Why would Ware take a pay cut?

[Hoofbite]

The reason his salaries have been "disproportionately low" is because of the enormous signing bonus he got when he signed the deal. When you factor that in, he has been very well compensated since the start of the contract. It's just that the 2014 salary is "disproportionately high" given his age, injuries and recent productivity. That's why Jerry is in the pickle he's now in.

Bottom line is that even at $7MM, it's more money than he's made last year or even before last. So yes, when compared to those numbers, it's not a pay cut at all.

You've just made a case for no player to ever get a raise. After all, they've never made that much before.

Vet minimums for everyone.

"You've never earned that much so you can't be pissed to find out that you never will"

Bottom line, $12M is $5M more than $7M so regardless of what he has made in the past, anything less than $12M is less than he is scheduled to earn now and would be a pay cut.

 

[Direwolf63]

And a lot of that Signing Bonus had to attributed to compensating him for his rookie deal, where he made 3m for his first 5 years.

True.

Bottom line is that offering Ware $7M a year is still a raise over previous years. The difference is that it is a small raise, rather than the massive raise that's in the current contract.

 

[Hoofbite]

And a lot of that Signing Bonus had to attributed to compensating him for his rookie deal, where he made 3m for his first 5 years.

So Dallas has undercompensated him since 2009? Damn sure not market value because the tag for a DE or OLB has likely been higher than his base salary in every season since the new deal.

 

[KB1122]

If you don't pay him in full, no player will ever again defer payment to the back end of the contract.

 

[Nightman]

So Dallas has undercompensated him since 2009? Damn sure not market value because the tag for a DE or OLB has likely been higher than his base salary in every season since the new deal.

Ware signed the deal voluntarily and didn't complain when it included 40m in guarantees and a 20m signing bonus. Dallas could have tendered him for 1m in 2009 and then with the lockout in 2010 he would have had to wait until his 7th year to be a Free Agent. No one was under-compensated.

 

[AbeBeta]

If you don't pay him in full, no player will ever again defer payment to the back end of the contract.

Ridiculous.

There isn't a player in the league who sees back ends of a deal as some sort of deferred payment.

100s of players every year are in this situation and get cut.

 

[TheDude]

You've just made a case for no player to ever get a raise. After all, they've never made that much before.

Vet minimums for everyone.

"You've never earned that much so you can't be pissed to find out that you never will"

Bottom line, $12M is $5M more than $7M so regardless of what he has made in the past, anything less than $12M is less than he is scheduled to earn now and would be a pay cut.

This. The market for Ware is ~$7M this year. He wont get $12 (unless Jerry does something stupid). Ware will look for a 3 year deal with more than $7M guaranteed (maybe 10M signing bonus and 2yrs at 2M base with a large 3rd year for optics).

His cash comp (salary or salary+bonus) this year is probably not going to touch 12M and the closer it gets to $12M the lower 2015 base will be

 

[Direwolf63]

You've just made a case for no player to ever get a raise. After all, they've never made that much before.

Vet minimums for everyone.

"You've never earned that much so you can't be pissed to find out that you never will"

Bottom line, $12M is $5M more than $7M so regardless of what he has made in the past, anything less than $12M is less than he is scheduled to earn now and would be a pay cut.

It's a cut only in the sense of what the contract says he is scheduled to make. Not in terms of previous salaries.

Instead of a massive pay increase, he should get a much smaller increase. Reasonable considering his declining productivity and recent injury history.

And yes, players in their 30's whose productivity is clearly declining should not get a 100% pay raise over the previous year, even if it's written into his deal.

 

[Hoofbite]

Ware signed the deal voluntarily and didn't complain when it included 40m in guarantees and a 20m signing bonus. Dallas could have tendered him for 1m in 2009 and then with the lockout in 2010 he would have had to wait until his 7th year to be a Free Agent. No one was under-compensated.

So he's been paid market value?

That $20M bonus was payment for previous years. Why would anyone complain about that?

 

[Nightman]

If you don't pay him in full, no player will ever again defer payment to the back end of the contract.

NFL contracts are not guaranteed and almost all of them have tack-on years. So it's already happened a hundred times. He wasn't deferring anything.

 

[Hoofbite]

It's a cut only in the sense of what the contract says he is scheduled to make. Not in terms of previous salaries.

Instead of a massive pay increase, he should get a much smaller increase. Reasonable considering his declining productivity and recent injury history.

And yes, players in their 30's whose productivity is clearly declining should not get a 100% pay raise over the previous year, even if it's written into his deal.

Again, it's easy to say it isn't a pay cut when you aren't the one slated to make a few million less.

 

[TheDude]

Ridiculous.

There isn't a player in the league who sees back ends of a deal as some sort of deferred payment.

100s of players every year are in this situation and get cut.

completely True.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Ware signed the deal voluntarily and didn't complain when it included 40m in guarantees and a 20m signing bonus. Dallas could have tendered him for 1m in 2009 and then with the lockout in 2010 he would have had to wait until his 7th year to be a Free Agent. No one was under-compensated.

And we shouldn't complain if he decides to accept an offer for more money with a rival team, if that is available.

 

[Nightman]

So he's been paid market value?

That $20M bonus was payment for previous years. Why would anyone complain about that?

I'm saying Dallas treated him very well. The 40m in guarantees were Franchise QBs numbers. They could have played hardball and keep for 2009 and 2010 for around 3m total.

 

[Nightman]

And we shouldn't complain if he decides to accept an offer for more money with a rival team, if that is available.

Absolutely. I won't complain, but I won't root for him. I'm already willing to cut him, so yes, he should try to get as much as he can. I think that Dallas should offer him a 2yr/14-16m contract.

 

[Hoofbite]

I'm saying Dallas treated him very well. The 40m in guarantees were Franchise QBs numbers. They could have played hardball and keep for 2009 and 2010 for around 3m total.

That's not what I asked.

Since the new deal was signed, has Ware been paid market value?

You already said the bonus was not for the current contract so just looking at base salaries.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I'm saying Dallas treated him very well. The 40m in guarantees were Franchise QBs numbers. They could have played hardball and keep for 2009 and 2010 for around 3m total.

And he could have played Hardball with the team after his rookie deal but he didn't.

 

[TrailBlazer]

20 years ago, the Dallas Cowboys signed Neon Dieon Sanders away from San Francisco, who was a Major Rival of ours at the time. Ever since FA became a part of the NFL, players have signed with Rivals. It's nothing new and it's been going on for as long as FA has been around.

Well I happen to value a certain characteristic, it's called loyalty. Ya know, to the fans, to the team that drafted him and made him Demarcus Ware.
Any cowboy that could have his pick of teams and he chooses our most hated rival? That's like dating your best friends ex gf, bro.
I know it's a business. But as a longtime fan of ware and the cowboys, I don't like the idea of ware considering the Commanders. He should despise the Commanders.
You think Richard Sherman likes the 49ers? That's how it always used to be. Hes got the right mentality, no RKG. They have a few guys like that. Seattle is just old school like that.

 

[Nightman]

That's not what I asked.

Since the new deal was signed, has Ware been paid market value?

You already said the bonus was not for the current contract so just looking at base salaries.

I didn't say all of it. I said some of it. It's impossible to determine how much, but even at 50/50 split Ware never made more than 10m in his prime. It makes zero sense to go above that now.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Absolutely. I won't complain, but I won't root for him. I'm already willing to cut him, so yes, he should try to get as much as he can. I think that Dallas should offer him a 2yr/14-16m contract.

Nobody cares. It's a business and I'm sure Ware is not going to lose any sleep over you or anybody rooting for him. He should try to get the deal that is best for him and his family and the Cowboys should try to negotiate what is best for the team.

It ends up that way though.