Cowboys rank last in cash spending as Stephen Jones defends 'all-in' motto

As the Dallas Cowboys head into the 2024 NFL Draft next week, executive vice president Stephen Jones found himself, once again, defending the front office’s so-called “all-in” strategy. The Cowboys currently rank last in the league in average cash spending at $189 million. That figure, in comparison to the Cleveland Browns at No. 1 with $326 million, leads fans to believe the team isn’t quite as “all-in” as Jerry Jones would have them believe. The spending, on top of the team allowing numerous players to walk this offseason in free agency, has many doubting whether the Cowboys are getting better in 2024 – or worse.

“Everybody has their own definition of what that means, but I’ve never not known us to be all in, nor have I known anyone we compete against not to be all in,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan, via Jon Machota.

The Cowboys may rank at the bottom now, but spending is due to increase dramatically once the team puts stars like CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons on long-term deals. If they get a long-term deal worked out with Dak Prescott as well, as they’d like to, Dallas’ numbers will shoot up.

“We spend max, max money year in and year out,” Jones continued. “All 32 (teams) can only spend the same amount of money over a five-year stretch. When we’re all said and done, we max out our salary cap every year. We will have done that. What comes with having a good roster, which we do, we’re also looking towards signing our own guys.

“It doesn’t mean it happens overnight. But when you’re wanting to sign players like Dak (Prescott) and Micah (Parsons) and CeeDee (Lamb), then you have to hold money back if you want to have a realistic chance of signing those guys.”

Cowboys roster depleted in free agency

The Dallas Cowboys enter the 2024 NFL Draft with a variety of needs after a very quiet free agency period. Short on cap space, Jerry Jones and the front office let RB Tony Pollard, OT Tyron Smith, DT Johnathan Hankins, DE Dante Fowler Jr., DT Neville Gallimore, C Tyler Biadasz, DE Dorance Armstrong Jr., and CB Noah Igbinoghene walk. They also released wide receiver Michael Gallup and linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, the latter for medical reasons.

Since the start of the league new year, Dallas has re-signed very few of their free agents. They signed long snapper Trent Sieg, running back Rico Dowdle, offensive tackle Chuma Edoga and cornerbacks Jourdan Lewis and CJ Goodwin. They all inked new one-year deals. The Cowboys did make two new free agency additions before the draft, signing veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks and running back Royce Freeman to one-year deals.