UPDATE II: Per PFT, the Cowboys and Redskins must take at least half of their cap reductions in 2012, meaning at least $18 million for Washington and a minimum of $5 million for Dallas.

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UPDATE: The Redskins released a statement Monday evening indicating they had done nothing wrong while hinting they planned to move forward into free agency as if all was normal. The statement, attributed to GM Bruce Allen, reads:

"The Washington Redskins have received no written documentation from the NFL concerning adjustments to the team salary cap in 2012 as reported in various media outlets. Every contract entered into by the club during the applicable periods complied with the 2010 and 2011 collective bargaining agreements and, in fact, were approved by the NFL commissioner's office. We look forward to free agency, the draft and the coming football season."

The Cowboys also seemed ready to dispute the findings, releasing a statement that read:

"The Dallas Cowboys were in compliance with all league salary cap rules during the uncapped year. We look forward to the start of the free agency period where our commitment to improving our team remains unchanged."

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With NFL free agents allowed to switch teams in just 24 hours, the Redskins and Cowboys have seen their budgets shrink.

The NFL is docking Washington $36 million in salary cap space and taking $10 million from Dallas.

The league released the following statement:

"The Management Council Executive Committee determined that the contract practices of a small number of clubs during the 2010 league year created an unacceptable risk to future competitive balance, particularly in light of the relatively modest salary cap growth projected for the new agreement's early years. To remedy these effects and preserve competitive balance throughout the league, the parties to the CBA agreed to adjustments to team salary for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. These agreed-upon adjustments were structured in a manner that will not affect the salary cap or player spending on a league-wide basis."

According to ESPN, which first reported the story, the teams "can split the cap loss over the 2012 and '13 seasons in whatever form they prefer, with $1.6 million each going to 28 other NFL teams," excluding the Raiders and Saints, though those teams didn't incur a reduction of note.

The story also stated "the deductions are not termed as violations, but are part of a recent agreement the NFL and the Players Association made to raise the salary cap number while preserving benefit increases and the performance pool."

The ruling comes after the Cowboys and Redskins frontloaded player contracts in 2010 -- a trigger in the previous CBA dissolved the salary cap that season season prior to the 2011 lockout -- a stratagem other owners subsequently deemed unfair.

The Cowboys are paying for giving WR Miles Austin a $17 million base salary in 2010 -- which would have been his hit against a cap -- as part of a seven-year, $57.2 million deal; the next year, his cap number was $2.25 million. Redskins deals for CB DeAngelo Hall and since-departed DL Albert Haynesworth are among contracts with money systematically dumped into 2010.

The contracts were allowed because at the time it was unclear how they would affect balance -- and there were apparently no provisions in the CBA that prevented such moves.

The verdict could hinder the Redskins' ability to add playmakers and depth to their roster just days after they agreed to ship four picks in the next three drafts to acquire this year's No. 2 overall selection from the Rams.

Washington released veteran S Oshiomogho Atogwe and FB Mike Sellers on Monday, creating $3 million more in cap room for a team that planned on having $40 million worth of space.

The league set the 2012 cap at $120.6 million Monday.

Contributing: Jarrett Bell