Sean Lee Denies $2 Million Roster Bonus Because Of Hamstring Injury

The Dallas Cowboys have had a depressing season with a notable setback in quarterback Tony Romo being out for the rest of the season after injuring his left collarbone twice throughout the season. With the season wrapping up yesterday in a division battle against the Washington Redskins at home in AT&T Stadium, a veteran star player did something off the field that has not been done in recent memory in terms of not receiving bonuses for on-field play.

Star linebacker Sean Lee was reported to have a hamstring injury on Thursday during practice. This was an injury that would cost the veteran a well-deserved bonus, a bonus on his contract that stated that if he played yesterday in the whole game, he would have played in 80% of defensive snaps this season and would receive a $2 million roster bonus. After warming up, Lee felt that it would be detrimental to the team if he were to take the field with the injury and asked the team to list him as inactive. Lee would have received the bonus yesterday because he was shy of 32 snaps and the Cowboys defense had accumulated 65 defensive plays against the Redskins.

“I’m blessed to be on this team,” Lee said. “My main concern is finding a way for us to be a better football team, a better defense next year, for me to be a better player and, for me, I wasn’t going to be effective today. I had to stay off the field because I wasn’t going to help our team.”

Thw Cowboys went on to lose to the NFC East champion Redskins 34-23 and finished the season with 4-12 season record.

Photo: SAN DIEGO, CA – SEPTEMBER 29: Middle linebacker Sean Lee #50 of the Dallas Cowboys looks on against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on September 29, 2013 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)