The Dallas Cowboys managed to limbo underneath the NFL’s 2026 salary cap with one week to spare.
Dallas restructured the contracts of three key players – quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and offensive lineman Tyler Smith – to free up roughly $66 million, according to ESPN, making the team cap-compliant.
ESPN reported that the Cowboys were roughly $55 million over the cap prior to restructuring the three contracts. OverTheCap lists Dallas’ current available cap space at $8.5 million as of the afternoon on March 4, still one week out from the start of the 2026-27 league year and NFL free agency on March 11.
According to ESPN, all three players’ contracts were restructured by turning a significant portion of their base salaries into signing bonuses for cap purposes. Prescott’s 2026 base salary is now $1.8 million, down from $40 million. Lamb and Smith’s base salaries ‘drop to the $1.7 million range,’ per ESPN’s Todd Archer.
Prescott’s cap hit in 2026 drops to $43.7 million as a result of the restructure, according to OverTheCap. Lamb’s drops to $20 million and Smith’s to $11.2 million. However, all three players’ cap hits inflate significantly in 2027: Prescott’s 2027 cap hit is nearly $76 million, Lamb’s is $46.2 million and Smith’s is $19.5 million.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said at the NFL combine that Dallas will also work to restructure at least three more contracts – those of defensive tackles Kenny Clark, Osa Odighizuwa and Quinnen Williams – to create extra salary cap room.
‘I would bet that we will spend more money in free agency than we have,’ Jones said at the scouting combine.
‘I want you to know that the only way to push more is for me to go borrow some of my future, OK? Expect me to go borrow some of my future.’
George Pickens, on whom the Cowboys placed their franchise tag this offseason, currently counts $27.3 million against the team’s 2026 cap. That number could also deflate with a long-term extension.
Cowboys cap space
Cap space: $8.5 million
Dallas’ cap space is still under $10 million as of March 4, according to OverTheCap. They rank 18th in the NFL in salary cap space one week before the start of the new league year and five days before the start of the league’s free agency negotiating period.
Dak Prescott cap hit by year
Here’s how much the remainder of Prescott’s contract is worth in salary cap hits over the next six seasons, per OverTheCap:
2026: $43.7 million
2027: $76.0 million
2028: $86.0 million
2029: $24.4 million (void year)
Prescott signed a four-year, $240 million extension in 2024, with $129 million guaranteed.