Miles Austin is going to receive contract extension from Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys have just signed all the rookies to make sure the training camp will begin with no one being missed. The next thing they are going to do is to solve contract disputes with the veterans. And the first thing is to work out a long-term contract extension with Pro Bowl wide receiver Miles Austin.

Entering his fourth season with the Cowboys, Austin is also entering the last year on his current contract. In order to get a contract extension, he held out some of the offseason workouts to show his disappointment. However, when he was hanging out with friends wearing Favre jerseys, the Cowboys drafted former college star receiver Dez Bryant and gave the rookie the number 88 that was worn on legendary Michael Irvin jersey to show their emphasis on younger receivers. As a result Austin returned to retain his position in the team and waited for proper chance to restart the contract talks.

Now the chance comes and the Cowboys officials proved that they never forgot about Austin’s contract issue. They were just too busy at signing rookies to talk with Austin. Now that the rookies were all signed, the Cowboys will take time to negotiate with Austin about the new contract. Considering his standout performance in last season, the Cowboys will possibly give Austin a significant salary raise.

More than 200 NFL players to lose status if no salary cap

If the league and its union can’t agree on a new labor contract, 2010 will become an uncapped year when a player would need at least six years in the NFL to be an unrestricted free agent who is able to sign with any team. And the current minimum for being unrestricted is four years.

That would mean quite a difference to as many as 212 players, who are entering their fourth year of playing football in NFL jerseys. The names on the list include Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin, Denver Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall and six other Pro Bowl picks.

If they lose out on the chance to become unrestricted free agents this offseason, players might not get as big a payoff as they could have been expecting. They also won’t have the luxury of moving freely anywhere in the league.