Yea, but the NFL is fluid when it comes to cutting or trading players and freeing up cap. The Saints for years have turned -50mil to +, and have even been able to sign dumb deals like Carr's deal with the mess they've made since the Drew Brees era.
I don't think anyone wants Dallas to spend all 54 mil on long term 5 year mega deals that also are ballooned.
2026 they'll restructure Dak again. If CDL is still elite, he'll be restructured.
Supposedly the team isn't happy with Diggs, they can cut him to free up 12mil. Steele can be cut for 9mil.
2025 they were -2mil before the restructuring.
Years 1-3 of an extension in reality are very cheap when talking about cap, as long as the player is still playing well, the team will restructure and 2-3 years of the cap hit aare way under the AAV. In my opinion, these are the windows to actually compete, knowing in 4 years you have to make tough choices. But tread-milling like Jerry has done gets you no further, IMO.