Cowboys $12M over project 2022 NFL salary cap of $208.2M, here’s how they get under

A comprehensive look at Dallas’ cap situation, who can be restructured or released and for how much in savings, and what free agents are up for new deals. | From @KDDrummondNFL

On Sunday, NFL reporters announced the league intends to max out the 2022 salary cap, which is a good thing for the players. With the 2020 season excluding fans from the majority of stadium seats, revenue was down bad and to offset it the league implemented a plan to spread the quote-unquote losses across multiple seasons. They set a floor for how low the 2021 cap would fall and a maximum for how high the 2022 cap could go.

After losses were calculated and projected increases from the Tv deal and gambling figured in, 2021’s cap number of $182.5 million was $7.5 million above the $175 million floor, so it was anticipated the 2022 cap could reach the maximum, and it was announced that it did. So what does that mean for the Cowboys? Well, right now they are projected to be $12 million over the cap, but it’s not too big of a concern. Here’s why.

Dallas will certainly have decisions to make on some of their veterans and they certainly have a strong group of free agents to try and lock in, but there are mechanisms in place to restructure contracts. Some of them are contingents, many of them are planned. Here’s a review of exactly what lies in front of Stephen Jones, Will McClay and the Dallas Cowboys front office.