The Dallas Cowboys entered the NFL off-season with the least amount of salary cap space of any team in the league. Despite this, though, owner and general manager Jerry Jones assured fans that his team was going to be aggressive in free agency.
Undoubtedly, the Cowboys sure could use some significant roster upgrades in free agency. They have a variety of positions that need to be addressed, particularly on defense. However, with the team well over the 2026 NFL salary cap, many wondered how they would be able to free up enough money to make these promised signings.
The answer was revealed on Wednesday morning.
The Dallas Cowboys have restructured the contracts of Dak Prescott and Tyler Smith
Dallas Cowboys, Tyler Smith
Aug 12, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA;Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Tyler Smith (73) walks off the field after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
On Wednesday morning, it was reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN that Dallas has reworked the contracts of two of their highest-paid players: quarterback Dak Prescott and offensive tackle Tyler Smith. Doing so has freed up $47 million:
Cowboys now have officially restructured the contracts of Dak Prescott and Tyler Smith, creating $47 million in cap room, per @FieldYates and me.
They still are expected to restructure CeeDee Lamb’s contract to help get cap compliant. pic.twitter.com/rXf71e6gox
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2026
As one can see from Schefter’s post, Dallas is also going to restructure the contract of wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Cowboys insider Jon Machota reports that such a move would bring their total cap savings to $66 million for 2026.
Now, this all sounds well and good. However, with the new NFL salary cap set at just over $301 million for the upcoming season, Dallas is $56 million over the cap. That means that, even with the Prescott and Smith restructures, they are still $9 million over.
The upcoming Lamb restructure will make them cap compliant, but it will barely offer them enough space to sign their 2026 NFL Draft class.
In other words, in order to really be big players in free agency, the Cowboys are going to have to make many more contract decisions and restructures in order to fulfill Jones’ promise about spending big.
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