Tuesday, June 19, 2007

More Romo contract discussion

by Grizz Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 12:59:35 PM EDT
Thanks to a diary by BTB-regular Impatient we get the Matt Mosley view on the Tony Romo contract. Here’s the key paragraphs:

For everyone who keeps writing that the Cowboys should hedge their bets with Romo, you lost that opportunity on draft day when owner Jerry Jones decided not to take Brady Quinn at No. 22.
Hey, I wonder if I’m part of that "For everyone who keeps writing" line? I have written that the Cowboys might consider waiting to evaluate Tony Romo under the new regime before locking into a long-term contract. Now, I’m not dead-set on this, if the Cowboys signed Romo to a long-term contract tomorrow I wouldn’t be upset. Contrary to popular belief, even though I’m known to criticize some of Romo’s play from last season, I am genuinely excited about what he can achieve this season and for seasons to come. But optimism and hope can be a dangerous feeling when signing guys to long-term deals.

As for the passing on Brady Quinn locking the Cowboys into a situation where they have to sign Romo long-term, I’m not as sold on that theory. Yes, passing on Quinn was a huge indication that the Cowboys are banking on Romo for their future. But there’s always another draft coming up every year, and there are always free-agents in every offseason. Still, I get the drift that Romo is supposed to be the Cowboys’ future, so maybe you want to pay him like that.

Mosley’s solution:

I expect the Cowboys to reward Romo with a split signing bonus over two years that totals more than $20 million. At this point, the only leverage Jones has is that Romo only has 10 starts.
The idea of splitting up the signing bonuses over a couple of years is a good way to remedy the problem of locking yourself into a deal that may backfire on you.

In the end, if I had to guess, the Cowboys will have Tony Romo as their starting QB for well into the future. I think he has that kind of promise and potential, so whichever way the Cowboys choose to go, I think the end result is that Romo will be a Cowboy, unless he totally bombs this year. And I mean extra heavy-duty bombage, not just a so-so season.

But I doubt the deal gets done before training camp, that’s only a month away and the Cowboys and Romo’s agent haven’t begun serious negotiations yet. No one seems willing to propose a number yet, even though the Matt Schaub deal has been bandied about as a starting point.