Dallas Cowboys are continuing their salary cap gymnastics. Reportedly, the team has restructured right guard Zack Martin’s contract and managed to get around $8 million in salary-cap space. Cowboys did a similar thing with left tackle Tyron Smith back in August.
The reworked contract will turn $9.9 million of Martin’s $11 million salary for 2020 into a signing bonus. The 29-year-old Martin is entering the second year of a six-year, $84 million contract extension he inked back in 2018.
As Cowboys’ beat writer Clarence Hill Jr points out, the team can use the space they created to add a player this offseason or to carry over the savings into next season. It is expected that Dallas goes with the second option, as the next year’s salary cap will be lower due to the financial consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cowboys are probably clearing the space so they can pay their signal-caller Dak Prescott, who is in line for a massive extension next. According to reports, Prescott is asking to be one of the highest-paid players in the game, so Dallas will need to save every cent in order to please him.
By reconstructing Martin and Smith’s contracts, the Cowboys managed to save around $15 million. The team are projected to have around $20 million in cap space that can be carried over to 2021 if they don’t make some last-minute additions.
