NFL Trade Rumors
We’ve started a six-part series looking at the teams that have racked up the biggest spending debt ahead of the 2026 offseason and how they’ll get back under the salary cap. The first article was published this past week, detailing Kansas City’s financial outlook, with the Chiefs ranking first when it comes to the biggest deficit per Over The Cap:
Salary cap space may be fungible, but teams do have to be in the black by the time the league year starts in March. That means each of these teams will have some decisions to make, and we’ll be diving into what those might be.
Next up, America’s team
In the case of the Cowboys, the nearly $60 million in red here doesn’t quite capture the amount of savings they need to clear up. Their top offseason priority is keeping WR George Pickens and that could easily mean a franchise tag. That’s currently projected to be around $28 million. A long-term deal would be far more reasonable against the salary cap but that would require Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to be proactive about getting a deal done by March. Having the space to use the tag gives Dallas time and leverage in negotiations.
There’s also a decent list of pending free agents the Cowboys have to think about re-signing, including breakout RB Javonte Williams, superhuman K Brandon Aubrey (who’s a restricted free agent but still could get the second-round tender) and most of the edge rushing room, including Dante Fowler, Sam Williams and Jadeveon Clowney. Freeing up budget for a few players in that group should also be a priority, to say nothing of any external additions for a roster that could use help.
Fortunately, there are some moves the Cowboys can make to free up some big dollars. There are also some restrictions, particularly if they want to go down a certain path with the roster.
Restructuring QB Dak Prescott would be the single biggest move of cap savings that Dallas could make. Originally scheduled to count $74 million against the books in 2026, a restructure would take most of Prescott’s $40 million base salary and spread it out over the rest of his deal, creating $31 million in space. That’s halfway to getting under the cap for the Cowboys.
Restructuring does put more pressure on the Cowboys later on in Prescott’s contract. He’s got two more years after 2026 and will have cap hits of $76 and $86 million in those seasons. Those huge cap hits put a lot of pressure on Dallas to do something with the contract and it’s why Prescott reset the quarterback market at $60 million a year the last time he was up for a new deal. As Prescott gets older — 33 in 2026, 35 in the final year of his contract — that could...
