Dallas Cowboys deal for Osa Odighizuwa is a win-win for both team and player
The Cowboys took care of Osa Odighizuwa and did so in an overall team-friendly way.
The Dallas Cowboys shocked us all on Tuesday afternoon and got a long-term deal done with defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. They beat the franchise tag deadline with enough time for a round of golf, even!
Ultimately it is a four-year, $80M deal for Odighizuwa. $58M is guaranteed and there is a $20M signing bonus. These numbers are large, being so close to the open market can have that impact, but they fall below what projections were just a couple of weeks ago as most outlets thought that he would average $21M per year.
Obviously the guarantee is high and so is the signing bonus, but it feels like we can allot this to Odighizuwa's team having leverage by way of what this and next year’s franchise tag values could or would have been for him. The Cowboys paid a bit in the here and now, but they still came in south of those.
Two franchise tags would've cost the #Cowboys $55.27 million in cash and cap space over the next two years. Instead, they retain one of the top two would-be free agent DTs at $80M over four years. Security for Odighizuwa and flexibility for Dallas. https://t.co/bkHRiIvLup
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 4, 2025
As NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero notes, the Cowboys were up against what could have been argued as a two-year, $55.27M ($27.6M per) deal that was fully guaranteed because they would have been franchise tag values. Dallas ultimately came in well below that figure with a $20M annual average value for Odighizuwa. Upping the guarantees and signing bonus had to have made that worth it in Odighizuwa's estimation.
What’s more about this whole idea is that those values would have counted fully on the team’s salary cap for this and next year (not from AAV standpoint, but in a literal one... ultimately you can approximate it the same, though). By getting things done in the hear and now and structuring the deal how they want to, as Todd Archer notes below, the Cowboys can manipulate the salary cap ramifications the way that they want.
Had the Cowboys used the tag on Odighizuwa, he would have counted $25m vs. cap. With the $20m bonus and a low base salary, look for the '25 cap number to be somewhere close to $6m (+/-) when the official numbers roll in. Will help the "selectively aggressive," approach in FA. https://t.co/RaGpLvuyb6
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) March 4, 2025
All told there are a ton of pros to getting this done. Obviously the Cowboys avoid having to use the franchise tag and the fallout from that which we just discussed, but they also rewarded a homegrown player and did so without the drama of the franchise tag which has not exactly been how they have operated in recent years.
You can certainly still argue that defensive tackle is still a need in the NFL draft, but by keeping Odighizuwa around the intensity of it is not as large (nor is the responsibility that would have completely fallen on Mazi Smith). Beyond all of this, the Cowboys get to keep a really good player! Odighizuwa was amazing last season and should thrive under new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.
The only DT with more QB pressures than the Cowboys’ Osa Odighizuwa (54) last season were Zach Allen (67) and Chris Jones (61).@NextGenStats https://t.co/immYelIYO0
— Tony Holzman-Escareno (@FrontOfficeNFL) March 4, 2025
This really feels like one of the most positive things that the Cowboys front office has done in some time. They flew a little close to the sun, but they ultimately did some legitimate work and should be proud of themselves. Now let’s see some more.
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