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Building an NFL roster isn’t simply about finding and retaining talent. It’s also about knowing when to let go, knowing when to roll the dice and knowing where to find the most affordable labor force. For a team like the Cowboys, managing all three of these areas is critical to the wellbeing of the salary cap.
Though the cap is highly malleable, and the Cowboys aren’t remotely close to maximizing their purchasing power under it, it is in fact a real entity that should be responsibly managed. Owners of what will likely be four contracts each averaging $19+ million in 2025, the cost-conscience Cowboys will be interested in cutting costs at all possible corners to keep payroll low and their wallets fat.
One area where the Cowboys front office particularly excels in is populating their roster with players on rookie contracts. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), players entering the NFL are capped on what they can receive in compensation from a team. Players often provide services well above their compensation levels, giving teams extraordinary bang for the buck throughout the length of their rookie deals.
In 2024 the Cowboys are the No. 3 team in the NFL in snaps by players under rookie deals. In other words, the Cowboys are getting more snaps from players who have been in the NFL less than four complete seasons than 28 other teams. This puts measurements like “snap weighted age” into perspective since it lands Dallas on the other side of the spectrum.
The Cowboys are 22nd in the snap weighted age (SWA) this season, meaning they are one of the older teams in the league based on contributions. What having the third most snaps on rookie contracts means is old players are skewing the numbers a bit on SWA and when those outliers fall off (possibly DeMarcus Lawrence, Zack Martin, Eric Kendricks and Brandin Cooks), the Cowboys will swing strongly to other side of the SWA spectrum.
What having the third-most snaps from rookie-deal players doesn’t say is how well those players are performing. Being No. 3 doesn’t mean much when the Cowboys are 5-7 and longshots for a postseason berth. It does, however, show Dallas favors their youth and is giving their developing labor force valuable snaps to build on. It also outlines a plan moving forward.
The Jonathan Mingo trade notwithstanding, the Cowboys value draft picks more than most other NFL teams. It allows them to afford their expensive superstars and it keeps the fan hope-o-meter pointing up as frequently as possible. It’s made middle class employees scarce in Dallas and requires a ready or not attitude with many offseason promotions, but it fills out a roster in the most affordable way possible.
There are many ways for NFL teams to construct winning rosters in the NFL, but options dwindle once superstars start getting paid like superstars. It’s safe to say the strategy of leaning on rookie contracts is here to stay for quite a while in Dallas.