"It's basically this: The Cowboys take part of a player's scheduled 2026 salary and pay it early as a signing bonus. The bonus gets spread out over future years for cap purposes and, instead of hitting all at once. The player gets the same money, but Dallas gets cap relief this season. It's like paying off part of your bill now so your monthly payment is smaller later, you're just shifting when it counts, not how much you owe."
"Estimated total from restructures: $90 million I want everyone to know Clark's number is lower because his contract doesn't have a massive bonus already sitting there to mess with. Dallas could still convert part of his base salary into a prorated signing bonus, spreading that cap hit to the future and creating around $5-8 million in cap relief. I included his contract in case it would be helpful and this is a realistic path without creating a monster future cap hit."
Dallas enters 2026 more than $30 million over the cap before offseason moves. Temporary cap overages commonly occur for teams with quality players. Restructures convert parts of scheduled salary into prorated signing bonuses, providing immediate 2026 relief while preserving total player pay. Estimated restructures can produce roughly $90 million of relief, with specific players like Clark offering smaller, realistic relief of about $5–8 million due to contract structure. Additional space can come from trimming replaceable veteran contracts and letting natural contract roll-off occur. Combined moves can create more than $100 million in real 2026 cap flexibility without cutting pay.
Read at Inside The Star
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