IRVING, Texas -- The cap-conscious Cowboys have exercised a way to reward a player while also saving money by arranging for cornerback Orlando Scandrick a contract extension that actually reduces his overall salary by 33 percent.
Under the terms of a previous contract extension in 2011, Scandrick was scheduled to make $13.5 million with no guarantees over the next three years. Now, sources tell FOX Sports Southwest that under the terms of his new deal, he will make $9 million total over the course of the next three years, with all of that guaranteed.
The move does not create room for this season. But Dallas saves $4.5 million in cap and cash (including possibly $2.5 million next year). Dallas added two more years to the deal at a very affordable $3 million each. Scandrick is just 26, so he may still be playing over the course of the next five-plus years. But those final two years are non-guaranteed and therefore escapable.
Dallas is spreading out Scandrick's base salary here. But the Cowboys aren't resorting to their common tool of "pushing money out'' (and then worrying about the credit-card bill later). In total, the money due Scandrick is now about two-thirds what it was under his previous deal.
The Cowboys are already planning to flip switches on clauses in the contracts of players like Brandon Carr, Tony Romo and Jason Witten to shift money around for next year in order to stay under the cap. They will also be looking at total re-do's of the deals given Miles Austin and DeMarcus Ware, with an eye toward making one or both of them post-June 1 cut casualties.
Meanwhile, there are also efforts in place to extend Dez Bryant and Tyson Smith sometime in the next two years. And kicker Dan Bailey is a restricted free agent this offseason and is very much in Dallas' plans.
Giving a new deal to Scandrick gets the Cowboys more room … and saves them money overall as well.
