For those of you who are familiar with my blog, y’all know that I am a Dallas Cowboys hater. Check that, I am an AVID Dallas Cowboys hater.
That said, the NFL’s salary cap will screw Dallas in its attempt to re-sign both Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray.
The Cowboys will place the franchise tag on the All-Pro wide receiver by Monday’s deadline, which will guarantee Bryant $13 million in 2015. As a result if a team were to be interested in acquiring Bryant’s services, it would have to give up two first-round picks if Dallas chooses not to match an offer sheet.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys will let Murray test the market – and may not re-sign him.
Let’s be real about something: Bryant and Murray were the driving forces in the Cowboys’ resurgence last season. Murray proved to be an unstoppable force toting the rock on his way to a rushing title. As for Bryant, his physicality and competitiveness gave the Cowboys an edge that few could attempt to match.
And the almighty salary cap will prevent the Cowboys from being able to re-sign either player – or maybe both.
I understand that the salary cap is meant to be an equalizer that ensures competitive balance in the NFL. I also like the fact that the NFL is nothing like Major League Baseball in that the same few teams are not good every season. Fans of every NFL team have hope at the beginning of every season.
However, I think that teams who are smart in their personnel moves should be rewarded in being able to keep their own players. If anything, the NFL should adapt a “soft-cap” rule similar to that of the NBA. At least it would give Dallas a chance at keeping both Bryant and Murray. And in turn it would give QB Tony Romo his top two offensive playmakers back.
Instead, the “hard” salary cap forces every NFL team to choose which of its stars to keep. It’s a shame that those teams can’t capitalize off of their success from previous seasons.
Long live the NFL…
Categories: NFL
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