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8:08 PM Tue, Oct 30, 2007 | Permalink
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February 2008
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Movers and Shakers Pre-season Texas Stadium dallasnews.com
Sports Blogs |
Creative Artists Agency scored again with Tony Romo's six-year, $67.5 million deal. And, as it turns out, they didn't really have to go far to find the framework for the deal. Ken Kremer, a CAA agent and former NFL linemen, serves both Romo and Rams QB Marc Bulger. Which means the similarities between the new contracts of the two field generals wasn't much of a coincidence. "Obviously, a guy like a Bulger is somebody that’s being looked at," said Cowboys exec Stephen Jones. "And you had the (Matt) Schaub situation early on that was split up a little bit, something that they were staying away from." Tim posted earlier here that the Schaub deal was close in terms to what the Cowboys offered Romo before the year. Jones referred to that as a "split" deal. What does it mean? While Schaub's deal had final numbers of six years and $48 million, there's a major caveat in there. Schaub's due about $20 million in the contract's first three years, about $7 million of which is guaranteed. Once that is cleared, things get a little more dicey. In 2010, to keep Schaub, the Texans will have to pay a $10 million option bonus. That triggers the final three years of the deal. And because of that, the contract plays almost like two three-year deals independent of one another. It protects the team, allowing it to get out after three years, and is not uncommon when an unproven player receives financial rewards based on potential (see: high draft picks.) Extending Romo's body of work to this year allowed Kremer to sell the quarterback more as a proven commodity. And that's where Bulger -- who had a pretty extensive starting history -- comes in. Bulger's been the Rams starter since 2002, giving him more history than Romo. On the other hand, Romo is 27 and Bulger's 30. So things evened themselves out. Bulger got a six-year, $65 million deal with a $12 million signing bonus and $27 million in guarantees. Romo got six years and $67.5 million, with an $11.5 million signing bonus and $30 million in guarantees. Where those two differ from Schaub is in the financial security Bulger and Romo are getting. In a nutshell, it's feasible for the Texans to wash their hands of Schaub if things don't work out. Conversely, for the Rams and Cowboys, cutting Bulger or Romo anywhere in the first few years of the deals would bring crippling cap ramifications with the guaranteed money accelerating into a single year. And that's why this really is a big-time commitment on the part of the Dallas brass. |
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Comments
Posted by Saint Jimmy @ 11:21 PM Tue, Oct 30, 2007
One thing that has kinda gotten overlooked on Romo-day is what a fantastic owner Jerry is and how well he treats his players. When Romo called Jerry to tell him negotiations were snagged on one thing Jerry said "done" even before he knew what it was. You've gotta love a boss that you can go to with a problem and even before you explain what the problem is it's been taken care of.
I know a lot of people out there that would want a boss like that. Able to walk into his/her office to explain a family member is sick or something and you've gotta go out of state and without a pause, a dirty look, or a guilt-laden sigh he/she gives you as much time off as you need. Those type of people are the ones you want to break your back bending over backwards for.
And make no mistake. The players saw that and understand how great it is to have an owner & GM that will treat you right if you do things the right way. MB3, Newman, Ware, and others know that they've got as much job security as the NFL will allow in Dallas.
Say what you want about Jerry but you've got to admit he treats his players right. Sometimes even at the risk of the future. When Irvin retired he had to get a #1 WR for Troy and Emmitt to get one last ring. What did he do? Traded 2 #1's for Galloway. That didn't work out as we'd like since Troy and Joey played about 8 snaps together. And it wasn't like Randy Moss, Jerry Rice, or TO was available at the time.