Stephon Gilmore's contract details justify Cowboys' decision to part ways

Among several other Dallas Cowboys storylines heading into the 2024 season was cornerback Stephon Gilmore's future in the NFL. On paper, re-signing Gilmore would have been a savvy move by the Cowboys after he turned in a productive 2023 season for the team.

However, compounding variables made it difficult to strike a deal with Gilmore, who ultimately remained unsigned through the second week of preseason games. The morning following Dallas' great preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Gilmore finally found his new team: the Minnesota Vikings.

Gilmore signed a one-year, $10 million contract with $7 million guaranteed. He will instantly slot in as a starting cornerback for a Vikings' defense that has added a lot of cornerback help this offseason.

While some fans might be bummed to see Gilmore leave (especially to a fellow NFC team), in reality, Dallas is completely justified to pass on the Gilmore reunion.

Stephon Gilmore's contract justifies Cowboys' decision to go separate ways

A one-year, $10 million contract is not large in the grand scheme of things but the fact remains Minnesota was in a far better position to offer this kind of contract to Gilmore than the Cowboys were.

Dallas is still in the midst of trying to figure out contract extensions for Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. Even with $28.6 million in effective cap space, per Over The Cap, Gilmore at his price point would have made the books too convoluted.

Prescott and Lamb need to be the first two priorities for Dallas and any deal that may compromise those priorities would be a bad deal for the Cowboys. Signing Gilmore at that price point would have created less wiggle room for the Cowboys, making it even harder to reach some particularly bold contract demands from the team's superstars.

Plus, while Gilmore was productive last season, the rug could be pulled out at any moment. There is a reason he went unsigned until August, after all, as cornerbacks over 30 are a huge regression risk. It can happen rather suddenly and there absolutely is a world in which Gilmore is downright bad in his age-34 season.

The Cowboys have the cornerback depth to survive a GIlmore departure without any issue whatsoever. At a cheaper price, it would have made sense to bring him back but that simply was not the reality, as evident from his deal with Minnesota.

Time will tell if the Cowboys are completely justified in letting Gilmore walk. But if the team can get extensions done for Prescott and Lamb, and Gilmore struggles, then it will be beyond obvious Dallas made the right decision.