The Dallas Cowboys made the decision on March 8 to apply the franchise tag to tight end Dalton Schultz, keeping the breakout player off the unrestricted free agent market, at least for the time being.
The decision to hold Schultz on a one-year deal in hopes of crafting a longer-term solution was expected, following news that fellow Cowboys tight end Blake Jarwin underwent hip surgery that will likely keep him off the field into the 2022 season.
The NFL franchise tag amount for tight ends this season came in at $10.931 million, the average of the five highest-paid players in the position. According to Spotrac.com, Schultz earned $2.183 million as part of a four-year deal that expired this offseason.
Tagging Schultz provides the first bit of clarity on the offensive side of the ball for the Dallas Cowboys. Currently, the team is faced with a significant salary cap dilemma made worse by mega-contracts to Amari Cooper, Dak Prescott, and Ezekiel Elliott, as well as the fact that many of its defensive star players this season are also unrestricted free agents.
On March 8, the Cowboys announced they had restructured contracts with both Prescott and guard Zach Martin. When teams restructure, they essentially convert a portion of the salary money into a signing bonus, releasing the team from the restrictions of the cap.
This is the second consecutive year that Prescott has accepted a restructure. Last season, his revised contract saved the Cowboys $5 million and created $6.25 million in cap space.
This year’s alteration is much more significant: for 2022, Prescott will receive $18 million of his $20 million annual wage in the form of a signing bonus, freeing up nearly $15 million that the Cowboys will need in order to retain several key free agent players or address needs in free agency.
Prescott was a fourth-round pick in 2016, but immediately made an impact for Dallas after signing a four-year deal at only $2.72 million. The Cowboys were unable to get a long term deal finished with Prescott, and ended up using a one-year franchise tag valued at $31.4 million.
In Week 5 of the 2020 season, the Cowboys quarterback fractured his ankle and tore several ligaments in his left leg, sidelining him for the remainder of the team’s campaign. Despite the significant injury, Prescott was rewarded with a $160 million four-year deal in the offseason following the 2020 season.
Prior to the restructure, Prescott was responsible for holding nearly 21% of the Cowboys salary cap figure. DeMarcus Lawrence, one of the Cowboys’ game-changers on defense came in second, with a total of 10.91% of the Cowboys’ cap. Lawrence refused a restructure and may be a candidate for release depending on how several other factors play out for the Cowboys in the coming weeks.
NFL teams have until the March 16 start of the 2022 season to get salary numbers below the $208.2 million. While the restructure and franchise tag moves are not generally changed, neither team nor player is obligated to fulfill an agreement until after the new league year begins.
