Jerry Jones might as well trade his cowboy hat for a chef’s apron. The Dallas Cowboys owner is staring at a financial BBQ pit and the secret sauce? A sizzling $98 million in cap space. Picture Jones flipping contract restructures like brisket, with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb as his prime cuts. If this were Top Chef, even Gordon Ramsay would beg for the recipe. But wait—plot twist!
The NFL just dumped a truckload of cash into the league’s salary cap, turning Jones’s tightrope walk into a red-carpet stroll.
NFL’s 2025 Salary Cap Surge
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New cap range : $ 277.5 M –$ 281.5M (up $22–26M from 2024).
: $ 281.5M (up from 2024). Cowboys’ carryover from 2024 : ~$20M.
: ~$20M. Result: Dallas starts with $2.5M in space without restructuring.
Now, think of it like Ocean’s 11: the vault door swung open, and Dallas suddenly has room to rob free agency blind. No need for George Clooney’s charm—just a calculator and some guts.
The $98 million blueprint for Jones: restructure, extend, repeat
Let’s slice this steak. The Cowboys are currently 2.47 million under the 2025 cap—barely enough for a fancy dinner in Highland Park. But restructure Dak’s deal? That’s a $37.1 million appetizer. Add CeeDee Lamb’s $20.5 million reshuffle, and suddenly Jerry’s wallet looks thicker than a Texas ribeye. Who’s next?
via Imago Sep 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) while playing New York Giants in the 1st half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
It’s Terence Steele and Trevon Diggs. Restructuring their contracts adds another $14.8 million, pushing the total to $72.4 million. Now, Micah Parsons enters the chat. Extending the All-Pro linebacker isn’t just smart—it’s a $18.2 million cap−space jackpot. Suddenly, Dallas has nearly $98 million to play with. That’s enough to fund a Star Wars spinoff and buy a Death Star-shaped pool float. But here’s the kicker.
Cowboys cap space breakdown:
$2.47 million $298.55 million
Potential moves to create $98M in cap space:
Restructure Dak Prescott +$37.1M Restructure CeeDee Lamb +$20.5M Restructure Terence Steele +$9M Restructure Trevon Diggs +$5.8M Extend Micah Parsons +$18.2M Total Potential Space $98.87M
These moves aren’t rocket science. Restructuring is like turning base salary into signing bonuses—financial Jedi mind tricks. No pay cuts, no drama. Just ask Parsons, who’s been louder than a Big Bang Theory laugh track about Dallas needing aggression: “I don’t wanna sit back and just watch other people build and build and build and I [we] stay the same, so we definitely need some call to action.”
Micah Parsons’s contract extension impact:
2025 base salary : $24M (fully unguaranteed).
: $24M (fully unguaranteed). Potential savings with extension: $18.2M.
So why hasn’t Jerry Jones pulled the trigger?
Maybe he’s waiting for the right moment—like a quarterback dodging a blitz. But with free agency looming, the clock is ticking louder than a halftime buzzer.
Damone Clark: cap surge saves a Cowboys career
While Jerry fiddles with spreadsheets, linebacker Damone Clark is living his own Friday Night Lights sequel. Once a rising star, Clark’s snaps plummeted faster than ratings for The Rings of Power. Under Dan Quinn, he played 784 defensive snaps in 2023. Under Mike Zimmer?
A measly 163. But the NFL’s cap surge might be Clark’s Rocky training montage. Cutting him saves just $3.3 million—barely enough for a backup kicker. With Leighton Vander Esch retired and Overshown injured, Dallas’ linebacker room is emptier than a Cowboys playoff hopes meme. Enter new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.
via Imago Credit: @DannyPhantom24
Damone Clark’s make-or-break situation:
Defensive snap share 18% (163 snaps) 73% (784 snaps) Cap savings if cut $3.325M
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If Clark’s confidence isn’t deader than Game of Thrones’ final season, this is his shot. As Parsons bluntly put it: “Obviously, talent is here, but we’ve just got to finish and go be aggressive the same way [the Eagles] did.” Translation: Keep Clark, add talent, and stop pretending practice squad call-ups are the answer.
Still, Clark’s fate hangs like a cliffhanger. Will Jerry cut him for pocket change? Or bet on a redemption arc worthy of Creed III? Either way, the cap surge bought him one last chance to prove he’s no benchwarmer.
Jerry Jones has the blueprint, the cash, and a fanbase thirstier than a Dallas summer. Restructure Dak and CeeDee, extend Parsons, and suddenly the Cowboys aren’t just contenders—they’re Avengers assembling.
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But as any Brooklyn 99 fan knows, plans need follow-through. Will Jerry channel his inner Captain Holt and “Vindicate! Vindicate! Vindicate!”? Or will he fumble like Charlie Brown with the football? One thing’s clear.
The NFL handed Dallas a golden ticket. Now it’s time to ride into free agency like Yellowstone’s John Dutton—no mercy, no regrets. Because in Texas, second-place trophies are just fancy paperweights.