How to fix the Cowboys cap situation?

[Dustin]

Calling all salary-cap gurus!!

 

How is it realistically possible for the Cowboys to get under the cap and have enough money to sign their draft picks and maybe 1-2 low-level free agents?

 

If you're not aware, the Cowboys currently have -$25MM in cap space. 

 

I restructured both Romo and Brandon Carr. I cut Ware, Austin, Kyle Orton, Bernadua, Barry Church, and Bruce Carter and am still about 3.5MM over. 

[markabrown96]

That is just insanity

[Superman]

Dustin, you're enabling a junkie... I've been trying to avoid posting anything about this mess that is the Cowboys cap.

[21isSuperman]

I'm not a cap expert by any means, but I really like trying to solve these types of problems.  Using http://overthecap.com/teamcap.php?Team=Cowboys&Year=2013 for my numbers:

-Make Miles Austin, Kyle Orton, and Ware June 1 cuts to save over $20 mil

-Restructure Romo to a base salary of $12.545 mil (not sure how willing he would be to do that) to save about $10 mil.

-Restructure Orlando Scandrick to a base salary of $3.77 mil to save about $3.1 mil

-Restructure Sean Lee to a base salary of $4.77 mil save about $4 mil

-Restructure Carr to a base salary of $6.77 mil to save about $5 mil

-Restructure Witten to a base salary of $4.045 mil save about $3 mil

-Restructure Doug Free to a base salary of $2.645 mil to save about $1.8 mil

 

According to that website, that'll give you over $23 mil in cap room in 2014 and just under $7 mil in 2015 (which will require further restructuring and cutting).  This way, you get rid of Miles Austin, who is injury prone, Ware, who only had 6 sacks as a 4-3 DE, and Orton.  You get to keep Romo (your franchise), Scandrick (solid nickel), Sean Lee (very good LB, though injury prone), Carr (bad season, but too talented to let go and still young at 27), Witten (franchise icon and gets along great with Romo, leader for younger guys, knows the offense), and Free (had a very good season at RT).  Of course, this is assuming those players are willing to restructure.

 

This is also under the circumstance where they do not re-sign any of their current free agents

[21isSuperman]

Dustin, you're enabling a junkie... I've been trying to avoid posting anything about this mess that is the Cowboys cap.

If you think it's bad now, take a look at the site I posted.  If you click the calculator link, it'll take you to a page where you can play around with the salaries and stuff and there are lots of possibilities.  It can make a couple hours fly by pretty quickly

[Superman]

If you think it's bad now, take a look at the site I posted.  If you click the calculator link, it'll take you to a page where you can play around with the salaries and stuff and there are lots of possibilities.  It can make a couple hours fly by pretty quickly

 

Yeah, I've used overthecap.com before. Straight into the veins, man...

[21isSuperman]

Yeah, I've used overthecap.com before. Straight into the veins, man...

That and the fanspeak mock draft simulator will be taking up considerable amounts of my time this offseason

[Dustin]

I'm not a cap expert by any means, but I really like trying to solve these types of problems.  Using http://overthecap.com/teamcap.php?Team=Cowboys&Year=2013 for my numbers:

-Make Miles Austin, Kyle Orton, and Ware June 1 cuts to save over $20 mil

-Restructure Romo to a base salary of $12.545 mil (not sure how willing he would be to do that) to save about $10 mil.

-Restructure Orlando Scandrick to a base salary of $3.77 mil to save about $3.1 mil

-Restructure Sean Lee to a base salary of $4.77 mil save about $4 mil

-Restructure Carr to a base salary of $6.77 mil to save about $5 mil

-Restructure Witten to a base salary of $4.045 mil save about $3 mil

-Restructure Doug Free to a base salary of $2.645 mil to save about $1.8 mil

 

According to that website, that'll give you over $23 mil in cap room in 2014 and just under $7 mil in 2015 (which will require further restructuring and cutting).  This way, you get rid of Miles Austin, who is injury prone, Ware, who only had 6 sacks as a 4-3 DE, and Orton.  You get to keep Romo (your franchise), Scandrick (solid nickel), Sean Lee (very good LB, though injury prone), Carr (bad season, but too talented to let go and still young at 27), Witten (franchise icon and gets along great with Romo, leader for younger guys, knows the offense), and Free (had a very good season at RT).  Of course, this is assuming those players are willing to restructure.

 

This is also under the circumstance where they do not re-sign any of their current free agents

 

The problem with the June 1st cuts is that that all takes place after the draft and free agency.

[buccolts]

What date do they need to be under by?

[bestQBever]

What date do they need to be under by?

and what's the penalty for being over?

[buccolts]

and what's the penalty for being over?

And how does the 3 (or 5) year average play into this?

[Superman]

The problem with the June 1st cuts is that that all takes place after the draft and free agency.

 

You don't need the cap space for your draft class until after then. 

 

And I'm not sure, but I think you can designate a post-June 1 release prior to June and use that cap space in the meantime. 

[braveheartcolt]

I'd simply adjust the buckle on the back...

[thedude]

The best way to fix the Cowboys cap problem, or any other problem they have is for Jerry Jones to replace himself as GM and hire someone who knows what he's doing.

[thedude]

I'd simply adjust the buckle on the back...

Don't you need to add an extension to make it fit properly?

[bavanlan]

What date do they need to be under by?

 

Start of the new league year, March 11, 2014 at 4:00p EST

[bavanlan]

and what's the penalty for being over?

 

You can't sign anybody until you're under the cap.

[bavanlan]

You don't need the cap space for your draft class until after then. 

 

And I'm not sure, but I think you can designate a post-June 1 release prior to June and use that cap space in the meantime. 

 

Nope, you carry the full charge until June 2.

[Superman]

and what's the penalty for being over?

 

The NFL starts terminating your contracts, starting with the biggest, until you're under the cap.

 

Edit: That's extra terrible in most cases, including the Cowboys, because their biggest contracts are usually the best players, and have a lot of guaranteed money. It winds up being a double-whammy. The Cowboys biggest contract is Romo, and he has a bunch of guaranteed money remaining. If that contract is terminated, it carries a $42m cap penalty, so the Cowboys would be even further over the cap. Long story short, their team would be gutted.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

Fire Jerry Jones.......oh wait.

Perhaps we could take some of their 3/4 defenders who are being forced to play 4/3?

[21isSuperman]

Nope, you carry the full charge until June 2.

So in the scenario I posted, with all those June 1 cuts, would they not help?  By what date do they have to be under the cap?

[southwest1]

Calling all salary-cap gurus!!

 

How is it realistically possible for the Cowboys to get under the cap and have enough money to sign their draft picks and maybe 1-2 low-level free agents?

 

If you're not aware, the Cowboys currently have -$25MM in cap space. 

 

I restructured both Romo and Brandon Carr. I cut Ware, Austin, Kyle Orton, Bernadua, Barry Church, and Bruce Carter and am still about 3.5MM over. 

Well that leaves SW1 out. I'm no financial wizard & why would I wanna see the Cowboys improve? I love the dog & pony show of incompetence every single season just fine. 

[southwest1]

I'd simply adjust the buckle on the back...

Either that or switch a 10 gallon hat down to an 8 gallon BHC. Okay, I will stop now since I like Dustin & I don't want to sabotage his serious thread. My apologizes. Bye. 

[Superman]

So in the scenario I posted, with all those June 1 cuts, would they not help?  By what date do they have to be under the cap?

 

March 11.

 

Technically, the post-June 1 cuts would help, but the team wouldn't be able to use that cap space until June 2. That's fine for your draft picks, but you're stuck everywhere else. No free agents, and it would affect your ability to sign UDFAs (though not really, as UDFAs usually don't count against the top 51).

[Dustin]

You don't need the cap space for your draft class until after then. 

 

And I'm not sure, but I think you can designate a post-June 1 release prior to June and use that cap space in the meantime. 

 

Don't they have to be under the cap before then tho? Like some time in March?

 

edit: It seems this was already addressed.

[bavanlan]

So in the scenario I posted, with all those June 1 cuts, would they not help?  By what date do they have to be under the cap?

 

Not in the short run.  Cutting them prior to June 1st would actually take up an additional $17M+ in cap space between now and June 2nd.  You also only get 2 post-June 1 designations.  They have to be under the cap by the start of the new league year, March 11, 2014 at 4:00p EST.

[bavanlan]

Calling all salary-cap gurus!!

 

How is it realistically possible for the Cowboys to get under the cap and have enough money to sign their draft picks and maybe 1-2 low-level free agents?

 

You could save another ~$3M by a simple restructure of Austin instead of cutting him.

 

I don't know if you can restructure Lee less than a year after his extension.  A simple restructure of Scandrick could save ~$2.8M.  Doing the same with Free could net an additional $1.6M this year.

 

Restructuring, rather than cutting Ware could actually save about $1M more this year but I'm not sure his contributions justify it at this juncture. 

[RGIII]

Having considerable experience watching the cap situation of a team that was proclaimed to be in cap hell for about 10 years in a row, I am disappointed to say that the Cowboys' situation will probably be resolved in a less dramatic fashion than many of us would hope for.  Cap wizards are damn good at their job.

[bavanlan]

Having considerable experience watching the cap situation of a team that was proclaimed to be in cap hell for about 10 years in a row, I am disappointed to say that the Cowboys' situation will probably be resolved in a less dramatic fashion than many of us would hope for.  Cap wizards are damn good at their job.

 

On one hand you're right, but on the other hand, the Cowboys don't have many players in situations that lend themselves to the two most typical solutions (cutting a player or a simple restructure).

[The Peytonator]

I wouldn't mind taking Jason Hatcher off their hands.

[SteelCityColt]

If you think it's bad now, take a look at the site I posted.  If you click the calculator link, it'll take you to a page where you can play around with the salaries and stuff and there are lots of possibilities.  It can make a couple hours fly by pretty quickly

 

That's a pretty fun site... I've never really committed to getting my head around capology but this might just change things. 

[21isSuperman]

That's a pretty fun site... I've never really committed to getting my head around capology but this might just change things. 

It's bad.  I prefer to avoid cap stuff because it can get pretty complicated, but like you said, this site will likely change that

[Superman]

You could save another ~$3M by a simple restructure of Austin instead of cutting him.

 

I don't know if you can restructure Lee less than a year after his extension.  A simple restructure of Scandrick could save ~$2.8M.  Doing the same with Free could net an additional $1.6M this year.

 

Restructuring, rather than cutting Ware could actually save about $1M more this year but I'm not sure his contributions justify it at this juncture. 

 

Lee's extension is treated as a new contract. You can restructure him whenever you want. You have to wait 12 months after a restructure before you can restructure again.

 

I think they would have to cut Ware, and hope they can re-sign him after June 1 on a team friendly, incentivized deal (like Freeney's). That release saves them $7.4m. And they're not giving him more guaranteed money with a new signing bonus, etc. You also release Miles Austin, although it only saves you $.4m in cap space this year. So maybe you make that a post-June 1 release, and you get the $5.5m in savings, but not until June. Hmm... Release Kyle Orton, saves $1m.

 

Everything else has to be a restructure. Romo, Witten, Lee, Free. Leave Carr alone; they just restructured last year, and doing it again isn't a good idea. Witten also restructured, but his was smaller. You can gain about $1.5m in 2014 very easily. On Romo, you can gain about $6m ($7.5m restructure bonus, reduces his cap hit to $15.773m in 2014; but they should probably restructure the 2015 base salary while they're at it, just by rewriting the guarantee clauses and making it a different kind of bonus). Lee, there are some rules about salary difference between Year 1 and Year 2, so you have to be careful, but I think they can give him a $4.5m restructure bonus and reduce his 2014 cap hit to $3.9m, gaining $3.6m. As for Free, I think the potential savings would be minimal, and you'd have to extend him. They can't do that until May, since he just restructured last year. So keep Free where he is.

 

So far, I think we've gained $18.5m prior to FA. Need to save another $5m. Release G Mackenzy Bernadeau (a below average starter, gain $1.4m); T Jermey Parnell (save $1.5m), and another two or three back-end roster guys (I don't know their roster that well), to get below the cap, whenever the actual number is released. Then, after June 1, they gain another $5.5m in 2014 from the Miles Austin release.

 

Probably need to do some more work so that they can make some other low level moves, and then they'll have to make some other releases after June 1 to gain some more cap space. And then make similar moves next year, though not as many.

[Colts_Fan12]

Please don't let them get under the cap!!!! I'd at them

[Dustin]

You don't need the cap space for your draft class until after then. 

 

And I'm not sure, but I think you can designate a post-June 1 release prior to June and use that cap space in the meantime. 

 

You can designate a June 1st cut before June 1st, but the team can't use any of the cap space until June 1st. At least that's what overthecap says.

[rittdk01]

The best way to fix the Cowboys cap problem, or any other problem they have is for Jerry Jones to replace himself as GM and hire someone who knows what he's doing.

Luckily for anyone that doesn't like the Cowboys Jerry Jones will never replace himself.  Cowboys fans look at the Raiders and know that's what is in store until Jerry Jones passes on.

[Mameluc]

get a real GM

[lollygagger8]

Getting rid of Jerry Jones is how you fix the Cowboys 

[dgambill]

Amazing what they will have to do to shed money. They are better off blowing things up like Oakland had to do and go through a couple impossible seasons. Honestly...I like Romo...but they should have blew it up..did a whole rebuild and used him to land a first rd draft pick. They have some young talent on that team but a ton of dead weight and bad coaches. You can't rebuild with aging vets with cap heavy contracts. They aren't in a position to do a tweak or transition...they need to do what we did except get value for the guys they can through trades and stock pile picks....perhaps also get a Kirk Cousins or something until they find a young qb in the draft they love.

 

What is amazing is that we here what a crappy job Bill did here for years managing our cap and honestly he did have some bad contracts. I have more problems with those more than his draft picks. But he built a team that went a decade in the playoffs and has a ring and two SB appearances to show for it. For all of Jerry's cap woes and superstar signings he doesn't even have playoff apperances to show for it...all that money spent...and now he has to face the music and it couldn't even get him better than a 500 team. Puts a lot in perspective...especially for those saying we have to go out and sign big names...it doesn't always equal success.

[The Old Crow]

This team has no future as long as Jones is acting as GM. His three SB wins as an owner can all be attributed to Jimmie Johnson's picks, and putting the team together. Switzer's win was still Johnson's team , but since then, ineptitude.

Let me tell you when you have this type of owner, it is brutal. In Baltimore, we had Robert Irsay and Peter Angelo's. You would be hard pressed to find two worse owners of football and baseball respectively. The Redskins have Dan Snyder, and the pre-Steinbrenner Yankees were owned by CBS. Yankee stadium was like an empty morgue during those years. There was no hope, like most of these places when you have owners like Jerry Jones. I heard him the other day saying that because he put out the risk, he is in on calling all the shots. Fair enough, but when you won't get professional people to help you run things, don't expect the fans to keep coming back after years and years if ineptitude. It is that way in every city.