Cowboys gain $30 million in cap relief by restructuring Dak, Zack Martin

The Dallas Cowboys had to create cap space in some way, shape, or form, as they were roughly $16 million over the cap entering this offseason. On Friday, they restructured the deals of Dak Prescott and Zack Martin to create roughly $30 million in cap relief, giving them roughly $14 million to work with at this point.

Dak’s four-year, $160 million deal was structured to give Dallas some flexibility when needed in the form of bonus years at the end of his contract to allocate cap hit. Simply put, by converting a hefty portion of his salary to a bonus, the Cowboys turned Dak’s $49.1 million cap hit into a $27.35 million cap hit. Zack Martin’s six-year, $84 million deal was handled in a similar way. His cap hit went from $19.9 million to $10.9 million by converting a significant amount of his base salary into a bonus.

The Cowboys will likely try to find other ways to create more cap flexibility this offseason, especially when rumors are circling about them being involved in several star wide receivers like Stefon Diggs, DeAndre Hopkins, and Odell Beckham Jr.

The need for additions to this roster is there, and these moves are likely the beginning of them making a push for impact players in free agency.