. But if they do it flat rate, it's 25% below the first million and 35% every million after that.

That's crazy... Romo would be paying, if flat tax, around five million dollars.

http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2011/12/09/bonus-time-how-bonuses-are-taxed-and-treated-by-the-irs/

Romo is already in the nearly 40% bracket, so it doesn't matter.

 

[NickZepp]

The top tax bracket kicks it at less than $500,000, so at the dollars we're talking about, it's pretty much irrelevant how he takes them unless the tax code changes. I'm sure his accountant does things to minimize the tax burden: whether those things get easier or harder depending on how the payments are spread out, I have no idea (I'd love to have the opportunity to find out, though!).

It depends on the charities that Romo pays other options the rich have to basically get out of paying as much tax also. It's hard to say how much any rich person is really paying in tax unless they reveal it.

 

[daveferr33]

Smells like the old Jerry Jones, the gambler, the high risk, high reward mentality is coming back..... Romo has been beat up, beat down, kicked on and ran amuck for the last 4 years...the guy is worth every penny. Yet, I just don't like the High Roller mentality of Jerry Jones....the way they managed the cap last year was encouraging...don't want to see this organization go back to its old ways....

This is how Jones operates. Take the lead for a few years until the team is in the ditch. Step back and let others get it out of the ditch, then take over again and proceed to drive it back in the ditch.

I would not be at all surprised if the Cowboys go "all in" this offseason, restructure contracts, sign big name free agents, and move up in the draft.

 

[CyberB0b]

It depends on the charities that Romo pays other options the rich have to basically get out of paying as much tax also. It's hard to say how much any rich person is really paying in tax unless they reveal it.

Maybe for management types who get dividends and stock bonus, but Romo is just a really highly paid employee.

 

[Temo]

Ok, so actual math time on Romo's restructuring. Assuming that the Cowboys just add voidable years on his deal for spreading out the math hit, they can keep restructuring his base salary for the next 4 years and these are his approximate cap figures (all numbers in millions):

2015- 14.973
2016- 14.835
2017- 15.8
2018- 14.5

Then in 2019 there's a dead money hit of 11m.

Seems like a good plan to me.

 

[khiladi]

I guess the main lesson when rich is get yourself a really good accountant.