Cowboys open up nearly $30M in salary cap space ahead of NFL free agency
The Cowboys had to make this happen before the start of free agency.
The Dallas Cowboys just opened up nearly $30 million in cap space on Friday by restructuring the contracts of two of their biggest stars: Dak Prescott and Zack Martin.
Prior to the salary cap maneuvering, the Cowboys were in the red. But by pulling off a couple of contract restructures, the team will have roughly $14 million in cap space per Over the Cap's estimations.
While transactions were expected, this clearly makes the team's free agency significantly easier. Whether the cap space is used on external free agents like OBJ or in getting in-house contract extensions done, it was necessary.
The $30 million number in cap savings was made possible mainly because of Dak Prescott's deal. Since the moment they signed him to a four-year contract in 2021, a restructuring was pretty much "scheduled" for this year.
The Cowboys know they're in for the long run when it comes to Dak and as such the deal is designed to make this kind of move.
That's why the team added two "void" years to the end of the contract (they allow the team to spread out the cap hit beyond the duration of the current deal).
Per ESPN's Todd Archer, the Cowboys turned about $29 million of Prescott's salary for 2023 into a signing bonus. This is, more than anything, purely an accounting move.
The Cowboys could still extend Dak Prescott this offseason. The contract restructure doesn't rule that out but it does take some pressure off of both sides. Both Prescott and the front office have publicly discussed the possibility of a contract extension in 2023.
Financially, it'd make a lot of sense for the Cowboys as Prescott's cap number would be approaching the $60 million mark in 2024.
