Redskins, Cowboys Hearing Set For Salary Cap Penalties

The Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys will meet before a league arbitrator on May 10 to appeal the salary cap penalties levied against them by the NFL. The arbitration hearing will take place before league system arbitrator Stephen Burbank at a location of his choosing.

Both teams were accused of abusing the uncapped 2010 season to front-load large contracts for the likes of Albert Haynesworth and DeAngelo Hall in Washington's case, and Miles Austin in Dallas's case. The Redskins were docked $36 million in cap space, applied over the upcoming season and next. The Cowboys had $10 million taken out of their payroll. The teams argue that at the time there were no rules against the procedure.

League owners voted 29-2 (the Redskins and Cowboys voted against, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers abstained) in March to move forward with the penalties. Competitors argued that the large contracts paid to just a few players created a ripple effect that negatively impacted teams. Austin's big contract drove the franchise tag figure for wide receivers from $9.5 million in 2010 to $11.3 million in 2011, for example, making it very difficult for the San Diego Chargers to work out a long term deal with Vincent Jackson.