IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys have created $2.755 million in salary-cap room by restructuring DeMarcus Ware's contract for the second straight season, according to multiple sources.
Ware was scheduled to count $10.301 million, but after lowering his base salary to $825,000 and turning the difference into signing bonus the All-Pro outside linebacker will count $7.546 million against the cap this year.
The Cowboys have a little more than $5.5 million in salary-cap room entering the season and would like to carry over as much room as possible to 2013 because of the remaining $5 million hit they will take from the NFL’s cap sanctions that were imposed in the offseason.
The Cowboys also re-worked the contract of center Ryan Cook, whom they acquired in a trade from Miami last week, the sources said. The Cowboys lowered Cook’s base salary from $1 million to $700,000 and gave him a $300,000 bonus and added a year to his deal with him scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent following the season. He will make $1.1 million in 2013.