Dak likely getting tagged

[kired]

And I believe each team can only tag 1 player per year. It doesn't necessarily mean the player will have to play under it --- they can still come to a long term agreement until mid-summer.

 

[esplanade91]

Does the NFL not have something equivalent to the NBA's sign and trade (I know that's been limited as far as the cap flexibility it used to give)?

If an NBA player of Dak's stature wants to move to another team, there is really only a 10% chance the team has enough cap and roster spots to make that happen, thus the Dak-esk player would need to be a team player in helping facilitate an exchange.

There is virtually no conceivable scenario where a team who needs a QB can't make it work without the Cowboys' help. Trades just don't happen that often in the NFL and when they do it's almost never because contracts can't be ironed out. Compensatory picks negate any urgency to deal guys vs. just letting them walk or even cutting them.

I also wouldn't trust an NFL GM as far as I could throw one - whereas NBA GM's need to chum it up with every player on every team because there are essentially 3 agents representing everyone. This was played out with the Anthony Davis trade; one NOLA front office went scorched earth and ended up getting fired for it, while the other killed Lebron's team with kindness and immediately recouped rewards (including free agency).

 

[Go Budaw]

That’s smart on Jerry’s part. If dak disagrees, he’ll have other options.

That’s the beauty of a free market.

It’s not smart at all on Jerry’s part actually. If the salary cap goes up, say, 20%, one third to one half of that bump is going to go towards QB salaries most likely. That means if Dak’s price now is $34 million, his price a year from now might be $40-42 million when you account for both the bump up from the new cap and normal market appreciation. Jerry could get him for 4 years / $34-$36 million per as of right now, and he saves about $24 million minimum. If he waits, he pays the $34 for this year but then is looking at paying $40+ for every year after in any scenario (even with another franchise tag year in 2021).

The other reason why it isn’t smart is that with Dak getting tagged, Dallas is now putting Amari Cooper on the unrestricted free agent market. So he’s basically up for grabs, and Dallas will have to pay Top 5 money to keep him too. So either Cooper is going to walk or they are going to have to overpay for him just like they did with Zeke, further reducing the pot of money they can give Dak. Lose-lose there. The smart move is to give Dak his 4-year $35 million per year deal (give or take a million or so), and franchise tag Cooper to save some cap room for his long term deal starting in 2021. By then they’ll also probably be out from under some other deals for guys that are no longer worth the investment.

 

[Antonio Brown's Foot]

I think so too. Just don’t think McCarthy is sold on him
I’d like to see Dak in Chicago

I want to see Dak in New Orleans, Drew Brees announce his retirement, and Dak bring another Super Bowl to the Saints.

 

[tldawg85]

And I believe each team can only tag 1 player per year. It doesn't necessarily mean the player will have to play under it --- they can still come to a long term agreement until mid-summer.

Normally that is true but since this is the last year of the current collective bargaining agreement between the owners and the players union, the teams are allowed to use both the Franchise tag *and* the Transition tag. Wouldn't be surprised if Dak gets the Franchise tag and Cooper gets the Transition

 

[PendingTransaction]

Boys, don’t fret for Ol Dak. He’s happy as a lark.

 

[HueFreeze]

Does Dak "have to sign" the tag? What has to happen until he hits the open market and can talk to other teams?

 

[Go Budaw]

Does Dak "have to sign" the tag? What has to happen until he hits the open market and can talk to other teams?

Dak doesn’t have to sign the tender (tag). See LeVeon Bell from a few years ago. However, he can’t play for or get paid by Dallas or anyone else until he signs it, or it gets rescinded in exchange for a long term deal from Dallas. The franchise tag is essentially a one year protection that a franchise can place on a player, and they may use that twice for the exclusive tag and a third time for a non-exclusive tag. A year is counted towards that by the player signing the tender and playing in enough games to accrue a full NFL season (player has to be signed and active by Week 9 or 10 I think to accrue a season).

So the rub is that Dak can choose not to play at all under the tag in 2020, but then Dallas can still tag him two more times since he didn’t sign the previous tender. And they can tag him every single year infinitely until he actually plays two seasons under it, if they choose. Therefore, Dak’s max leverage can be applied by signing the tender and becoming active, but not doing so until Week 9 or 10. This would destroy any playoff chances the Cowboys have, still get him about $17 million (over 4x his career earnings to this point), and count as one of the two years that Dallas could apply the exclusive tag. At that point, Jerry can tag him again in 2021 (in which case that would be his last year in Dallas in just about any scenario), give him his long term deal he’s asking for, or let him walk to the highest bidder.