The report seemed weird, but there’s a reason Mingo was announced as a new contract for… his old salary.
At first glance, the tweet didn’t make much sense. NFL insider Aaron Wilson sent out word that the Dallas Cowboys and Jonathan Mingo had agreed to a one-year deal. The problem? Jonathan Mingo was already under contract with the Cowboys, and for not a lot of money.
During the 2024 season, the Cowboys acquired Mingo — a 2023 second-round pick — from Carolina in exchange for Dallas’ 2025 fourth rounder. Mingo has not done much since being acquired, catching just six passes and no touchdowns, and sits in the bottom end of the team’s depth chart at receiver. He was scheduled to make $1.145 million in base salary in 2026, barely above the veteran minimum. So when Wilson tweeted the following, it initially didn’t make much sense.
But the devil is in the details. According to contract website Spotrac, it is in fact a new deal. Mingo’s rookie contract he signed with the Panthers that the Cowboys absorbed included an $813,000 workout bonus. It appears that Dallas went to him and told him if he wanted to remain in the system he’s spent the last year and a half learning, as opposed to being released into free agency, he’d have to forgo the bonus.
The Cowboys entered Wednesday still a little bit over the 2026 salary cap, and with the new league year starting at 3pm Central, little moves like this can help them become compliant without restructuring or reworking more major contracts.
With his base salary remaining at $1.145 million, Mingo remains in the Top 51 of salaries on the team, so Dallas shaves off all $813k from their cap summary.
