The Cowboys have converted $6.25M of Dak Prescott‘s base salary into a signing bonus, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). With help from their star quarterback, the Cowboys have carved out an additional $5M in cap space for the current year. 
[RELATED: Cowboys’ Prescott On Track For Week 1]
Injuries limited Prescott to just five games last year, but he posted at least 450 yards between Weeks 2-4. The Cowboys are banking on another hot start from their franchise QB and a season similar to 2019 when he threw for 4,902 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Prescott agreed to a four-year, $160MM extension in March, keeping him in place for years to come while avoiding the prospect of astronomical franchise tags. The deal made him the NFL’s second $40MM-per-year player, alongside Patrick Mahomes. Since then, Josh Allen has sandwiched himself in between at $43MM/year.
Prescott will make his return on Thursday night when the Cowboys face the Buccaneers.
You have to rework a deal where the original ink is still drying. As an organization this is pathetic planning. As a league how is this allowed on a contract he hasn’t even played a game in yet?
Because he let them do it? He was willing to rework his deal. No big deal of both parties are amiable to negotiation.
Billybilly,
He still makes the same money just that 6.25 mil has been converted to a signing bonus. Brady does the same thing every year. Actually converting salary to a signing bonus is better for the player because it’s guaranteed money!
Quit crying !
Learn football and you’d know it’s done all the time, this was just made very public because of the size of the contract and all the hype it got before and after it was signed!….Bildobildo!!!
But what’s the point of restructuring at this point? Why do they need the additional cap space?
I’d suspect the rework of this or any contract is to circumvent the league rules governing salary caps and or dead money? Contracts are reworked constantly by most teams in the league. To suggest that multi-billionaire Stephen Jones somehow doesn’t plan seems like an odd statement?
Billionaire sounds a little different when you’re born into it.
Side bar: Do you think Prescott eaned 160 million? Personally sports are so far out of wack it laughable. Players, Owners, Commissioner and look at what a swath of them do with it!
You’re such a blowhard. What do you care what other people do with their money? Prescott is worth what he has the power to negotiate, and a team is willing to play. Drop the old guy yelling at people to get off his lawn routing and study economics if the NFL salary structure confuses you.
salary cap issues? no worries. just convert huge chunks of your players base salary into a signing bonus. why have a cap with these stupid loopholes every team takes advantage of?
It’s only a 6 month old contract!
I guess you don’t watch or pay much attention to football, or sports in general, a 6 hour old contract or a 6 year old contract; they all do it!!!!
So why don’t all teams just convert all of their contracts to signing bonuses?
Think of it as a salary cap credit card. You don’t pay now but you do pay later. It’s why you are seeing more and more of voidable years added to contracts. It allows teams to spread a signing bonus over multiple years opening up cap space. Hope this makes sense.
Ted,
Because in order to be an employer, you have to account for salary also the U.S tax code and the IRS would be on your behind if you were only paying signing bonuses.
Also, signing bonuses are paid up front so do you trust such player to produce at a high level if he was getting all his pay up front ?
The NFL has a rule that says only a certain percentage of the total contract can be converted into a signing bonus!
Learn the rules!!
Hard Knocks was weak this season.
Wait till you see the Cowboys season. Hard Knocks was just a warm up for weak. Next year with Dan Quinn as head coach and Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach, chances are better. Never going anywhere with blowhard Mike McCarthy in charge.
From my line of sight they’re going Tampa all they can handle..IN Tampa?? lmao
Wait til you see yourself in the mirror as an idiot!!
The Cowboys are a mess. Their roster is paper thin and they have the worst coaching staff in the league.
Paper thin lol coming from a Broncos fan when’s the last time y’all draft a good QB. Only Denver got going is there defense and that suspected. And y’all can’t even keep a coach for more than 2 year lol
Just because the Broncos have problems of their own, doesn’t make his comment about the Cowboys incorrect.
Doesn’t make it right either- ask Tampa!!
Hahahaha!!
The Cowboys are generally viewed as having a middle of the pack team (and better than the Broncos) so your constant criticism of Dallas rings hollow.
The Broncos are probably better overall head to head than the Cowboys from top to bottom, but the Cowboys are much, much better at the most critical position of quarterback. Their staff also is certainly not the worst in the league, though it is certainly not looking good right now. Kellen Moore seems like a bright spot though, and we’ll see how Dan Quinn changes the defensive outlook. I’d say Arizona and Jacksonville are pretty definitely worse staffs with career accomplishments and coordinators included.
The Dallas defense was just starting to figure how they wanted to play the 3-4 towards the last quarter of the season (though it was a stupid decision to change the scheme to begin with). Now they’ll be learning their third completely new scheme (and pretty different from Nolan’s, all with personnel perfect for the also different 4-3 Marinelli zone) in as many years, so we’ll see what happens. While I wouldn’t say Dallas is perfect, I wouldn’t say that the roster is paper thin by any means. I don’t see the point of the opening comment at all, really.
Milehighfan,
I haven’t seen the Broncos do much lately! They draft terrible every year! So, where is Drew Lock now? Is he still on the roster ?
Brain defect from the thin air in Denver?
Haven’t heard Denver mentioned as Super Bowl contenders! LOL