Dak Contract Details Reveal: What’s $240M Cap Impact?

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys just added a $240 million contract to the ledger … while at the same time opening up $26 million in cap room?

Dak Prescott’s new four-year contract is a blockbuster in every day. Are there “devils in the details”? Arguably. Is there also breathing-room relief? In a sense.

Here’s the year-by-year breakdown of Dak’s deal (featuring an unprecedented $231 million guaranteed) … and in combination with CeeDee Lamb’s new contract (and a slight adjustment in Terence Steele’s deal) … how it impacts Dallas’ cap in the coming seasons (as first noted by ESPN, because Prescott played in Week 1 under his old contract, some of the numbers are a bit wonky) ...

- In 2024, Dak gets his record $78.4 million signing bonus, his cap hit moves from $55 million to $44 million and (amazing to many) his base salary is just $1.25 million.

- In 2025, his base is $47.750 million but his cap hit is a whopping $89.8 million (Read on ...)

- In 2026, his base is $40 million and his cap hit is a manageable (because of the rise of the NFL cap) $68 million.

- In 2027, he'll be age 34 and his base is $47 million and his cap hit is $64 million.

- In 2028, the final real year of the deal, he'll be age 35, with a base salary of $55 million and a cap hit of $72 million.

- After 2028, there are four more "void years.'' Consider these a sort of "pay the piper''/"dumping ground.'' It's unlikely, for instance, that in 2025, Dallas will leave the cap hit at $89.8 million. Instead, there is already a baked-in plan for the team to push money out into a void year of 2029. As Dak will be nearing age 40 by the time the void years are done - and those void years are already full of commitments - the Cowboys will likely be "paying the cap'' even after Dak is no longer playing.

That's "paying the piper.'' (Additionally, there is a no-trade clause and a no-tag clause.) But for now? Lamb’s new deal lessens his 2024 cap impact down from about $18 million. The Steele adjustment saves $5.45 million. So all three moves create $26 mil in immediate cap room. …

Related: Next Highest-Ever Contract? 'Damn!' Says Micah on Dak

Meaning Dallas is about to go shopping? Not likely. More probably: That money will roll over into 2025, when Dallas is presently sitting on $29 million of room … with that combined $55 mil earmarked for a roster remodel - but most of all for a Micah Parsons extension that could be worth $40 million APY, making him the highest paid defensive player in NFL history… Just has Prescott is the highest-paid player and Lamb the second-highest-paid non-QB ever.

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