Eagle6Man
03-02-2006, 11:32 AM
While Super Bowl Sunday seems to be the NFL's biggest day of the season, this first Thursday in March can't be that far behind, especially this year.
No games will be played. No titles decided.
But a lot could be lost - by the owners and players if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is not reached before 12:01 a.m. Friday.
So that raises the stakes quite a bit at Thursday's owners' meeting in New York - possibly a last-ditch effort to author a final proposal for the NFL Players Association to consider and agree to in the 11th hour.
If there is no extension to the CBA, the new league season will begin Friday, meaning not only will free agency begin, but several teams not only hoping for a larger salary cap than the projected $95 million, but more flexibility in signing free-agent players, will be in dire straits.
With no CBA in place, and 2007 then scheduled to be an uncapped season, teams won't be allowed to prorate signing bonuses on free agents or draft picks for longer than four years.
But regardless of what happens by Friday, the Cowboys seem to have prepared well for either scenario. Their cap concerns would seem to be the same whether the cap is $95 million or $105 million.
Still, this doesn't mean Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones isn't doing his best to help the league get a deal in place by Friday. He understands the importance of the salary cap, which gives all 32 teams an equal opportunity to succeed.
If a deal is not reached in time, the Cowboys, like all of the teams, will certainly have less cap space to play with this year. Not only will the salary cap level off to somewhere between $92 million and $95 million instead of a possible $102 million to $105 million if the NFL's current proposal is ratified, but there will be many more costs to account for with 2007 scheduled to become an uncapped season.
One of the costliest items would be unlikely-to-be-earned incentives, which will be charged in 2006 - before the player even has an opportunity to achieve certain performance levels. In previous seasons, those costs were not charged until the next year. But because the 2007 season would be uncapped without an extension, rules were written to prevent teams from just dumping exorbitant charges into that season.
The Cowboys, however, should not suffer too greatly if this should occur. Defensive tackle Jason Ferguson and guard Marco Rivera, entering just the second years of free-agent deals signed this time last year, both have $4.8 million worth of Unlikely To Be Earned incentives in their 2006 salaries. But if a new CBA is not finalized in time, the Cowboys are prepared to restructure both contracts without significant problems.
That would leave the Cowboys about $7-$10 million under the salary cap. A new CBA could give them as much as $15 million to play with this off-season.
If a deal is completed in time, the NFL will likely push the start of the league year back at least one week, not only giving itself more time to implement all the new rules, but also teams more time to prepare free-agent strategy, especially if the salary cap is in the neighborhood of $105 million.
For the Cowboys, a new CBA would give them a better opportunity to retain high-priced veterans such as La'Roi Glover and Larry Allen, although it's expected the Cowboys will find a way to keep their 10-time Pro Bowl guard.
As for Glover, time is running out.
The defensive tackle, selected to his sixth straight Pro Bowl in 2005 despite splitting time with Ferguson at nose tackle in the new 3-4 scheme, is scheduled to count $7.2 million against the salary cap this season, the final year of this five-year contract.
While his $4.5 million base salary is a big part of the dilemma, Glover's $1.5 million roster bonus due by Thursday for the Cowboys to retain his rights gives them little time to decide. Releasing him before the 3 p.m. deadline would save the club roughly $6 million in cap space.
The Cowboys might release Glover with the intention of letting him test the market with hopes of re-signing him, as they tried to do last year with linebacker Dexter Coakley. However, as they quickly discovered, Coakley was highly coveted, and he signed a four-year, $14 million deal with the Rams just two days after his release.
As for Allen, his $2 million roster bonus is not due until April 1, giving the Cowboys plenty of time to adjust. Also, there have been talks between the club and his agent, Marvin Demoff, about restructuring Allen's deal. Allen's base salary of $3.5 million plus his $2 million roster bonus would put his 2006 charge at $5.5 million plus another $2 million in prorated signing bonus.
The Cowboys would be hard-pressed to qualify Allen charging $7.5 million against the cap, the most of any player currently under contract, with or without a new CBA.
The Cowboys also have until March 15 to decide whether to give Keyshawn Johnson his $1 million roster bonus. Linebacker Dat Nguyen has a $500,000 roster bonus due Thursday. However, he is expected to be moved to a released/retired list before the end of the week.
So, while many teams around the league are in the process of house-cleaning to meet salary cap demands, the Cowboys are sitting tight, hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst.
http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?id=B865F174-0720-5F9B-BF4B4BF15459B5CC (http://)
No games will be played. No titles decided.
But a lot could be lost - by the owners and players if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is not reached before 12:01 a.m. Friday.
So that raises the stakes quite a bit at Thursday's owners' meeting in New York - possibly a last-ditch effort to author a final proposal for the NFL Players Association to consider and agree to in the 11th hour.
If there is no extension to the CBA, the new league season will begin Friday, meaning not only will free agency begin, but several teams not only hoping for a larger salary cap than the projected $95 million, but more flexibility in signing free-agent players, will be in dire straits.
With no CBA in place, and 2007 then scheduled to be an uncapped season, teams won't be allowed to prorate signing bonuses on free agents or draft picks for longer than four years.
But regardless of what happens by Friday, the Cowboys seem to have prepared well for either scenario. Their cap concerns would seem to be the same whether the cap is $95 million or $105 million.
Still, this doesn't mean Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones isn't doing his best to help the league get a deal in place by Friday. He understands the importance of the salary cap, which gives all 32 teams an equal opportunity to succeed.
If a deal is not reached in time, the Cowboys, like all of the teams, will certainly have less cap space to play with this year. Not only will the salary cap level off to somewhere between $92 million and $95 million instead of a possible $102 million to $105 million if the NFL's current proposal is ratified, but there will be many more costs to account for with 2007 scheduled to become an uncapped season.
One of the costliest items would be unlikely-to-be-earned incentives, which will be charged in 2006 - before the player even has an opportunity to achieve certain performance levels. In previous seasons, those costs were not charged until the next year. But because the 2007 season would be uncapped without an extension, rules were written to prevent teams from just dumping exorbitant charges into that season.
The Cowboys, however, should not suffer too greatly if this should occur. Defensive tackle Jason Ferguson and guard Marco Rivera, entering just the second years of free-agent deals signed this time last year, both have $4.8 million worth of Unlikely To Be Earned incentives in their 2006 salaries. But if a new CBA is not finalized in time, the Cowboys are prepared to restructure both contracts without significant problems.
That would leave the Cowboys about $7-$10 million under the salary cap. A new CBA could give them as much as $15 million to play with this off-season.
If a deal is completed in time, the NFL will likely push the start of the league year back at least one week, not only giving itself more time to implement all the new rules, but also teams more time to prepare free-agent strategy, especially if the salary cap is in the neighborhood of $105 million.
For the Cowboys, a new CBA would give them a better opportunity to retain high-priced veterans such as La'Roi Glover and Larry Allen, although it's expected the Cowboys will find a way to keep their 10-time Pro Bowl guard.
As for Glover, time is running out.
The defensive tackle, selected to his sixth straight Pro Bowl in 2005 despite splitting time with Ferguson at nose tackle in the new 3-4 scheme, is scheduled to count $7.2 million against the salary cap this season, the final year of this five-year contract.
While his $4.5 million base salary is a big part of the dilemma, Glover's $1.5 million roster bonus due by Thursday for the Cowboys to retain his rights gives them little time to decide. Releasing him before the 3 p.m. deadline would save the club roughly $6 million in cap space.
The Cowboys might release Glover with the intention of letting him test the market with hopes of re-signing him, as they tried to do last year with linebacker Dexter Coakley. However, as they quickly discovered, Coakley was highly coveted, and he signed a four-year, $14 million deal with the Rams just two days after his release.
As for Allen, his $2 million roster bonus is not due until April 1, giving the Cowboys plenty of time to adjust. Also, there have been talks between the club and his agent, Marvin Demoff, about restructuring Allen's deal. Allen's base salary of $3.5 million plus his $2 million roster bonus would put his 2006 charge at $5.5 million plus another $2 million in prorated signing bonus.
The Cowboys would be hard-pressed to qualify Allen charging $7.5 million against the cap, the most of any player currently under contract, with or without a new CBA.
The Cowboys also have until March 15 to decide whether to give Keyshawn Johnson his $1 million roster bonus. Linebacker Dat Nguyen has a $500,000 roster bonus due Thursday. However, he is expected to be moved to a released/retired list before the end of the week.
So, while many teams around the league are in the process of house-cleaning to meet salary cap demands, the Cowboys are sitting tight, hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst.
http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?id=B865F174-0720-5F9B-BF4B4BF15459B5CC (http://)