The Cowboys restructured the contracts of DaRon Bland, Kenny Clark, and Jake Ferguson this week, per ESPN’s Todd Archer, creating $19.4MM in cap space for the 2026 season.
Owner Jerry Jones signaled his interest in a major trade acquisition multiple times this summer, but the team intends to roll over the added cap space to next year, according to DLLS Sports’ Clarence Hill. ESPN’s Jenny Slater similarly threw cold water on the prospect of a trade coming immediately after the restructures.
Bland, who signed a four-year, $90MM extension with the Cowboys just over a year ago, saw $10.75MM of his 2026 salary converted into a signing bonus which was prorated across the next five years of his contract. The move saves $8.6MM in space this year; Bland’s cap hit will go up by $2.15MM in each of the next four seasons.
Dallas already restructured Kenny Clark’s roster bonus when it was due in March, dropping his cap hit by $8.8MM. Another $7.5MM of his 2026 salary has followed, dropping his cap hit down to $6.7MM for this season. $1.5MM will be added to Clark’s cap charge in 2027 and each of the subsequent three void years.
Ferguson’s contract was handled similarly. $6MM of his 2026 salary was converted into a bonus, dropping his cap hit by $4.8MM this year and increasing it by $1.2MM in the three remaining years of the deal plus a 2030 void.
The Cowboys now have just over $25MM in cap space heading into the regular season (via OverTheCap), the fifth-most in the NFL. It is easy to interpret their moves as preparation for a major trade swing, but these restructures have been increasingly common practice for teams with a more forward-thinking cap management style. Dallas is not only creating financial flexibility this year; they are also maximizing it for 2027 via a nifty accounting trick.
At the end of each season, NFL teams can roll over unlimited amounts of unused cap space to the following year. So while today’s restructures did increase the Cowboys’ 2027 cap obligation by $4.85MM, that could be offset by some or all of the $19.4MM in new 2026 space that could roll over the next year. The team will then have an opportunity to restructure each of these three players’ deals again next offseason – effectively double-dipping in cap savings. Bland and Ferguson, who are both signed through 2029, will likely be candidates with up to $12.6MM available in savings, while Clark’s $18.3MM non-guaranteed salary may depend more on his production this season.
