The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... The Cowboys are working toward a contract extension with Romo, and there now is reason for urgency. Based on a thorough reading of Romo's contract, the Cowboys cannot issue him the franchise tag if no deal is reached by the end of the 2013 league year. Therefore, he'd be a free agent if there is no new contract -- giving Romo added leverage. The interpretation has been confirmed by sources with in-depth knowledge of the language.

Diehards Line: According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, this is why Romo would become a free agent: He technically has three years left on his current contract. Based on paragraphs 27 and 28 of the deal, however, the final two years of Romo's contract void with no action necessary from either party if he's on the Cowboys' roster by the end of the 2013 league year. So, if Romo still is on the roster at that time, he's a free agent. That's when a team usually would issue the franchise tag. Yet all of that occurs after the franchise-tag window has closed. So the Cowboys could not use their tag on Romo. If the void happened during the franchise-tag window, Romo could be tagged. But it won't, so he can't. ... In other words, look for the Cowboys to get something done before this is a bigger issue.