Agent - Cowboys, DT Osa Odighizuwa reach 4-year $80M deal - ESPN

FRISCO, Texas — With free agency closing in and the deadline to use the franchise tag coming Tuesday, the Dallas Cowboys were able to keep one of their own off the market, agreeing to a four-year, $80 million deal with defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa.

The deal includes $58 million guaranteed and a $20 million signing bonus, Odighizuwa's agent, Sam Leaf Ireifej, told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Odighizuwa's salary-cap number in 2025 will be $6.25 million.

The Cowboys had discussions with Odighizuwa's agent over the past few weeks and were able to reach a deal before Odighizuwa could hit the open market as well as avoid using the franchise tag.

This is the latest big-money extension handed out by the Cowboys to a homegrown player in the past two years, following the extensions for quarterback Dak Prescott (four years, $240 million) and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (four years, $136 million) last year. The Cowboys are now expected to turn their attention for a long-term deal with star pass rusher Micah Parsons.

The Cowboys have restructured Lamb's contract, a source told ESPN, creating an additional $20 million in salary cap space.

Odighizuwa, 26, figured to be one of the most sought-after defensive tackles when free agency began, but the Cowboys managed to keep a key defensive player with a scheme change coming under new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.

«He's a homegrown guy who we think is a really good football player,» executive vice president Stephen Jones said last week at the NFL scouting combine.

Had the Cowboys tagged Odighizuwa, which would have cost $25.1 million, it would have been the seventh time in the past eight years they used the franchise tag. The last two players tagged, running back Tony Pollard (2023) and