Why Tyron Smith’s Contract Will Be a Bargain
Tyron Smith agreed to a new contract this week that essentially amounts to an 8 year extension worth 98 million dollars with 40 million of that absolutely guaranteed. Tyron gets a 10 million dollar signing bonus as part of the new agreement as well.
The 23 year old 3rd year offensive tackle will anchor what could be the best offensive line in football next season. The dollar value is rather jarring but when one looks at what Smith means and will mean to the franchise in the future, it’s easy to see why the Cowboys made the decision to extend his contract early.
These are the reasons why I feel the contract is a bargain.
- Tyron Smith is young!
Tyron is 23 and he won’t turn 24 until December. This contract covers every bit of the likely prime of his career. Those prime years could be hall of fame caliber. Even if they aren’t, NFL contracts aren’t completely guaranteed. If Tyron Smith has a steep decline in play in the future then the contract bonds could be broken. I don’t foresee that scenario however. Just for some perspective, Michigan tackle Taylor Lewan who was drafted by the Titans in the 2014 draft is 23 years old already.
- Tyron Smith is durable!
He has started 47 of his first 48 games during his NFL career. There are no signals that the trend of Smith being healthy won’t continue. Smith keeps himself in tremendous shape and his history leads us to believe he will stay that way. He has no known past injury issues. Tyron will be protecting Tony Romo during the quarterback’s twilight years and presumably will be protecting his successor during that quarterback’s formative years.
Nobody can expect the young bookend to play an entire career without injury. Not many players do. However, the lack of a history filled with serious injury greatly increases the chance Smith will be able to recover from whatever happens completely and efficiently. In other words, the Dallas Cowboys tackle does not have a history of constant muscle strains, multiple ligament tears, or joint dislocations. He has a clear bill of health for now and hopefully for the future and beyond.
- Left tackles are paid handsomely in the NFL
According to overthecap.com, Joe Thomas makes about 11.5 million a season. Trent Williams and D’brickashaw Ferguson both make 10 million a year and Ryan Clady pulls in 10.5 million per. Tyron Smith’s new deal will pay him around 12.5 million each year. I fully believe that the Dallas Cowboys have the best left tackle in football and we should pay him accordingly and he will only get better.
- The salary cap will continue to rise
The fact that in 2011 the NFL salary cap was 120 million but will be 133 million this season only leads us to believe that the cap will continue to rise. The NFL is getting more and more popular globally and domestically. The more popular it gets the more money it makes. The more money the NFL makes then the higher the salary cap goes. I presented it in a simplified way but essentially as the salary cap rises, salaries rise.
What do you think the next great NFL left tackle will make in 2015 when the cap increases again? How about in 2017 when the cap could be 20 million dollars higher than what it is currently? Guys like Luke Joeckel or Eric Fisher could see salaries MUCH higher than Tyron Smith’s in the future. Due to forward thinking, we have Smith locked up LONG term.
It may worry some of you but I fully believe that the next decade of pro bowls and stellar play will make Tyron Smith’s contract look like a bargain in the near future.
Disagree? Think I’m delusional? Sound off in the comments section!
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