The case for Restructuring Romo

[Vinnie2u]

The Romo restructucture will only happen if...... Money is needed for AP...

 

[Sarge]

The Romo restructucture will only happen if...... Money is needed for AP...

Not happening.

 

[DallasDW00ds0n]

We get burned restructuring all the time

 

[Wood]

Let me help to clear this up. The bulk of Hardy contract (when he plays) can be pushed into 2016 cap. This option is available because the 578k per game bonus can be split into likely to be earned (LTBE) and not likely to be earned (NLTBE). LTBE is based on previous year games played. Since Hardy only played two games last year his LTBE for 2015 is also 2 games. Anything over that can be pushed in NLTBE and deferred into 2016 salary cap. So basically about 3 million goes into 2015 cap and 8 million goes into 2016 cap. Dallas is major beneficiary of Hardy being on league exemption list last year. The timing of deal was impeccable.

 

[burmafrd]

If it is at all possible to NOT restructure Romo that is the way to go. Short term pain for long term gain. FINALLY being able to do what we want without tons of dead money and so on dragging us down.

and I have to laugh at the gomers that keep claiming the cap will go up 10 million a year. It might and it might not; and usually the optimists have been badly wrong. But it is very STUPID to plan on it and lock yourself into deals that if for whatever reason the cap does not go up that much you are in a huge bind.

 

[USMarineVet]

I'm all for taking the hits now so we have financial freedom in the future. Time to reset the apple cart and get rid of all the bad dookie.

 

[dallasdave]

I'm all for taking the hits now so we have financial freedom in the future. Time to reset the apple cart and get rid of all the bad dookie.

Yes, because I feel the future will be bright for the Cowboys

 

[xwalker]

Next 3 years with and without restructuring Romo's deal

Cap hit without a restructure if he retires before 2016
.....2015.........2016........2017.....
......28m..........9m............10m.....

Cap hit with a full restructure and he retires before 2016
.....2015.........2016........2017.....
.......15m..........12m........19m.....

Cap hit with restructure and he plays 3 more seasons
.....2015.......2016.......2017.....2018......2019.....
......15m........21m.......24.7m.....5.7m......3.2m....

Salary cap nest 3 years
.....2015........2016........2017.....
.....148m.......150m.......158m...

Romo's 28m cap hit represents 19% of the cap this year
Romo's 19m cap hit represents 12% of the cap in 2017

They need almost 15m in cap space for the rest of the season. They need 8m for Hardy's per game bonuses. They need almost 2m for draft picks, 2m for the full 53 man roster, practice squad and IR. The rest is a cushion for the season for replacements, trades and emergencies.

Best options for creating cap space
Romo restructure.......13m
Witten restructure...... 3m
Carr 50% pay cut....... 4m
Carr June 1st cut....... .8m
Sign Dez longterm......6m
Cut Dunbar/CJones....3m

Yes, it does not matter how money gets pushed forward, only how much gets pushed forward.

It does not matter is they do it by restructuring Romo or by signing Dez long term and pushing his money forward or any other method.

The great thing with the Hardy contract is that they don't need to make the space in the off-season. They can wait to make the decision. If they sign Dez long term, then they don't need to do anything else. If they do something with Carr after June 1st, then that could get most or all of the needed space.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Given that you can roll unused space over, the fact that Dallas hasn't restructured as much as they could over the last 2 offseasons pretty much states how they fell about it. It's a waste of time because you get to a point where you're restructuring so you actually have as much usable cap space as everyone else. There is no excess cap space advantage every year. You get that for a year or two, but then you're just moving money to get back to even.

Well said Hoof. Just because you can doesn't mean you should and clearly we don't want to any more.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

What are using all this cap space for now...vs saving it in future years?
Is there an expensive FA out there that we're going for?

This is what people are ignoring.

Free agency has largely come and gone.

This was a thread for last month.

 

[AdamJT13]

Let me help to clear this up. The bulk of Hardy contract (when he plays) can be pushed into 2016 cap. This option is available because the 578k per game bonus can be split into likely to be earned (LTBE) and not likely to be earned (NLTBE). LTBE is based on previous year games played. Since Hardy only played two games last year his LTBE for 2015 is also 2 games. Anything over that can be pushed in NLTBE and deferred into 2016 salary cap. So basically about 3 million goes into 2015 cap and 8 million goes into 2016 cap. Dallas is major beneficiary of Hardy being on league exemption list last year. The timing of deal was impeccable.

That is not correct. His per-game roster bonuses will count against this year's cap as soon as he earns them.

(xxiii) Any roster bonus which is deemed not “likely to be earned” based upon the player’s performance during the prior year shall immediately be included in Team Salary when earned.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Well said Hoof. Just because you can doesn't mean you should and clearly we don't want to any more.

That's not true at all. For instance they restructured Tyron almost immediately.

 

[Nightman]

That's not true at all. For instance they restructured Tyron almost immediately.

That's the problem I have. They are jumping back and forth between strategies. The restructured when the cap was stagnant from 2009 to 2013. It remained at 123m or below for 5 seasons. They also tries to compete during their re-build and we lived through several 8-8 seasons. Now they are getting semi-conservative when the cap is rising rapidly, they have a ton of FAs to sign and we are SB contenders.

They preach patience and let Murray go citing the money, but then they sign Hardy. They can't reach a deal with Dez, a homegrown superstar, but will pay him 28m over the next 2 years.

Romo isn't going anywhere, his contract is bloated and guaranteed and was designed for a restructure this year. Have a plan and stick to it. I think spending well above the cap for a few more seasons while Romo is here would be the best plan. Once he is gone the cap will be easy to clean up while we transition to another QB.

Using large signing bonuses and doing restructures allows us to compete with the teams that horde cap space and then splurge like Philly and Indy. And teams like NE, GB and SEA that have been building smarter and better than us for a long time.

 

[Nightman]

Nobody is afraid of restructuring. It's just a poor route to go which is why no other team ever invested in it the way Dallas did, and why Dallas is moving away from it. After a year or two, you're simply restructuring to get back the space you're using from the previous restructures. How else does a guy have a cap charge that is $10M above his annual average? Take small base salaries up front and restructure as much as possible.

Had Dallas not restructured every year in the past, they'd have a ton of cap space right now. $4M of Romo's cap charge is from previous restructures. Same for 2014. They took $8M in charges last year for Ware, and $2.7M in charges for Austin. This year they take another $5M in cap charges for Austin, and between last year and this year they'll take $5.4M in cap charges for Brandon Carr's previous restructures. That's $30M in cap charges between last year and this year that the team has taken for 4 players, and at least 2 of them won't even be on the team for either season.

If you count just this year with Lee, Witten, and Scandrick added to the mix the team almost has more cap space used by previous restructures than they could free up by restructuring Romo. All of Miles' dead money, Romo's $4M, Carr's $2M, Scandrick's $2M, and the others. In total it's $16M in cap charges.

Given that you can roll unused space over, the fact that Dallas hasn't restructured as much as they could over the last 2 offseasons pretty much states how they fell about it. It's a waste of time because you get to a point where you're restructuring so you actually have as much usable cap space as everyone else. There is no excess cap space advantage every year. You get that for a year or two, but then you're just moving money to get back to even.

It's a short-term perspective in an environment where almost everyone agrees that building over time is the best option. Dallas is moving away from it. They're only going to do it as much as they have to. I know it sucks for those who have strongly supported what a great idea it is over the years, but the reality is it's a poor route to go which is why pretty much no team restructured as much as Dallas has, and now even Dallas is trying to avoid it.

I'm glad you responded with an actual argument instead of the same tired lines. I still don't agree with your assertions.

If they had restructured Carr and Witten they would have gained another 10m in space. That money could have been used for Peppers or Allen and maybe we go the Championship game instead of GB.

The problem is all the half measures. If they would have just stayed with the restructures we would have 30m in cap space right now. Way more than enough to deal with any dead money. The problem in the past is that no one lived up to their contracts besides Romo, Witten,TO and Ware.

Carr, Free, Spencer, Lee, Ratliff, Austin, TNew, RW31. RW11, MBIII, Gurode, Hamlin didn't earn their money

Claiborne, FJones, MJenkins, MartyB, BCarter, 2009, BCarpenter didn't live up to their draft status

 

[Toruk_Makto]

That's the problem I have. They are jumping back and forth between strategies. The restructured when the cap was stagnant from 2009 to 2013. It remained at 123m or below for 5 seasons. They also tries to compete during their re-build and we lived through several 8-8 seasons. Now they are getting semi-conservative when the cap is rising rapidly, they have a ton of FAs to sign and we are SB contenders.

They preach patience and let Murray go citing the money, but then they sign Hardy. They can't reach a deal with Dez, a homegrown superstar, but will pay him 28m over the next 2 years.

Romo isn't going anywhere, his contract is bloated and guaranteed and was designed for a restructure this year. Have a plan and stick to it. I think spending well above the cap for a few more seasons while Romo is here would be the best plan. Once he is gone the cap will be easy to clean up while we transition to another QB.

Using large signing bonuses and doing restructures allows us to compete with the teams that horde cap space and then splurge like Philly and Indy. And teams like NE, GB and SEA that have been building smarter and better than us for a long time.

Well I just think they are an aggressive team when it comes to managing the cap. But there has to be a reason to restructure. I'd much rather that be our strategy than say what Jacksonville does.

 

[Nightman]

Well I just think they are an aggressive team when it comes to managing the cap. But there has to be a reason to restructure. I'd much rather that be our strategy than say what Jacksonville does.

I would argue that Hardy, RMcClain, Murray/Peterson, CB help, DT help besides Hayden and a WR5/KR are all good reasons.

Some of that can be handled with the Draft, but buying a few players could help just as much

 

[Nightman]

If it is at all possible to NOT restructure Romo that is the way to go. Short term pain for long term gain. FINALLY being able to do what we want without tons of dead money and so on dragging us down.

and I have to laugh at the gomers that keep claiming the cap will go up 10 million a year. It might and it might not; and usually the optimists have been badly wrong. But it is very STUPID to plan on it and lock yourself into deals that if for whatever reason the cap does not go up that much you are in a huge bind.

The cap will go up, with built in raises to the TV contracts it is assured.

The flat cap period before and after the lockout that led to this CBA was a brilliant move by the owners to steal billions from the players. Even with all that, that revenues cannot be denied any longer. It is simple math. The cap will go up.

 

[burmafrd]

The cap will go up, with built in raises to the TV contracts it is assured.

The flat cap period before and after the lockout that led to this CBA was a brilliant move by the owners to steal billions from the players. Even with all that, that revenues cannot be denied any longer. It is simple math. The cap will go up.

and as usual you are blind to the reality of JUST HOW MUCH WILL IT GO UP. More lawsuits and more pension costs and more medical costs come off the top. THAT is why the league always waits until the last minute to declare the cap number. You never know what costs will come up at the last minute. Itcould go up 10 mil a year for the next 3-5. It could also only go up 5 mill a year the next 3-5. Only an IDIOT plans for the top number.

 

[Nightman]

and as usual you are blind to the reality of JUST HOW MUCH WILL IT GO UP. More lawsuits and more pension costs and more medical costs come off the top. THAT is why the league always waits until the last minute to declare the cap number. You never know what costs will come up at the last minute. Itcould go up 10 mil a year for the next 3-5. It could also only go up 5 mill a year the next 3-5. Only an IDIOT plans for the top number.

You were making those same concussions and pension arguments 2 years ago and laughing at those that said it would go up dramatically. It has gone up 20m in the last 2 years and even at 5m a year for the next 3 that would be a total of 35m in five years.

Compare that to the five years between 2009 and 2013 when it stayed flat at 123m because the owners abused the NFLPA so badly during the lockout and CBA. This is the era most Cowboy fans base the judgments of restructuring on and it that is why it appears like a failed strategy. That kind of negative cap growth will not happen again in the near future.

 

[xwalker]

That's the problem I have. They are jumping back and forth between strategies. The restructured when the cap was stagnant from 2009 to 2013. It remained at 123m or below for 5 seasons. They also tries to compete during their re-build and we lived through several 8-8 seasons. Now they are getting semi-conservative when the cap is rising rapidly, they have a ton of FAs to sign and we are SB contenders.

They preach patience and let Murray go citing the money, but then they sign Hardy. They can't reach a deal with Dez, a homegrown superstar, but will pay him 28m over the next 2 years.

Romo isn't going anywhere, his contract is bloated and guaranteed and was designed for a restructure this year. Have a plan and stick to it. I think spending well above the cap for a few more seasons while Romo is here would be the best plan. Once he is gone the cap will be easy to clean up while we transition to another QB.

Using large signing bonuses and doing restructures allows us to compete with the teams that horde cap space and then splurge like Philly and Indy. And teams like NE, GB and SEA that have been building smarter and better than us for a long time.

They declined to re-sign Murray because they thought the risk of injury was too high. If he had played all 16 games each year of his contract they probably would have re-signed. him.

There is no comparison to Hardy's 1 year completely non-guaranteed contract to the long term contract that Murray signed. If Hardy misses a game, he does not get paid.

There is also the issue that you might not find a Hardy type player even if you had a top 10 pick; whereas, there is a big list of players that might be as good as Murray at RB in the draft.