The Dallas Cowboys were worried that they were going to get jumped for their guy. After watching the first 10 picks come off the board and their guy was still sitting there, the front office couldn’t fathom the idea of losing out at the last minute. So instead, they sent a couple Day 3 picks to the Miami Dolphins for the right to move up to No. 11 so they could select safety Caleb Downs.
The move up cost Dallas just a bit in draft capital, but with first-round picks there’s some big dollars attached to going at No. 11, $29.4 million to be exact. Here’s a breakdown of Downs’ rookie contract.
Thanks to the rookie wage scale, the Cowboys know exactly what Downs is going to cost. Downs will receive a signing bonus of $17.8 million once he inks his deal later in the offseason. That will be prorated across the four years of his deal at $4.45 million per season.
Downs will be locked in for four seasons, with the Cowboys having a fifth-year option for 2030.
As far as his annual base salaries, Downs will make $885,000 in Year 1, $2.2 million in Year 2, $3.55 million in 2028 and $4.89 million in 2029. His cap hits take those base salaries plus the bonus proration, meaning his 2026 cap hit will be $5.34 million.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Newest Cowboys safety Caleb Downs’ rookie deal has $17.8M first check
Reporting by K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
