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It’s a horrible feeling to wake up in Week 3 and think that the team one has dedicated their sports life to is dead in the water already. Make no mistake; the Cowboys are better than what they displayed on Sunday in their 44-19 bludgeoning at the hands of the New Orleans Saints.
The club has a new defensive coordinator and system, one that’s notoriously hard to learn. The stars didn’t play in the preseason whatsoever on either side of the ball, and they were missing one of their only two proven passing game weapons and the fill-ins hurt them on numerous occasions. But those excuses do nothing to assuage the feelings that this team has to have perfect circumstances to emerge victorious at the end of the season, and perfect doesn’t happen around here.
So even with the NFC East looking extremely winnable, and teams from San Francisco and Detroit looking within reach, the more than likely outcome is that Dallas will be spinning things forward in 2025 instead of looking to run things back. Fortunately, the salary cap outlook for such a thing is actually pretty promising in that regard. Unfortunately, it’s just not the team’s track record.
Good friend and former Cowboys Wire contributor Joey Ickes spent the summer putting Jerry Jones’ feet to the fire over the fact that the richest sports organization in the world was bringing up the rear in terms of cash spending on players. The grumble became so loud, after signing CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott late in the summer, Jones told some untruths that Dallas spent more cash on players than any other team. In reality the two top-of-market contracts only moved Dallas up to 13th overall.
But even with the Jones ponying up to extend the two offensive stars, there’s still a great cap-space picture painted for the club, though they have plenty holes that are going to become available in the very near future.
2024 Remaining Cap Space: $25,482,263
FRISCO, TEXAS – JANUARY 08: (L-R) Executive Vice President Stephen Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, Head coach Mike McCarthy of the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones talk with the media during a press conference at the Ford Center at The Star on January 08, 2020 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
According to Over the Cap, Dallas currently has the seventh-highest amount of available cap space for this season. Prescott’s reduction in base salary minus signing bonus allocation resulted in about $11 million in cap savings this season. Lamb, whose entire $17.99 million fifth-year option was counting against the cap before his new deal, now only counts for $8.75 million against the cap.
This gives Dallas the ability to swing trades for high-priced players who become available, More than likely though, this will only be used for injury replacements as the team signs guys off the street when necessary. Whatever is left over will be added to next year’s cap, as outlined by the CBA.
2025 Projects Cap Space
OTC is projecting the 2025 cap to jump around $17 million, up to $272.5 million. Dallas currently has 39 players under contract for (including dead money) $269 million in cap liabilities. That doesn’t leave a ton of room until the other factors are considered.
That $3.5 million in room balloons if they bring over all of that $25.5 million in unused 2024 space. Now Dallas is looking at around $29 million of space, but it gets much higher.
2025 Restructures that will create more space
CLEVELAND, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 08: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts prior to a game against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on September 08, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Prescott’s deal calls for a 2025 base salary of $47.75 million. He’ll get that cash, but there’s an obvious reason why his four-year extension included another four void years that run through 2032. The Cowboys are going to pull the restructure lever and kick the majority of his base salary down the road in five-year installments.
To keep the accounting neat, we’ll assume they drop his base salary down to $2.75 million for 2025, and turn $45 million into a restructure bonus. That’s allocated across each year, from 2025 through 2029, at $9 million per.
Now his 2025 cap hit plummets from $89.9 million to $63.9 million, shaving $36 million in space.
Lamb’s deal is similar. Pare his $26.85 million base salary down to $1.85 million and spread that $25 million across five years, shaving $20 million off the 2025 cap.
Together that’s another $56 million in space along with the $29 million they already have.
Dallas now has $85 million worth of space to work with.
2025 Needs
Remember earlier when the roster size was discussed. Only having 39 players under contract obviously won’t hold. The minimum Dallas will have to spend to fill out their roster will be around $18 million. So consider Dallas as having $67 million to spend on talent that is above replacement level.
Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence, Osa Odighizuwa and Jourdan Lewis are the most likely contenders to be brought back from their pending free agents.
The Micah Parsons situation
There’s another caveat though, that will likely give Dallas even more room. Defensive end Micah Parsons is going to be in the same situation Lamb was in this offseason. He’s on the books for his fifth-year salary at $21 million, and will become the highest-paid non-QB. Even with that extension, his 2025 cap hit will likely drop to $10 million or below, freeing up another $11 million worth of cap space.
That will effectively get Dallas close to $100 million under the cap to start their spending spree; unless they extend any of their pending free agents or trade for veterans during this campaign.