NEW YORK — The Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys will pay the price for overspending during the uncapped 2010 season.

Two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Monday that the Cowboys and Redskins will lose salary cap space over the next two seasons because they paid exorbitant amounts two years ago to get more spending room for the upcoming season. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because the league did not identify the teams.

Both teams say they complied with NFL rules during the uncapped year.

ESPN reported that the Redskins will lose $36 million in space, and the Cowboys will forfeit $10 million. This year’s salary cap is $120.6 million, up only $250,000 over last year.

The NFL said in a statement that “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 fix that, the league said adjustments are being made to teams’ salaries for the next two years. The NFL did not identify the teams, but the people familiar with the reductions said Dallas and Washington are the only clubs affected.

“The Dallas Cowboys were in compliance with all league salary cap rules during the uncapped year,” the team said through spokesman Rich Dalrymple. “We look forward to the start of the free agency period where our commitment to improving our team remains unchanged.”

The Redskins’ statement from General Manager Bruce Allen said the team had not received written notification from the NFL of a salary cap adjustment for 2012.