Dallas Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick (32) defends during the first half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Cowboys are dealing with more cap issues, and they decided to make some expected contract restructurings yesterday in an effort to clear out some cap space this offseason. FOX Sports’s Mike Garafolo reported that the Cowboys restructured the deals of key defensive starters Sean Lee and Orlando Scandrick by converting their base salaries into bonus money.
Doing this spreads out money across the course of their contracts, thus kicking money from this year’s cap into the future. The Cowboys are currently over the salary cap and had the least room of any team going into these moves, but it looks like Jerry Jones has shaved off a considerable amount of money against the cap this year. $4.75 million of Lee’s $5.5 million is reportedly being converted into bonus money, and $3.75 million of Scandrick’s $4.5 million is also slated to become bonus money.
The Cowboys aren’t actually saving money overall, since they’ll still have to pay Lee and Scandrick out in full as their contracts continue; it’s really only postponing the larger issue, which is Jones’s complete lack of knowledge of the salary cap. Until he changes his approach, the Cowboys will continue to have major problems navigating their cap situation. But for now, at least these moves allow them to inch closer to a balanced cap this offseason.