FRISCO, Texas – In a move angled towards creating money to spend in free agency, the Cowboys have restructured wide receiver CeeDee Lamb's contract, giving them more flexibility to be “selectively aggressive” in the free agent market.
Lamb signed a 4-year, $136 million extension with the Cowboys back in August, averaging about $34 million per year. The Cowboys have restructured Lamb's contract in a way that saves the team $20 million in 2025, money that they can use to build their roster this upcoming season.
The legal tampering window for pending free agents begins on March 10, and the first day of the league year, which opens free agency, is March 12. This move gives the Cowboys more breathing room to be players for free agents inside and outside of their walls.
It also comes in a 2025 year that sees a record-setting $279.2 million salary cap, a large jump from the $255.4 million cap from a season ago.
Lamb took to social media to explain why he agreed to restructure his contract, saying "I want to win. It's gonna take more than just myself."
Of course, the dead money hit will still come down the line for Dallas, but this is a step in the right direction for the present, as the Cowboys try to reload a roster that was devastated by injuries in 2024, including one to Lamb's shoulder.
It's also key to note that cap variables change annually, so it's possible the eventual dead money hit may be lessened at that point.
In 2024, Lamb battled a lingering shoulder injury for a majority of the season that would cause him to miss Dallas' final two regular season games and still posted 1,194 yards and six touchdowns on 101 receptions.
They've also still got more work to do with some of their own free agents. One step was completed with Osa Odighizuwa putting pen to paper on a 4-year, $80 million extension on Tuesday as well as extending special teams ace C.J. Goodwin for another year, but other dominos have yet to fall.
The biggest of those dominos is Micah Parsons' extension, one where negotiations have already begun after Parsons has been adamant about wanting to get a deal done sooner rather than later.
"There's definitely a plan in place, but we'll just see how everything plays out," Parsons said in February. "There's been no progress yet, but I'm pretty confident that something will happen, so we'll see."
Jourdan Lewis, Rico Dowdle and Tyler Smith are other players to keep an eye on, as Lewis and Dowdle are unrestricted free agents and Smith is eligible for an extension as well.
