Cowboys' DeMarcus Lawrence Signs 3-Year $40M Deal Setting Record

Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence has made NFL history with the signing of his latest contract with “America’s Team.”

According to NFL.com, Lawrence has signed a new three-year deal that is worth $40 million. Of the $40 million, the defensive end will get $30 million of it guaranteed. With that accomplishment, he becomes the first player at his position to have his contract fully guaranteed for the seventh straight season.

#HomeForGood 🤘🏿 pic.twitter.com/gA7fbFvHTR

— DeMarcus Lawrence (@TankLawrence) March 14, 2022

For his eight seasons in the NFL, Lawrence has totaled 48.5 sacks, which includes 25 sacks between 2017 and 2018. After that 2018 season, Dallas and Lawrence agreed to a five-year deal that was worth $105 million. He only played in seven games last season as injuries kept Lawrence off the gridiron for the majority of 2021.

ESPN reported that Lawrence ended the season with three sacks, five pass deflections, an interception, two tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. He was also credited with 18 tackles. Lawrence has the fifth-best pass rush win rate (24.9%), the fifth-best pressure rate (11.7%) and 206 pressures (seventh-best in the league) Over the past five seasons.

With this latest contract signed, it changes the trajectory in terms of cap space for the Dallas Cowboys. If a new contract was not signed, Lawrence’s $27 million cap figure would have been the fifth-highest hit of any defensive player in 2022. With the new deal, the cap hit will only be $14 million this year then rises to $26 million in 2023 and then back down to $16 million in 2024. With this signing, he also receives a $12 million signing bonus.

The Dallas Cowboys will now have a little more cap space to retain their own free agents. The players they will be able to sign include safeties Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker, as well as defensive end Randy Gregory. Gregory has been receiving early interest from several NFL teams, including the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts, according to sources.

Malik Hooker has also signed to stay with the Cowboys for his sixth NFL season. He has agreed to a new two-year contract with the team.