The Dallas Cowboys forgot the No. 1 rule of cap management: don’t overvalue your own guys.
“America’s Team” soon will have more than 11% of its cap tied to a position that is devalued.
Recently, the Cowboys decided to put a franchise tag on RB Tony Pollard at $10 million to prevent him from hitting free agency. That is equivalent to 4.38% of their cap space. Pollard’s cost is coupled with RB Ezekiel Elliott’s $16.7 million cap hit – or 7.2%. of their cap.
Together, the Cowboys currently have more than 11% of their cap tied up in two players.
“Tony is a big part of our plans,” owner and GM Jerry Jones said, per The Sporting News.
Per CowboysSi.com, Dallas said Elliott is a big part of its plans, too, although that could change and his contract could be re-negotiated.
The Cowboys’ plan will give the team the most expensive running back/fullback room in the league at nearly $27.7 million. The next highest is the San Francisco 49ers at $21.6 million.
For comparison, the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs have $5.3 million wrapped up in the position, per Spotrac. The Philadelphia Eagles have less than $3 million at the position, per Spotrac.
Per OverTheCap, 10 running backs have an average annual value of more than $10 million. The Cowboys soon will have two.
In a cap world, teams can find themselves in a cap crunch when they overvalue their players, as the Cowboys have. It can be hard to let players go whom you drafted, developed and built a relationship with. But there is a finite amount of dollars to be spread across the roster to field the best team.
The Cowboys drafted Elliott and Pollard, who is recovering from an ankle injury suffered in the playoffs against the Niners. He was a backup until his 2022 Pro Bowl season. While it can be difficult to let a Pro Bowl player leave for nothing, sometimes that is just the nature of the beast.
