It will Cost them ....
Tony Romo has not returned to practice for the Cowboys.
He will. Soon. Once he does, the public conversation regarding how the team should proceed at quarterback will intensify.
The stay-with-Dak Prescott camp has the upper hand at the moment based on the leverage of a 5-1 record. But this is a short-term argument with long-term ramifications. Any talk of Romo and his future inevitably leads to his contract.
What if the player the franchise drafted to be the quarterback of the future turns out to be the quarterback of the present? What are the club's financial obligations to Romo and how does it affect options?
Take this season off the table. Six games isn't nearly a large enough sample size to move on from Romo. Even if the club was that imprudent, what team would trade for a 36-year-old quarterback who hasn't played this season because of an L1 compression fracture of his spine? Romo will remain on the books at $20.8 million for this season.
If the Cowboys determine the Prescott era is underway heading into the 2017 season, it will cost the franchise $19.6 million to sever ties with Romo. That number hits the book whether the quarterback is traded or cut.
If the club designated Romo as a June 1 cut, it could split that number over two seasons. Under that scenario, Romo would consume $10.7 million of the '17 salary cap and $8.9 million of its payroll the next season.
Retirement? Romo has no plans to retire. He didn't put in the hard work preparing for this season and isn't pushing himself to the limit to return now because he intends to walk away at the end of this season. It doesn't alter the financial realities anyway.
This is the aftermath of the six-year, $108 million contract Romo signed in March 2013. This is what happens when you convert $12.5 million of the quarterback's base salary to a signing bonus in '14 and another $16 million in '15 to free up more cap room for other moves.
So that's the number to keep in mind -- $19.6 million. But here's another way to look at it:
Romo's salary-cap hit is $24.7 million for next season. If he is traded or released, the club frees up $5.1 million it wouldn't have otherwise.
None of this factors into the debate about who should quarterback the team for the remainder of the season. But it's a significant discussion point moving forward.
[h=2]Romo's cap impact[/h]The Cowboys signed Tony Romo to a six-year, $108 million contract in March 2013. Here's how it counts against the salary cap for each year remaining:
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Tony Romo has not returned to practice for the Cowboys.
He will. Soon. Once he does, the public conversation regarding how the team should proceed at quarterback will intensify.
The stay-with-Dak Prescott camp has the upper hand at the moment based on the leverage of a 5-1 record. But this is a short-term argument with long-term ramifications. Any talk of Romo and his future inevitably leads to his contract.
What if the player the franchise drafted to be the quarterback of the future turns out to be the quarterback of the present? What are the club's financial obligations to Romo and how does it affect options?
Take this season off the table. Six games isn't nearly a large enough sample size to move on from Romo. Even if the club was that imprudent, what team would trade for a 36-year-old quarterback who hasn't played this season because of an L1 compression fracture of his spine? Romo will remain on the books at $20.8 million for this season.
If the Cowboys determine the Prescott era is underway heading into the 2017 season, it will cost the franchise $19.6 million to sever ties with Romo. That number hits the book whether the quarterback is traded or cut.
If the club designated Romo as a June 1 cut, it could split that number over two seasons. Under that scenario, Romo would consume $10.7 million of the '17 salary cap and $8.9 million of its payroll the next season.
Retirement? Romo has no plans to retire. He didn't put in the hard work preparing for this season and isn't pushing himself to the limit to return now because he intends to walk away at the end of this season. It doesn't alter the financial realities anyway.
This is the aftermath of the six-year, $108 million contract Romo signed in March 2013. This is what happens when you convert $12.5 million of the quarterback's base salary to a signing bonus in '14 and another $16 million in '15 to free up more cap room for other moves.
So that's the number to keep in mind -- $19.6 million. But here's another way to look at it:
Romo's salary-cap hit is $24.7 million for next season. If he is traded or released, the club frees up $5.1 million it wouldn't have otherwise.
None of this factors into the debate about who should quarterback the team for the remainder of the season. But it's a significant discussion point moving forward.
[h=2]Romo's cap impact[/h]The Cowboys signed Tony Romo to a six-year, $108 million contract in March 2013. Here's how it counts against the salary cap for each year remaining:
| Year | Salary cap hit |
| 2016 | $20.8 million |
| 2017 | $24.7 million |
| 2018 | $25.2 million |
| 2019 | $23.7 million |
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Unlike Dallas and Jerry to make a smart move, but if they could get that semien kid who has shown he can be a serviceable QB in return for Romo then it might not be bad. Dak has played good but Dallas defense has played above expectations along with Elliot. If Dallas could cover some of Romo's sallary maybe bronco's could make something work.
