The Mythical Salary Cap Monster

[Oh_Canada]

The thing is...Seattle won with one of the youngest teams in the NFL. What does that tell you? They are hungrier while getting paid less? Sort ironic don't you think?

Yes and the Giants/Ravens won with veteran teams....there are many ways to skin the cat, not just the most recent way.

 

[Little Jr]

I can't believe so many fans don't want to get better this year by adding guys like Melton and Allen. The are afraid of the salary cap, but it's not an issue and never has been. Dallas has always signed FAs, extended their own guys and never reached the so called "cap hell" we always hear about.

This is after the cap went from 128m in 2009 to 120m in 2011 and after getting hit with 10m cap penalty. That includes the Barber contract, the RWilliams contract, the Ratliff fiasco and the Newman and Free extensions. They have resigned Romo and Ware to monster deals, tagged Spencer twice for big hits, signed Carr to a huge deal and extended Lee, Scandrick, Church and Bailey.

If they restructure Witten, Carr and Free, they will have over 25m in cap space this year and will still be 28m UNDER the projected cap next year. That number includes Romo's 27m cap hit that will be cut in half, creating 13-14m more space. Orton, Free, Austin, Ware and Bern will be gone after next year. Carr, Witten and hopefully Allen will be gone a couple years later.

That leaves plenty of room for Melton and Allen and still extending Dez, TSmith and Murray. Restructuring isn't scary and should be welcomed by the fans. It's a great way to maximize the cap every year and pay over multiple years in the future when the cap is higher. It's a a zero interest loan and benefits the team and the player. It in no way makes it harder to cut someone. That money is already spent either way. Why do you think most people use Visa over AmEx? You have to pay your bill in full every month with the AmEx, but with Visa you can pay over time and this card has a 0% APR.

What good is cap space if you don't spend it? It's all Monopoly money if you know what you are doing and Stephen does. With the ability to roll-over any extra cap space, there is even less risk to creating as much space as possible. I would rather have an owner/GM that tries to spend to or above the cap every year than one would rather pocket the excess. There is no prize for extra cap space. No one is saying to build thru FA, but don't be afraid to sign a guy or two that can fill a need and make the team better.

i agree but i still dont want to over pay for them

 

[Doomsay]

The problem with the dline isn't the cap, it's that they haven't drafted any dlineman of significance since 2007, probably since they used a 3-4 and they felt like they were stocked at the position. They switch to the 4-3 and inexpilcably decided to ignore the position again last offseason because Kiffen and Maranelli seemed content with what they had.

It's a combination, even with all of those missed picks and bad fits, we'd still have the opportunity to address the issue better had we not crated $20 million in dead cap among other things.

 

[Doc50]

The thing is...Seattle won with one of the youngest teams in the NFL. What does that tell you? They are hungrier while getting paid less? Sort ironic don't you think?

Probably made a lot of GM's (including JJ) shy away from the big-payday contracts -- either their guys or somebody else's FA.

 

[Nightman]

Bottome three in dead money....Oakland, Cleveland and Jacksonville, guess that makes them good managers?

Those 3 completely tanked and ate a lot of money at once. They did it to get a top draft pick in a QB heavy draft and have a ton of money in Free Agency. Dallas never had the option of tearing it down since Romo became the QB. They have always been closer to the top than the bottom and a complete rebuild wouldn't sell very well with a brand new stadium. Jerry has tried to overspend to compete and has come up just short for many reasons, but you can't fault him for trying.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Those 3 completely tanked and ate a lot of money at once. They did it to get a top draft pick in a QB heavy draft and have a ton of money in Free Agency. Dallas never had the option of tearing it down since Romo became the QB. They have always been closer to the top than the bottom and a complete rebuild wouldn't sell very well with a brand new stadium. Jerry has tried to overspend to compete and has come up just short for many reasons, but you can't fault him for trying.

I don't at all, his vets let him down.

 

[BlindFaith]

I noticed on overthecap, and this chart reflects it, that Dallas does not give roster bonuses. Every other team uses it to some degree, but Dallas has not one player that will receive a roster bonus. Does anyone know what the philosophy there is?

It's just a curiosity question.

Because roster bonuses are in direct conflict with the way the 'Boys do things.

Roster bonuses are used to incentivize players. Spreading little bonuses out by still being on the roster every year. Earn a little as you go.

Dallas builds contracts to allow for mandatory restructures to get cap compliant and to drum up whatever little wiggle worm they can get. This is done via a bonus and guarantees money up front for a player. This "borrowed" money is spread out over the remaining years of the contract.

All but Dallas chooses to reward as you go. Not all offer huge amounts in the form of bonus

Bottome three in dead money....Oakland, Cleveland and Jacksonville, guess that makes them good managers?

Look at how much available cap room they have as well. Chances are that neither extreme position is viable. Spend much, much, much more than what you have or don't spend anything. Make sense?

 

[xwalker]

I noticed on overthecap, and this chart reflects it, that Dallas does not give roster bonuses. Every other team uses it to some degree, but Dallas has not one player that will receive a roster bonus. Does anyone know what the philosophy there is?

It's just a curiosity question.

Roster bonuses generally favor the player. Most of them are due in March and force the team to commit to the player before free agency and training camp. Most players have base salaries that are not guaranteed until the 1st game of the season. The team could cut them at anytime between March and game 1 and not owe them any money.

The Cowboys occasionally guarantee a players base salary if he is on the team past March which works out similar to the roster bonus.

Warning: Anytime you bring up the salary cap and the Cowboys you should expect to get responses from some angry people. Apparently, the math part of it invokes the terror that they experienced in grade school math class and it makes them really angry.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Because roster bonuses are in direct conflict with the way the 'Boys do things.

Roster bonuses are used to incentivize players. Spreading little bonuses out by still being on the roster every year. Earn a little as you go.

Dallas builds contracts to allow for mandatory restructures to get cap compliant and to drum up whatever little wiggle worm they can get. This is done via a bonus and guarantees money up front for a player. This "borrowed" money is spread out over the remaining years of the contract.

All but Dallas chooses to reward as you go. Not all offer huge amounts in the form of bonus


Look at how much available cap room they have as well. Chances are that neither extreme position is viable. Spend much, much, much more than what you have or don't spend anything. Make sense?

Who cares how much room they have, they are all garbage and been so for years. The second highest team with dead money happened to win the Super Bowl just before the 'Hawks. Like I said many ways to do this, just so happens Dallas got very unlucky with injuries to there vets mostly to one or two units.

 

[BlindFaith]

Who cares how much room they have, they are all garbage and been so for years. The second highest team with dead money happened to win the Super Bowl just before the 'Hawks. Like I said many ways to do this, just so happens Dallas got very unlucky with injuries to there vets mostly to one or two units.

Yeah, we're just unlucky.

 

[Nightman]

Yeah, we're just unlucky.

We sure haven't been lucky

 

[Maxmadden]

Give credit to whoever you choose but since Garrett was hired we have been constantly trimming excess fat. First the offensive line and now the defensive line. Timing and injuries play a big factor in this PROCESS.

We are leading the league in dead money because we have cut the most fat. This is a good thing but most of you will be disappointed when JG is still coaching next year.