List of Cowboys 2023 draft picks, how much cap space each will need

With last week’s announcement of the 2023 compensatory picks, the final piece of the puzzle has been dropped in. All 32 teams now know exactly what kind of draft capital they’ll have to attack the incoming class with, and what assets they have the ability to trade as free agency gets underway.

The Dallas Cowboys were awarded three compensatory picks, giving them nine in total. One thing Cowboys Wire always focuses on is the money, and thanks to the CBA the amount of bread going in the bellies of each pick is already mapped out. But as always, cash isn’t king when it comes to the NFL salary cap.

Each player in the top several rounds will receive a signing bonus that is allocated across the four years of the rookie deal. In addition, because of the rule of the Top 51, the full amount of the cap hit isn’t just stacked on top of what the veterans are costing. The league minimum (or just above it) gets subtracted from each new player’s cap impact, because they essentially push a lower-paid player on the offseason 90-man roster out of the Top 51 calculation.

Dallas will need just under $3 million of cap space to pay their rookies in 2023. Here’s a look at the details, courtesy of Over The Cap.

Cowboys Total Rookie Pool

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The Cowboys land in the middle of the pack as far as how much money they’ll dole out to their rookie class, ranking 18th of the 32 teams. Dallas’ pool sits at $9,666,621 for the group of nine picks.

Trades that move Dallas up or down in any round will alter this some, but for now this is where they sit.

The smallest rookie pool belongs to the Denver Broncos, at $4.7 million. The largest belongs to the Houston Texans, with two top-12 picks, at $19.3 million.

The NFC East pecking order is Washington ($9.5 million), Dallas, Philadelphia ($10 million) and New York ($11.4 million).

1.26 – Total Contract worth $13.9 million

2023 Cap Hit: $2.52 million
2023 Cap Impact: $1.77 million

2.58 – Total Contract worth $6.4 million

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2023 Cap Hit: $1.17 million
2023 Cap Impact: $420,000

3.90 – Total Contract worth $5.5 million

2023 Cap Hit: $998,000
2023 Cap Impact: $248,000

4.129 – Total Contract worth $4.6 million

2023 Cap Hit: $936,000
2023 Cap Impact: $156,000

5.161 – Total Contract worth $4.16 million

2023 Cap Hit: $830,500
2023 Cap Impact: $80,500

5.169 – Total Contract worth $4.1 million

2023 Cap Hit: $816,000
2023 Cap Impact: $66,000

5.176 – Total Contract worth $4.1 million

2023 Cap Hit: $816,000
2023 Cap Impact: $66,000

6.212 – Total Contract worth $3.98 million

2023 Cap Hit: $786,000
2023 Cap Impact: $36,000

7.244 – Total Contract worth $3.9 million

2023 Cap Hit: $772,000
2023 Cap Impact: $22,000

Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire