Final Hours
Cowboys Working On Hamlin Deal As Deadline Nears
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IRVING, Texas - For more than four months, the Cowboys and safety Ken Hamlin have let contract negotiations come and go without much progress.
But with a deadline fast approaching, both sides are now working feverishly to get a deal completed before Tuesday's 3 p.m. (CDT) deadline.
If Hamlin, who was given the franchise tag back in February, does not sign a long-term deal by then, the safety will not be able to sign a long-term deal between now and the end of the regular season. And therefore, Hamlin will have to play out this season on his one-year, $4.396 million tender.
The Cowboys have had ongoing talks with Hamlin and his agent Kennard McGuire lately. The two sides spent most of Monday trying to hash out a new deal.
The Cowboys placed the franchise tag on Hamlin back in late February. But since the fifth-year safety never signed the tender, he did not participate in any of the team's off-season activities, including four weeks of OTA (organized team activity) practices or the three-day mini-camp in June. And since Hamlin was not technically under contract, he was not subject to a fine for missing the mandatory mini-camp.
Since just before the start of free agency in late February, the Cowboys have reached long-term contracts with several Pro Bowl players, including Flozell Adams, Marion Barber, Terence Newman and Terrell Owens.
The Cowboys got creative on May 20, just before the deadline to extend contracts under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association. The Cowboys gave both Newman and Barber six-year extensions, guaranteeing nearly $39 million to both players.
Two weeks later, the Cowboys gave Owens a new four-year contract, totaling $34 million.
But throughout the summer, the Cowboys have never seemed too anxious about their contract talks with Hamlin.
When asked last month at the team's mini-camp if he was concerned with Hamlin's absence, team owner Jerry Jones said, "I'm not at all. That's a lot of money . . . He'll play."
Jones was referring to the one-year tender of $4.396 million. However, if Hamlin played for that this year, the entire total would hit this year's salary cap.
A long-term deal would likely lower this year's cap hit and stabilize the free safety position, a spot the Cowboys have had trouble filling the last few seasons.
After signing a one-year deal as an unrestricted free agent from Seattle, Hamlin quickly made the transition to the Cowboys, earning his first career Pro Bowl selection in 2007. Hamlin recorded 102 tackles and had five interceptions.
The market for free safeties has increased thanks to a pair of contracts signed this off-season.
Oakland gave former Giants safety Gibril Wilson a six-year, $39 million deal back in March. And the Jets shelled out $33.5 million over five years for Kerry Rhodes. Neither Wilson nor Rhodes have made the Pro Bowl, however, and Hamlin making his first trip in February likely increased his asking price.
Whether it's with a new contract or just the one-year deal, Hamlin is expected to resume his free safety duties in the Cowboys' secondary.
Last year, head coach Wade Phillips dubbed Hamlin the quarterback of the defense, and it's unlikely those duties will change despite his absence this summer.
The Cowboys have used Pat Watkins and Courtney Brown more during the OTA and mini-camp practices. But Phillips said he expects Hamlin will return to the first-team defense as soon as his contract situation is resolved.
And because of Tuesday's deadline, that appears to be sooner than later.