Dallas Cowboys quite possibly made the most daring move of the offseason. They agreed to terms with 26-year-old free agent defensive lineman, Greg Hardy.
Hardy and the Cowboys agreed to a one-year deal worth over $11 million. A player of Hardy’s caliber and production should’ve possibly earned more money and signed for a long term deal. The issue with Hardy is that he had a big suspension following him around wherever he went and teams usually don’t like to bring on players that carry baggage along with them.
The Cowboys took a chance on Hardy so in turn, Hardy took a chance in getting his 10 game suspension reduced by the NFL. Fortunately for the Cowboys and Hardy, his suspension was reduced from 10 games to four games.
Following from Lorezno Reyes of USA Today.
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy had his 10-game suspension reduced to four games, the NFL announced Friday.
Neutral arbitrator Harold Henderson upheld Hardy’s suspension for his role in a domestic violence case.
The decision comes seven weeks the appeal was heard in late May. The league suspended Hardy in April.
Hardy was convicted of the charges in a North Carolina bench trial but used his right in the state’s legislature to have the case heard before a jury. The charges were later dropped when the victim in the case, Hardy’s ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder, failed to appear.
After missing 15 games last season due to being placed on the ‘Commissioner’s exempt list’, along with Adrian Peterson, Hardy will finally touch a football field sometime this season and when he does, he’ll be getting paid for it.
Hardy’s contract with the Cowboys has him getting paid $578,125 per game when he is active. This decision for Hardy is huge for him, his bank account and his family. Hardy could once again go take this case to court to get his suspension reduced even further if he wants. Under the current suspension, Hardy will be eligible to return to the lineup for Dallas’s Week five home game against the Patriots.
