The Dallas Cowboys eased some pressure against the salary cap, by tweaking quarterback Dak Prescott‘s contract.
According to a report from ESPN’s Field Yates, the Cowboys freed up approximately $4 million in cap space for the 2024 season by converting Prescott’s $5 million roster bonus into a signing bonus. Dallas also added two extra void years to help against the cap.
The Cowboys converted a $5M roster bonus due to QB Dak Prescott on Sunday into a signing bonus, creating $4M in salary cap space in 2024.
The move reduces Prescott’s salary cap number to $55.455M, while two extra void years were added to the deal for cap purposes (void years now…
As Yates points out, the Cowboys can still work toward a contract extension with Prescott this offseason, to create even more spending flexibility.
Prescott holds significant leverage in any contract extension talks, both following a strong 2023 regular season as well as the fact that the Cowboys must significantly lower his cap number for the 2024 season as well as the 2025 campaign.
Next offseason, the Cowboys are slated to have approximately $87 million in cap space, but Prescott accounts for 13.4% of Dallas’ cap space and is slated to count $36.4 million against the cap.
Prescott completed a career-high 69.5 percent of his passes in 2023 for 4,516 passing yards with 36 touchdowns to nine interceptions en route to a 105.9 passer rating while leading the Cowboys to an NFC East championship.
The Cowboys converted a $5M roster bonus due to QB Dak Prescott on Sunday into a signing bonus, creating $4M in salary cap space in 2024.
The move reduces Prescott’s salary cap number to $55.455M, while two extra void years were added to the deal for cap purposes (void years now…
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 18, 2024
However, Dallas’ collapse in the NFC Wild Card game raises significant questions about Prescott’s ability to lead postseason success and likely complicates any negotiations with the franchise.
Whether the Cowboys move forward with an extension to both create cap space and strengthen their commitment to Prescott, given questions about his playoff performances, remains to be seen.
What Does Cowboys’ Cap Space Situation Look Like After Dak Prescott Move?
Given the financial straits the Cowboys find themselves in, it’s difficult to envision this being the only move that the Cowboys make with Prescott’s contract.
Especially since after converting Prescott’s roster bonus into a signing bonus, the Cowboys still only have approximately $8.06 million in cap space, which is the fourth-lowest amount of cap space in the NFL.
The Cowboys have largely sat out the early stages of free agency, in part because prior to this minor tweak of Prescott’s deal, Dallas had just over $4 million in spending flexibility. Dallas will likely need to make further moves to add cap space, both to continue competing for players in the free agency’s next phase and the cap space to sign the franchise’s 2024 draft class.
Dak Prescott Becomes a Father For First Time
The Cowboys’ quarterback and girlfriend Sarah Jane Ramos recently welcomed their first child, a daughter named Margaret Jane Rose Prescott.
“Being your parents is the biggest blessing life has to offer and we are so fortunate that you are ours!” the couple wrote in the caption of an Instagram post. “Welcome into this world, baby girl, you will always be loved and protected! We are so IN LOVE with you.”
“Yeah I feel different,” Prescott recently told reporters, via Sports Illustrated, of becoming a father. “Especially wake up in the morning, you see that baby and understand the responsibilities. Everything that I’ve always wanted for myself, but to want that for somebody else even more. It’s special. Everybody’s healthy and at home. We’re blessed.”
