Romo could take the Flacco strategy with his extension

Extension, extension, extension is all you hear about regarding Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys want to extend Romo to free cap space to re-sign players and target free agents; why Romo would want an extension other than getting some guaranteed money is anyone’s guess?

However, even though the drums are beating for a Romo extension, he doesn’t have to do it. The NFL is all about getting the most money possible while you can get it, because the NFL has not been taking care of players gracefully as they get older.

AP Photo/Matt Slocum

Romo would be better off getting the most money possible or at least the most guaranteed money possible and Joe Flacco may have shown the way for what Romo should do in 2013. Joe Flacco’s contract situation in 2012 is a great scenario that almost mimics what Romo is going through now in 2013.

Joe Flacco was entering the last year of his contract with the Ravens, and the Ravens sent Flacco a contract extension in the 2012 offseason. Flacco wasn’t happy with the amount of money they offered him, and decided to forego the contract extension to see if he can get more at the end of the season.

One Super Bowl victory and Super Bowl MVP later and Joe Flacco is looking at a very wealthy contract in the 20 million a year range. All Romo would have to do is lead the Dallas Cowboys to the Super Bowl on a team he has only led to the Playoffs three times in the last seven seasons in order to reap the benefits.

That sounds laughable of course, because of how badly the Cowboys organization has performed over the years. However that makes Romo sticking out the 2013 season and not signing an extension even more justifiable.

The Cowboys’ team doesn’t even compare to the Baltimore Ravens in terms of a team that competes for the title every year or every other year. So Romo pulling a Tom Brady in reducing his salary to make the Cowboys better doesn’t hold water, because the Cowboys have never shown the ability to craft a team through free agency and the draft to win the Super Bowl or even contend at that rate.

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Romo is everything to the Cowboys. Are the Cowboys a team that can win without Romo? No. So the question is; does Romo save the Cowboys some cap space on a team that has less of a shot at a title due to the organization’s history, or go to another team in 2014 that he can actually win a title at for more money?

Taking a pay cut on the Pats or the Ravens makes sense, because they are winning franchises, but taking a pay cut with the Cowboys sounds downright un-American. Romo should take a pay cut if the Cowboys (Jerry Jones) can prove they can craft a great team around him; instead of throwing darts at a board in the hopes that Romo will pick up the slack.

Romo doesn’t have financial issues, but the situation with Romo and the Cowboys is completely different from what Tom Brady did. Brady knows the Patriots will take that money he’s giving up to sign players to get the Pats to win.

Romo on the other hand cannot guarantee that proposition with the Cowboys, and that why he’s better off pulling a Joe Flacco, than a Tom Brady in 2013.

James Cobern is a Featured Journalist for TPF and can be contacted at JCobern@ThePenaltyFlagBlog.com.