With the regular season opener for the Dallas Cowboys inching closer, star running back Ezekiel Elliott did the franchise a solid on Friday.

Elliott restructured his contract, turning $8.6 million that was on it into a signing bonus to create more cap space this year for the Cowboys. Per Jason Fitzgerald of overthecap.com, the move helped Dallas get to now having $12 million in cap space available for the 2021 season.

In preparation for the start of the regular season the Dallas Cowboys have restructured the contract of running back Ezekiel Elliott to create $6.88 million in cap room. Elliott had $8.6 million of his salary converted to a signing bonus reducing his cap number from $13.7 million to $6.82 million. Dallas now has approximately $12 million in cap space for 2021 which is more than enough to cover the regular season.

This is becoming more and more of a trend in the NFL as a way to pay players instantly with a signing bonus and in turn, helping out the cap situation for the team. The Green Bay Packers were one team who utilized it plenty with an array of players this offseason. Now Elliott and the Cowboys have gone down the path as well.

The move does tick up the 2022 cap hit that Elliott's contract puts on the Cowboys but it will hardly be a worry according to Fitzgerald.

Elliott’s 2022 cap number will now increase by $1.72 million to $18.22 million next year. His dead money increased by $6.88 million but because his salary for 2022 is already guaranteed that was of no concern for Dallas in making this decision. Elliott will now cost $11.86 million to release in 2023 which is the year the salary cap is expected to return to more normal levels.

A good move all around that benefits both parties.