Aldon Smith's Contract Details With Cowboys Revealed and It's Another Great Deal for Dallas
By Brady Williams
The Dallas Cowboys continue to revitalize their defense in free agency, and surprised plenty of fans by signing troubled defensive end Aldon Smith. The one-time Pro-Bowler hasn't played a single game since 2015, and his long list of legal and personal troubles ranging from drug use to a no-contest plea in a domestic dispute have made him an unattractive prospect for teams and fans alike. However, the newly revealed details of his contract shows the Cowboys got him for peanuts, and it's hard to argue that they aren't in a favorable position here.
Per ESPN's Todd Archer, the 30-year-old Smith has one-year, $4 million deal, but that his base salary is only $910,000, with incentives and activity making up the rest of the sum. It's an extremely cheap deal for a guy who had back-to-back seasons with 14 and 19.5 sacks in his first two years in the NFL, and means Dallas won't get too badly burned if they have to cut ties with him for any reason.
More on Aldon Smith’s contract: He will earn a $910,000 base salary and $40,625 every time he is on the active gameday roster, totaling $650,000. He has incentives totaling $2 million. If he reaches eight sacks, he will get $500,000, 10 sacks will earn... https://t.co/ln096qltaG
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) April 2, 2020
Smith experienced a major downturn in his performance starting in his third season, but if he truly is clean and sober as reports suggest, perhaps his play will be cleaner as well.
In other words, this can only pay off for Big D.
Breaking: The #dallascowboys have signed former Pro Bowl LB/DE Aldon Smith to a one-year, marking the end of a 4-year absence. Clean and sober now, incredible how much he’s turned his life around. @NFLonFOX @dallascowboys
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) April 2, 2020
We all hope for comeback stories, and with a DUI arrest as recent as June of 2019, Smith has nowhere to go but up. In the meantime, Cowboys fans can take solace in knowing that their team isn't sacrificing very much on this controversial player.