With all of the conversation surrounding the Dallas Cowboys' recent restructuring of contracts, even if it doesn't mean that Maxx Crosby or another star is immediately coming to town, it got us thinking about the other financial questions surrounding America's Team.
Jerry Jones and the front office have given out their share of bad contracts in recent years, but in an admirable attempt to claw their way out of mediocrity, Dallas has cut their losses on several players who didn't live up to their billing. That doesn't mean that the money they owed them vanishes, though.
Dead cap hits are an unfortunate but very relevant part of ditching failed players with high price tags attached to them, as the Cowboys are still on the hook to effectively "pay" these players not to play for Dallas. Their salaries can still count against the salary cap, and the team can't spend it elsewhere.
So, with that in mind, here are three players that the Cowboys just got off the books ahead of the 2026 NFL season, but three players who are also still tying up some money in Dallas without being in the building.
Cowboys are finally off the hook with three discarded veterans in 2026
Note: All dead cap figures are courtesy of Over The Cap.
Michael Gallup ($8.7 million in 2025)
Gallup hasn't played for the Cowboys, or in the NFL at all, since 2023, but he still cost Dallas $8.7 million against the cap in 2025, in addition to $4.35 million in 2024. But Jones and Co. are finally free from paying Gallup in 2026, and every cent counts as they figure out this tricky cap situation.
DeMarcus Lawrence ($7.5 million in 2025)
Lawrence barely played for Dallas in 2024 due to injury, and he signed a monster deal with the Seattle Seahawks the following offseason. And yet, for some reason, probably due to some survivalist salary cap gymnastics, the Cowboys were on the hook for $7.5 million for him in 2025. But no more in 2026.
Brandin Cooks ($4.0 million in 2025)
Although he wasn't a complete zero in Dallas, trading for Cooks was ultimately dead in the water. And his parting gift in 2025 was a $4.0 million dead cap hit, but that's the last that the Cowboys owe him, as Cooks is off the books for the upcoming season!
Cowboys are still paying for bad contracts (and one franchise legend)
Trevon Diggs, $5.9 mllion
After releasing Diggs last season, Dallas technically took on a dead cap hit of $11.6 million. But that's a bit of a misnomer, as he still played in 9 games for the Cowboys in 2025. The real penalty comes this year, as the team will pay him south of $6 million to be on the Seattle Seahawks' practice squad.
Osa Odighizuwa, $16 million
Trading Odighizuwa was always a mixed bag, but the fact that Dallas is taking a $16 million dead cap hit for him (which is almost 5% of the salary cap) is alarming. He will only count against the Cowboys' cap this year, but that's a hefty chunk of cash to be paying for another player across the NFC, let alone a team that has handed Dallas multiple playoff heartbreaks in the 2020s.
Zack Martin, $15.3 million
It's hard to be mad at Martin after the legendary run he had, but two consecutive seasons of an $8.8 million and $15.3 million dead cap hit are pretty brutal to leave behind after he retired. It's a good thing he did what he did when he was a Cowboy; otherwise, folks may have more of a bone to pick with this. Next stop, Canton!
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