Tress Way is (again) signed on a seldom used type of contract that saves the Commanders over $1.5m in cap space in ‘26

Over the Cap has just updated its database with Tress Way’s contract details, and if it looks as if the math doesn’t work, there’s a good reason.

Tress Way has a contract that is in compliance with a new-ish benefit that was introduced with the 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement called a 4-Year Qualifying Contract.

Here’s a look at the structure of his deal:

As you can see, the Commanders All Pro punter (and ‘all world’ holder for field goals and PATs) will actually be paid an almost-fully-guaranteed

$3.037m for the 2026 season, but he will count only $1.487m towards the salary cap.

That sounds like a win for Tress and a win for the team.

I wrote about the 4-year Qualifying Contract last year, but just in case you’ve lost your notes from that article, here’s the explanation of how it works:

4-year qualifying contract (4YQC)

Who qualifies?

A player with four or more Credited Seasons whose contract with a Club has expired after four or more years of continuous, uninterrupted service with that Club (i.e., the player must have been under contract to that Club and on that Club’s 90-player roster for the immediately prior four or more consecutive League Years without interruption prior to the contract’s expiration).

What is the required contract structure?

The Player Contract that covers only a single League Year and contains a Paragraph 5 Salary for up to $1.55 million [in 2026 & 2027] more than the applicable minimum Active/Inactive List Salary.

How many 4YQCs can a team have?

In any League Year, a Club may sign a maximum of two 4-Year Qualifying Players to Four-Year Qualifying Contracts; provided, however, that the combined amount by which the players’ respective Paragraph 5 Salaries may exceed the players’ respective minimum Active/Inactive List salaries or, in the case of a split contract, the players’ respective minimum nonActive/Inactive List salaries, shall be limited to a total of $1.55 million [in 2026 & 2027].

It appears that the Commanders are only applying the 4YQC benefit to Tress Way’s contract this year. I don’t think any other player actually qualifies at the moment (though Jeremy Reaves may qualify in 2027 if he is still on the roster and doesn’t garner a significant pay raise).

Because Tress Way has been with the Commanders for at least four continuous uninterrupted seasons (this is his 13th season in Washington) and the value of his contract is not more than $1.55m more than the vet minimum for a player with 12 accrued seasons, his cap number is just $1.487m for the 2026 season.

This brings up a couple of salient points:

1. Way’s extension is — like last year — for only one year because that is a requirement of this benefit. He now costs not much more than a punter on a rookie contract from a cap standpoint. This CBA-defined benefit allows teams like Washington to reward long-serving, relatively low-cost veterans.
2. I suspect that we can expect the team to do this again next season (and for as long as Tress Way continues to be the valuable holder & punter that he is). This is a seldom-used tool for cap management that rewards roster stability.