ESPN's Todd Archer reported the year-by-year details of Smith's contract, which contains $40 million guaranteed including a $10 million signing bonus. (He'll make just over a million dollars this year because he is technically still on his rookie deal, but he'll pocket that $10 million now.)
While that's a good chunk of guaranteed money, here's the important part: the seasons with guaranteed salary end after 2017. This means that after just three seasons, Smith will effectively be playing on seven consecutive one-year contracts, with no negative for the Cowboys if they decide to cut him apart from dealing with some salary cap housecleaning, depending on how they structure the signing bonus. |
