4 contract restructures that could save the Cowboys a lot of money
With the start of the new league fast approaching, the Dallas Cowboys are going to have to get creative to free up some cap flexibility. As of now, the Cowboys are projected to be over the league’s salary cap by $31M. That’s not what you want to hear when Dallas has several players they need to retain before they become unrestricted free agents. The Cowboys could potentially part ways with some high-priced players for cap savings by releasing them. However, if the Cowboys play their cards right, they could have their pie and eat it too. A few contract restructures here and there would do wonders to improve the Cowboys’ cap situation. Here are a few contracts the Cowboys can rework to get under the salary cap.
Dak Prescott
With the wave of a pen, most of Dallas contract concerns could be solved in 2026, but with a double-edged sword. Dak Prescott carries a huge $74M cap hit entering this season, which accounts for a staggering 24% of the team’s salary cap per spotrac.com the Cowboys can convert roughly $40M of his base salary into a bonus to shave a large chunk of his cap hit to provide immediate cap relief to bring Dallas under the salary cap. Yet, if Dallas pulls the trigger on this restructure at the full $40M savings, it adds approximately $8 million per year into the next four seasons through 2031. This would make Prescott’s cap hits higher than $75 million in 2027 and possibly over $85 million in 2028. In other words, restructuring Prescott’s contract helps now but causes complications later, giving the Cowboys time to weigh their options in the short term and in a few seasons.
CeeDee Lamb
CeeDee Lamb has a significantly lower cap charge this season than Prescott, but that doesn’t mean Dallas couldn’t make significant progress by altering his deal, either. Dallas restructured Lamb’s contract last year and very likely could go back to the well once again. Lamb’s $25M base salary becomes guaranteed in March. Dallas could save as much as $18.4M by reworking Lamb’s contract again in 2026. Lamb redoing his deal could seemingly coincide with the Cowboys getting a new deal done with fellow receiver George Pickens, should Dallas create more cap space on Lamb’s contract.
Tyler Smith
As it stands, Tyler Smith accounts for about 10% of the team’s salary cap. His contract status is almost identical to CeeDee Lamb’s. His contract carries a $27.5M tag for 2026 without the Cowboys reconfiguring it. Dallas can save close to $18M by converting his base salary into a bonus. Like Prescott, reducing Smith’s current cap charge kicks the can down the road to have to do more number crunching later on his contract, but rest assured, the Cowboys have no problem doing that for a player as decorated as Smith, who has been to the Pro Bowl in each of the last three seasons.
Quinnen Williams
The Cowboys could also restructure the contract of newcomer Quinnen Williams. Williams is under contract through 2027, and the Cowboys could save $13.75M by restructuring his contract. Williams has two years remaining on his contract. That means for now, Williams would have a bigger cap charge for next year. Either way, the Cowboys should be completely fine with that. In all likelihood, the Cowboys would look to extend a players of Williams’ caliber some time to reduce his cap in 2027, giving the Cowboys two things they want: Cap relief for 2026 and finding a way to retain an elite talent who has yet reached his prime.
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