Here are the Cowboys' top 10 highest-paid players heading into the 2018 season
When it comes to roster construction, the Dallas Cowboys still place a high premium on inside-the-box players.
Of the team's top 10 highest paid players, eight of them line up at running back, tight end, linebacker, or along the offensive and defensive lines.
On March 1 2017, the Cowboys had the worst salary cap situation in the NFL. But thanks to some restructuring, cuts and creative moves by the front office, Dallas has roughly $20 million in cap room. Right now, that figure ranks just below the middle third of the league, according to Spotrac.com.
Free-agency doesn't officially begin until March 12, and free agents can't officially sign with new teams until March 14.
On the date, the 2018 NFL salary cap will also become official. Estimates show that number will likely come in at $178 million.
These are the top 10 highest projected Dallas Cowboys' player salaries for the 2018 NFL season, according to Spotrac.com.
1. OT Tyron Smith; Cap hit - $17.5 million
2. WR Dez Bryant; Cap hit - $16.5 million
3. C Travis Frederick; Cap hit - $13.2 million
4. LB Sean Lee; Cap hit - $11 million
5. OG Zack Martin; Cap hit - $9.3 million
6. DE Tyrone Crawford; Cap hit - $9.1 million
7. RB Ezekiel Elliott; Cap hit - $6.8 million
8. TE Jason Witten; Cap hit - $6.5 million
9. OT La'el Collins; Cap hit - $5.8 million
10. CB Orlando Scandrick; Cap hit - $5.2 million.
Collectively, the Cowboys top 10 highest paid players are set to count roughly $100.7 million against the cap. That figure represents 60 percent of Dallas' projected $167 million 2018 cap total, according to Spotrack.com.
It is worth noting that Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence will be an unrestricted free agent and will command a pricey long-term extension to remain with the Cowboys.
It's also possible that the front office could chose to bite the proverbial financial bullet and award quarterback Dak Prescott an early contract extension that would almost certainly have a cap hit of over $20 million per season.
This story was originally published February 13, 2018 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Here are the Cowboys' top 10 highest-paid players heading into the 2018 season."