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Why in the world would Jerry just release Romo? (1 Viewer)

Stinkin Ref

IBL Representative
It is my understanding that if dealt in a trade Romo's salary would be around $14 million.  That really isn't that bad for a team to absorb. 

Jerry Jones is a business man and his first priority is to do what is in the best interest of the Cowboys. Why in the world would he release Romo instead of getting something in return for him if he could? Doing "right by Romo" and just flat out releasing him is not in Dallas Cowboy best interest.  

If I am the Jets or Browns of the world, I offer Jerry a 5th round pick or something.  If Jerry just releases Romo, there is no way he chooses to go with the Jets or Browns over the likes of say Denver or Houston.  So if you are the Jets or Browns, the only shot you have at him is to trade for him.

Plus why would Jerry just release Romo and allow him to go to a contender that Dallas may have to play in the playoffs or Super Bowl. If Romo is the one missing piece say Denver needs to get back to the Super Bowl, why in the world would you hand it to them on a silver platter?

Jones should want to deal him to a team like the Browns or Jets that he doesn't really have to worry about.

I don't think Romo has a no trade clause.  So if you deal him to a crappy team and he decides to retire, so be it.

Releasing Romo would be a huge mistake by Jones from a business perspective.  If you are a team in need of a QB, you should be tossing Jerry an offer.

If a crappy team offered me a six pack and a bag of chips I would take it...let alone a draft pick of any sort.

 
Because teams know the Cowboys are stuck and it will be very hard to trade him. Whoever gets him also gets his future years at $19.5M and $20.5M, If my numbers are right, the Cowboys would have to take an immediate $19.6 million cap hit by accelerating the cap hit from his signing bonus. If they release him, they can spread that number out over two seasons.

 
Because teams know the Cowboys are stuck and it will be very hard to trade him. Whoever gets him also gets his future years at $19.5M and $20.5M, If my numbers are right, the Cowboys would have to take an immediate $19.6 million cap hit by accelerating the cap hit from his signing bonus. If they release him, they can spread that number out over two seasons.
a team could trade...pay him the $14 mil which is a reasonable amount....and then deal with the following years after that (cut/release/renegotiate/etc)....

 
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a team could trade...pay him the $14 mil which is a reasonable amount....and then deal with the following years after that (cut/release/renegotiate/etc)....
That doesn't negate the Cowboys having to take a $20 million cap hit. And the other part I left out is Romo insisting that he will only go to a SB contender. That limits the suitors quite a bit. Who knows if this maybe is propaganda by Dallas to get a team to offer them something rather then wait to have to negotiate against other teams if Romo hots free agency.

 
That doesn't negate the Cowboys having to take a $20 million cap hit. And the other part I left out is Romo insisting that he will only go to a SB contender. That limits the suitors quite a bit. Who knows if this maybe is propaganda by Dallas to get a team to offer them something rather then wait to have to negotiate against other teams if Romo hots free agency.
ok guess I was thinking if he is traded that the receiving team just assumes his contract and Dal is done....guess I wasn't aware that Dal would still be on the hook for anything....

I realize Tony may be "insisting" on some things but unless he has a no trade clause....does that really matter....?

I guess he could just say.... I'm not playing.... and the team backs out....but then DAL just hangs on and releases or cuts him later....but you would think they explore options...

 
From what I have seen, part of it was to be nice to Romo for all his years with the team and it would allow both sides to make a clean break and move on. Romo could go where he wanted and get a new deal and Dallas would not be bogged down in trying to figure out what to do with him. I don't know what the Coyboys salary cap picture is for 2017, but a $20 million cap hit could alter what they might be able to do.

The salary cap rules really hurt the team trading a marquee or expensive player, as any unaccounted for signing bonus money that was already paid out gets charged against the team immediately. That's one of the reasons why there aren't as many trades in football as in other sports.

 
Dallas is $12 million over the cap. No team is going to trade for Romo with his big 2018 and 2019 salary.
Dallas has to be under the cap prior to March 9th, 4PM and trading doesn't begin until after that.
J Jones doesn't have the options but to cut T Romo. 

 
Also, Jerry Jones and Romo are BFFs.  They go on vacation together and hang out all the time.  He doesn't want to screw him over by trading him to a loser.  He genuinely wants him to do well, just not at his own expense.  Jerry would probably love for Romo to go to the Broncos in the hopes that Romo would do well, but ultimately lose to the Cowboys.  It would be like you sending your friend to the Browns for a tiny gain, pretty cold.

 
Stinkin Ref said:
ok guess I was thinking if he is traded that the receiving team just assumes his contract and Dal is done....guess I wasn't aware that Dal would still be on the hook for anything....

I realize Tony may be "insisting" on some things but unless he has a no trade clause....does that really matter....?

I guess he could just say.... I'm not playing.... and the team backs out....but then DAL just hangs on and releases or cuts him later....but you would think they explore options...
They are for future dollars.  However, there's the pro-ration of previously paid bonuses that needs to be trued up.  Dallas has been kicking that can down the street for forever, and now it's going to catch up to them. 

As a simple example, a $20M signing bonus only counts for $4M per year for 5 years.  However since it's been paid out, it must eventually hit the team's cap.  If that team trades the player after two years, $8M of that bonus has been pro-rated in those years leaving $12M.  Cap rules state the original team takes the whole $12M when he's traded or relased.  However, if a guy is cut after June 1 (or a team can "declare" him a June 1 cut and just do it early) then 1/2 the prorate hits the current year and 1/2 goes to the next.  That's the situation the Cowboys are in.  Romo's contract stacks up a bunch of signing bonuses, roster bonuses, and restructure bonuses, but the summary is what Anarchy said above. 

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/dallas-cowboys/tony-romo-2447/

Just look at the Dead Money of 2017.  They either take all $19.6M now (trade) or 1/2 and 1/2 if he's released. 

 
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steelers1080 said:
Also, Jerry Jones and Romo are BFFs.  They go on vacation together and hang out all the time.  He doesn't want to screw him over by trading him to a loser.  He genuinely wants him to do well, just not at his own expense.  Jerry would probably love for Romo to go to the Broncos in the hopes that Romo would do well, but ultimately lose to the Cowboys.  It would be like you sending your friend to the Browns for a tiny gain, pretty cold.
A lot of truth in the above.

People hate Jerry Jones for all kinds of reasons but he's also shown to have loyalty and has often tried to do "the right thing" for many of his players even when he could have gone a different direction that may have been better for the team. Perhaps that's an impediment as an owner, but it's also won him respect among Dallas vets (most players seem to really like him). Maybe he's looking for karma to pay him back in a positive way.

 
Keep him. 

Cutting him "saves" you $5 million? 

So in other words, you lose the best backup in the league to save 5 million and then need to find a backup QB and no insurance against Dak having a sophomore slump. 

So how much money is actually saved after you sign a competent (veteran?) backup and how much better/worse off is the team afterwords? 

 
Keep him. 

Cutting him "saves" you $5 million? 

So in other words, you lose the best backup in the league to save 5 million and then need to find a backup QB and no insurance against Dak having a sophomore slump. 

So how much money is actually saved after you sign a competent (veteran?) backup and how much better/worse off is the team afterwords? 
Not exactly. There's a difference between what it would save you against the cap and what it would cost you to pay him if he's on the roster. They save $5m against the cap by cutting him but have to pay him, whatever it is, $15m to have him on the roster.

IOW - It's not a 1:1 ratio between what a player is paid and what he costs against the cap.

 
Trading him saves you $5M against the cap and nets you whatever you get for him.  Cutting him saves you $15M against the cap this year (Dallas is $10+M over the cap already) and pushes $10M of it to 2018.

 
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Keep him. 

Cutting him "saves" you $5 million? 

So in other words, you lose the best backup in the league to save 5 million and then need to find a backup QB and no insurance against Dak having a sophomore slump. 

So how much money is actually saved after you sign a competent (veteran?) backup and how much better/worse off is the team afterwords? 
Not sure how. The Cowboys are way over the cap and have to get under the cap by the beginning of March. There is no way to keep him with a $25 million cap number.

 
Not sure how. The Cowboys are way over the cap and have to get under the cap by the beginning of March. There is no way to keep him with a $25 million cap number.
This is so exhausting. How is this year different than every single year for the Cowboys? They are always over the cap and then re-structure and then theyre under the cap. There is a method to their madness and they have figured out a way to maximize their cap dollars.

 
Main advantage to cutting instead of trading is they can designate him a post June 1 cut. If they do that his dead money is $10.7M next season, $5.7M and $3.2M in next few years. If they cut him before June 1(and you can cut him before with post June 1 designation) those numbers jump to $19.6M, $8.9M and $3.2M. Trading him is the same numbers as cutting him pre-June 1. So in total it looks like cutting him with a post June 1 designation saves them $12.1M in dead money vs trading him.

The cap savings for a pre-June 1 cut are $5.2M, $16.3M and $20.5M.  If he's cut after June 1 those cap savings are $14M, $19.5M and $20.5M. So cap savings of cutting versus trading him is now $12M as well.

So long story short it seems like it will save them $12m to cut him instead of trading him.

I do disagree with people who think his salary is an issue. It's not in terms of what QB's are paid and the team that acquires him would not have any guarantees so in that respect it's not a bad contract at all and of course they can restructure.

If you trade him you don't have to send him somewhere he wants to go, you don't have to factor that in the equation at all unless he said he's retire.

So way I see it in the end it boils down to if what they get in a trade is worth the $12M in dead money and cap savings.

 
menobrown said:
Main advantage to cutting instead of trading is they can designate him a post June 1 cut. If they do that his dead money is $10.7M next season, $5.7M and $3.2M in next few years. If they cut him before June 1(and you can cut him before with post June 1 designation) those numbers jump to $19.6M, $8.9M and $3.2M. Trading him is the same numbers as cutting him pre-June 1. So in total it looks like cutting him with a post June 1 designation saves them $12.1M in dead money vs trading him.

The cap savings for a pre-June 1 cut are $5.2M, $16.3M and $20.5M.  If he's cut after June 1 those cap savings are $14M, $19.5M and $20.5M. So cap savings of cutting versus trading him is now $12M as well.

So long story short it seems like it will save them $12m to cut him instead of trading him.

I do disagree with people who think his salary is an issue. It's not in terms of what QB's are paid and the team that acquires him would not have any guarantees so in that respect it's not a bad contract at all and of course they can restructure.

If you trade him you don't have to send him somewhere he wants to go, you don't have to factor that in the equation at all unless he said he's retire.

So way I see it in the end it boils down to if what they get in a trade is worth the $12M in dead money and cap savings.
You're close but not 100%. For guys designated as June 1 cap cuts, teams have to take half of the remaining balance in Year 1 and the other half in Year Two. By trading him, Dallas would eat an immediate $19.6 million cap hit. By cutting him as a June 1 cut, they would take $9.8 million as a cap hit this year and another $9.8 million next year. His salary is irrelevant as far as a salary cap hit. All that matters is money paid out to him as bonuses and not already taken against the cap.

Whether they cut him or trade him, they have to take the same cap hit . . . it's just whether they want to eat it all this year (which right now they couldn't do being over the cap) or split it up over two years.

 
Keep him. 

Cutting him "saves" you $5 million? 

So in other words, you lose the best backup in the league to save 5 million and then need to find a backup QB and no insurance against Dak having a sophomore slump. 

So how much money is actually saved after you sign a competent (veteran?) backup and how much better/worse off is the team afterwords? 
There's no way Romo would accept a backup roll. He views himself as a starter with 4-5 good years left. Everyone is assuming he's being the backup here in Dallas and he's not. He kept quiet and took the high roll when Dak snatched his job away but there is ZERO chance he's ok being here one more year as the backup.

Tex

 
There's no way Romo would accept a backup roll. He views himself as a starter with 4-5 good years left. Everyone is assuming he's being the backup here in Dallas and he's not. He kept quiet and took the high roll when Dak snatched his job away but there is ZERO chance he's ok being here one more year as the backup.

Tex
So. The Dallas Cowboys have paid him +$100,000,000. They owe him nothing.  (Except a whole lot more money)

 
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So. The Dallas Cowboys have paid him +$100,000,000. They owe him nothing.  (Except a whole lot more money)
Not really. They don't have to give him another penny. The money being discussed is the left over salary cap hit they have to take by not taking it in other seasons.

It's players like Revis that are owed guaranteed money . . . and the Jets will be on the hook even if they cut him. They are currently trying to get out of it using a conduct detrimental to the team clause, but from my understanding that determination has to come BEFORE they cut him. Revis is due several millions of dollars in 3 weeks, so he will likely get paid even if the Jets want to dump him.

 
STEADYMOBBIN 22 said:
This is so exhausting. How is this year different than every single year for the Cowboys? They are always over the cap and then re-structure and then theyre under the cap. There is a method to their madness and they have figured out a way to maximize their cap dollars.
The process of getting under the cap takes some maneuvers.  Cutting him is one such maneuver.

The idea of "getting something for him" is so fantasy football.   I would do what was right for Romo but you can't keep him as an expensive backup.  And I'm not sure he can take a hit anymore.  Time to move on.

 
 My question still stands. How much do you really save if you cut Romo and then you need to go out and get a competent back up?

ETA- and is the team better off or worse? 

 
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If the Cowboys designate Romo as a June 1 designee, that gets them under the cap. 

If they want to keep him, they have three weeks to shave $10 million off the cap. We know Romo won't budge because he wants out. So DAL can start redoing deals or cutting players to recoup $10 million against the cap. 

Since it is only a back up they are looking for, they can find a retread that has been tossed around like a three dollar ho. Or they could draft another QB and pay him peanuts. 

There is no good way for Romo to stick around, especially since he no longer wants to be there. 

 
You're close but not 100%. For guys designated as June 1 cap cuts, teams have to take half of the remaining balance in Year 1 and the other half in Year Two. By trading him, Dallas would eat an immediate $19.6 million cap hit. By cutting him as a June 1 cut, they would take $9.8 million as a cap hit this year and another $9.8 million next year. His salary is irrelevant as far as a salary cap hit. All that matters is money paid out to him as bonuses and not already taken against the cap.

Whether they cut him or trade him, they have to take the same cap hit . . . it's just whether they want to eat it all this year (which right now they couldn't do being over the cap) or split it up over two years.
All I can say is I got all my numbers off Overthecap.com which is usually pretty accurate and they are showing dead money and salary cap savings of $12M as a post June 1 cap cut vs trading him before June 1.

 
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saw something this morning that Romo is willing to "massage" his contract if it will help trade negotiations......hmmmm

 
saw something this morning that Romo is willing to "massage" his contract if it will help trade negotiations......hmmmm
I took this to mean that Romo may have realized that he might not get the same amount of years and money in a new contract as he does with his Dallas deal. 

 
IIRC, league year starts on March 9th, the same day as FA. All teams have to be under the cap by the start of the new year and no trades can be made until after the new year starts. So either way, we should start seeing some moves soon as the Cowboys have less than 3 weeks to get under the cap.

 
Also Jerry and Tony have known each other a long time.  Sometimes, every once in a while we see people treated like a decent human being.  Jerry is a good guy in terms of treating his players.  I remember him calling the parent of a practice squad player hurt during hard knocks.  And he genuinely cared about this kid, who never amounted to an NFL player.  

 
Also Jerry and Tony have known each other a long time.  Sometimes, every once in a while we see people treated like a decent human being.  Jerry is a good guy in terms of treating his players.  I remember him calling the parent of a practice squad player hurt during hard knocks.  And he genuinely cared about this kid, who never amounted to an NFL player.  
you know, I don't know.... the doing right by Tony thing seems a little overrated to me....I mean let's be honest, DAL has already paid Tony a ton of money....and I'd probably say the ROI hasn't been real great for what they have given him.....not a lot of playoff success and missed games/often injured....I'm not sure they really "owe" him anything else or need to "do right by him".....IMO DAL/Jerry shouldn't feel guilty about trying to maximize his value....in fact, what about this "great relationship" working the other way....if Tony and Jerry are such buds, wouldn't Tony want Jerry to get something out of this situation as well?....should he feel he may owe it to Jerry to get as much as he can for him...?...

"hey Jerry, you have paid me a lot of money and you know, I probably didn't deliver as much as you wanted......trade me for as much as you can get"....

doing right by Tony doesn't make Jerry a decent human being.....it might however make him a bad business man....

 
I agree.  I'm just saying it might go down that way.   Truth is, we know very little about these guys.  They might not even like each other.  They might spend off seasons fishing together.  

 
if Tony would agree to redo his contract to an acceptable level, teams would be willing to give Jerry a decent draft pick and they could all win.....this year at $14 mil is probably workable for most teams, it's the next two years that are the problem....if he would be willing to drop those next two years down he could probably still pick his destination, let's say DEN, and DEN would probably be willing to part with a decent pick.....win-win-win...

 
if Tony would agree to redo his contract to an acceptable level, teams would be willing to give Jerry a decent draft pick and they could all win.....this year at $14 mil is probably workable for most teams, it's the next two years that are the problem....if he would be willing to drop those next two years down he could probably still pick his destination, let's say DEN, and DEN would probably be willing to part with a decent pick.....win-win-win...
If Romo and Jerry are buds that's one thing, but in most circumstances why would a player consider changing his contract in this situation? If he doesn't budge, Romo will get released and can sign anywhere he wants. At this stage, I doubt there is anything Romo could do to alter his contract to to get the 'Boys out from under the $20 million in dead money they will have if they trade or release him. On a similar note, if Romo wanted to be traded to that team, I am not sure it would be a win for the new team. They would be trading assets for a guy they could sign on the open market in a few weeks without giving up anything to pick him up.

 
if Tony would agree to redo his contract to an acceptable level, teams would be willing to give Jerry a decent draft pick and they could all win.....this year at $14 mil is probably workable for most teams, it's the next two years that are the problem....if he would be willing to drop those next two years down he could probably still pick his destination, let's say DEN, and DEN would probably be willing to part with a decent pick.....win-win-win...
The thing is teams trading for Romo really don't have to worry about the current contract for years two and three. If he gets hurt and is likely to retire, they cut him, with no cap hit because they have no deferred money on the contract (Dallas eats all that when they trade him). If he is healthy come year two, and Romo wants to stay with that team because they are a contender, he will redo his deal to make it work. As has been mentioned before, Romo is in the win a championship phase of his career, not make as much money as I can phase of his career (because he already has had two mega contracts).

Even if the $14 million is too much for a team in terms of a cap next year, there is no reason a team couldn't restructure his deal after they trade for him. Change his salary to $2 million next year, give him a $12 million signing bonus, and his cap hit is just $6 million in 2017 with $8 million deferred.

 
The thing is teams trading for Romo really don't have to worry about the current contract for years two and three. If he gets hurt and is likely to retire, they cut him, with no cap hit because they have no deferred money on the contract (Dallas eats all that when they trade him). If he is healthy come year two, and Romo wants to stay with that team because they are a contender, he will redo his deal to make it work. As has been mentioned before, Romo is in the win a championship phase of his career, not make as much money as I can phase of his career (because he already has had two mega contracts).

Even if the $14 million is too much for a team in terms of a cap next year, there is no reason a team couldn't restructure his deal after they trade for him. Change his salary to $2 million next year, give him a $12 million signing bonus, and his cap hit is just $6 million in 2017 with $8 million deferred.
:goodposting:  

 
i think it would be a great move by JJ to let Tony walk and he pick a team to try and help. It would be a cold move to trade him to the Browns or Jets and see  him get smashed his final couple seasons. I am so sick of hearing that the NFL is "just business", yes, we all get it, nobody give a crap about another human. It would be refreshing and shocking to see it happen, and I like Romo, so I hope he gets a shot on a decent to good team. Tony doesn't strike me as a quitter, but hes not the QB to have in a rebuild, at lease not for him. 

 
 My question still stands. How much do you really save if you cut Romo and then you need to go out and get a competent back up?

ETA- and is the team better off or worse? 
Well, when the Cowboys cut Romo and he signs with the Texans, then the Texans will cut Brandon Weedon, and the Cowboys can sign him as their back-up. I mean he already knows the system. Plus you can let Sanchez compete with him, so you will bring out the best in both. Genius!!  :D

 
Well, when the Cowboys cut Romo and he signs with the Texans, then the Texans will cut Brandon Weedon, and the Cowboys can sign him as their back-up. I mean he already knows the system. Plus you can let Sanchez compete with him, so you will bring out the best in both. Genius!!  :D
:lol:  

The Weedman returns 

 
i think it would be a great move by JJ to let Tony walk and he pick a team to try and help. It would be a cold move to trade him to the Browns or Jets and see  him get smashed his final couple seasons. I am so sick of hearing that the NFL is "just business", yes, we all get it, nobody give a crap about another human. It would be refreshing and shocking to see it happen, and I like Romo, so I hope he gets a shot on a decent to good team. Tony doesn't strike me as a quitter, but hes not the QB to have in a rebuild, at lease not for him. 
It's a business of money. When it comes to winning you trade a player to any team which provides you the best return, period.

 
It's a business of money. When it comes to winning you trade a player to any team which provides you the best return, period.
Not to sound sarcastic but, no kidding. Obviously Dallas will most likely do whatever helps them the most as would any team, its a business and once Romo leaves that facility who cares what happens to him. Just simply saying it sucks to see that happen to certain players. 

 
It's a business of money. When it comes to winning you trade a player to any team which provides you the best return, period.
I think other things factor in many times....like very rarely do you see teams in the same division trade each other....Jerry probably wouldn't trade Romo to an NFC east team even if they had a slightly better deal....

 
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I think other things factor in many times....like very rarely do you see teams in the same division trade each other....Jerry probably wouldn't trade Romo to an NFC east team even if they had a slightly better deal....
Absolutely do not trade a starting QB or other key player to a division rival. 

 
I heard some talk of romo restructuring to make his contract more trade friendly. I don't know why he would do this other than being nice to jerry jones. The cowboys can't afford to keep him as a backup, they need the space. Maybe there is enough trust there that romo restructures and jerry trades him to the team he wants to go to, but it's a whole lot easier to just be a free agent and not risk being in Cleveland because they are willing to part with a better pick. Plus you weaken the team you're going to by robbing them of a draft pick. I wouldn't be thrilled with Sanchez as a backup, but if they want to sign someone else it won't come with romos cap number. 

 
Dallas is $12 million over the cap. No team is going to trade for Romo with his big 2018 and 2019 salary.
Dallas has to be under the cap prior to March 9th, 4PM and trading doesn't begin until after that.
J Jones doesn't have the options but to cut T Romo. 
Cowboys restrict Smith and Frederick ... now $5.8 mill UNDER the cap.

This is the tried and true method of cap accounting Dallas has used over the years to max out its salary cap space.


 
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The update to the article says they are projected only $4M under, which means they still don't have enough space to trade Romo... yet. They will have to continue to make moves to get further under if that is the route they are going (plus they still will need a few million in space to sign their rookies.)

 
The update to the article says they are projected only $4M under, which means they still don't have enough space to trade Romo... yet. They will have to continue to make moves to get further under if that is the route they are going (plus they still will need a few million in space to sign their rookies.)
Romo's contract is already accounted for at $24.5M, so yes they "have space to trade him" as it would be a $19.6M hit if they did so they actually clear another $5M doing so.

 
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