Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones is pushing back against a perception that the Cowboys were unprepared for the 10-game suspension the NFL handed down to Greg Hardy.
Asked if the NFL’s 10-game suspension of Hardy shows that the league considered it a more serious matter than the Cowboys realized when they signed him, Jones shot back, “I take exception to that.”
“I think we were very aware that there was a suspension pending and knew that it could be of that length, so I would disagree with you there. I think we were very aware of that. I don’t think it turned out any different than we thought could happen. I think we structured a contract to deal with that and knew very well — our eyes were wide open on that,” Jones said.
Asked if the NFL found something in its investigation that the Cowboys weren’t aware of, Jones said that’s not the case.
“I think we were very aware of the things that went on,” Jones said. “This was not a surprise to anybody.”
Although Hardy’s contract had a maximum value of $13.1 million, the Cowboys structured the contract to protect themselves in the case of a suspension, and if Hardy loses his appeal, the Cowboys will end up paying him about $5 million for six games. The Cowboys think that’s a fair deal for one of the NFL’s best pass rushers, who also happens to be one of the poster boys for the NFL’s domestic violence problem.