The Cowboys are projected to be $18M over the 2027 salary cap before free agency even begins. Source: Over The Cap, updated March 2026. Here is how this happened and what the options are.
How we got here:
- Dak Prescott's extension: $55M AAV, the highest in the league at signing. Dead money makes a trade or cut impossible until 2028.
- CeeDee Lamb's extension: $34M AAV. Again, dead money locked in.
- Micah Parsons' extension: $28M AAV. Deserved but adds to the burden.
- Three players consuming $117M of a projected $260M salary cap. That is 45% of the cap on three players.
The restructure game: Dallas has restructured contracts aggressively over the past 4 years, converting $142M in base salary to signing bonuses per Spotrac. This creates future cap hits that are now coming due.
Escape routes:
- Restructure Dak again — Converts $15M in base to bonus, spreads it over remaining years. Creates $12M in immediate space but pushes $3M per year into future caps.
- Cut or trade a veteran defender — Post-June 1 designation could save $8-12M depending on the player.
- Let role players walk in free agency — Do not re-sign expiring contracts, replace with draft picks on rookie deals.
- The nuclear option — Trade CeeDee Lamb. Creates $18M in savings in 2027 but $16M in dead money. Only makes sense if a full rebuild is the plan.
The reality: This is not unique to Dallas. Every contending team in the NFL operates near or over the cap and uses restructures to stay competitive. The Cowboys just have less margin for error because their top-3 contracts are so large.
Sources:
- Over The Cap — cap projections and dead money calculations
- Spotrac — contract details and restructure history
- NFLPA — salary cap projection for 2027