Stephen on "All-In" - "We spend max, max money year in and year out

[Romo_To_Dez]

Somehow other teams are signing their top players and not trying to use paying them as an excuse for why they aren't willing to spend more money through free agency. Not going to try and blame the players for Stephen acting like the Cowboys are the only FO every season who has to find ways to pay the top players on the roster. They aren't, yet are the main ones always using that as an excuse for why they get truly go "all in."

 

[Tabascocat]

Incompetence, they can sign as many as they want to with cap manipulation. They simply have no idea how to build a football team, it’s all smoke and mirror…..flash over substance.

 

[Rayman70]

Stephen is an idiot.

this. Whats worse, he doubles down on it. Every word he speaks confirms it.

 

[Chasing6]

It all makes sense.

For the first time in a while, I didn’t become even more infuriated by what finds its way out of the mouths of those two.

But….at some point you’re going to need to get something out of the Ball/Waletzko/Richards investments if your draft only plan is to work.

They need to hire a press secretary.

 

[maryquality]

Is this guy serious?? What the actual.....???

 

[Rayman70]

hes just flat lying

 

[Chasing6]

Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones on @1053thefan

on Jerry Jones saying Dallas would be "all in" this season: "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." What does he say to fans that don't believe the Cowboys have been "all in" this offseason? "We spend max, max money year in and year out. All 32 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."

Not exactly Jethro. You carried over $10M from 2023 to 2024.

 

[Romo_To_Dez]

Don't buy the Jones' propaganda. If they were on the Eagles, they would sign them and then sign five free agents to fill their holes. Please don't be a tool of the Jones.

If the FO never can figure out how to pay their top players while still finding ways to sign at least some decent free agency guys then they are the problem. Somehow we're suppose to believe that this is just a problem unique to the Cowboys every single season?

 

[DallasEast]

...But at the same time, unfortunately, Tyron's had to miss a lot of games, and at some point, you have to make those tough decisions.

Smith had been missing games for years. I guess making tough decisions timely is not a strong Jones family managerial trait.

 

[Chasing6]

Throwing money at achieving winning football from a poor management viewpoint is a self-fallacy.

Remove yourself as a variable in managing the team.

Hire people who are qualified and give them complete autonomy in hiring a head coach.

Allow the front office, head coach and scouting department to make decisions about player acquisition without your input.

Sign the checks.

That is the blueprint for a different football philosophy achieving what you never could. That includes what was achieved after jettisoning a Pro and College Football Hall of Fame, with championships at both levels, head coach and coasted on the remnants of what he built, to a third Super Bowl championship.

Jerry was good at signing checks when Jimmy was here.

 

[RS12]

Stevie of course is speaking on his many late night, Highland Park, film sessions. Add years of his personally, successfully,. developing O Linemen. I'd feel better if someone like Duke Mayweather said this.

 

[KingintheNorth]

He's talking cap room aka salary plus dead money for constant bad decisions. He is not talking cash-spending.

Maybe the guy who runs the salary cap should have more qualified help than himself and the restaurant shift leader.

 

[JeffInDC]

TJ Bass looks like a player.

On The Love of the Star podcast (Broaddus and Belt), they basically talked about what they believe (from folks they've talked to) that they are VERY comfy in starting Bass @ LG...more to the point, they're more comfy starting Smith @ LT, Bass @ LG, and one of the Top 3 C's (Barton, JPJ, Frazier) Game 1 vs. one of the lower ranked 1st round T's and Hoffman @ C.

AS AM I!!!!

 

[Cowboys93]

Glad I told myself I’m not getting emotionally invested this year

 

[sbark]

Wasnt the O.Line during Patriots S.Bowl decade a makeup of day 3 draft choices who "came on".

 

[KingintheNorth]

Not a single concern in his head about winning.

 

[DCCowboys11]

Yeah they do spend it. They spend it in “Dead Cap Space” to players that aren’t on the roster anymore cuz they make piss poor financial decisions. Gallup’s big contract coming off injury is one example. Jaylon Smith playing on one leg was another. Zeke’s big contract is another. Believing Dak is worth 60m per year may be the next. But “We like our guys”.

 

[thunderpimp91]

That isn’t accurate.

Just because you’re up against the cap doesn’t mean you’re “spending” max dollars.

If you’re getting hit with dead money because of mistakes that’s cash you can’t spend even if you wanted to.

There’s of course also ways to borrow from the future, which teams commonly do in attempt to win under an ideal window, while planning down/rebuild years will eventually arrive.

It's interesting that he's talking about a 5 year window that all teams can only spend the same amount of cash. It might be true that this is how the Cowboys are operating, and it aligns with what they've done over the last 5 years....

2020 - $249M - 3rd in NFL
2021 - $260M - 2nd in NFL
2022 - $192M - 29th in NFL
2023 - $257M - 11th in NFL
2024 - $187M - 32nd in NFL
=$1.145B over 5 years

Lets compare that to the Eagles though...

2020 - $240M - 6th in NFL
2021 - $218M - 9th in NFL
2022 - $226M - 17th in NFL
2023 - $253 - 14th in NFL
2024 - $282 - 3rd in NFL
= $1.219B over 5 years

Granted the 2024 numbers are not completely finished yet, but odds of either teams acquiring major contracts through free agency or trade are slim at this point. Philly on average has spent roughly $15M per year more than the Cowboys over this time that Stephen says all teams spend the same amount.

The only thing that could really change these numbers would be Dallas resigning Dak and/or Lamb to extensions with large up front money later this offseason. This is where Stephen isn't being a complete liar, but on the flip side both of those actions would actually free up cap space for the Cowboys to spend more money. Ultimately Stephen isn't completely lying here, but no matter how they spin the narrative it all comes back to their lack of willingness to spend money, and how they are using the salary cap as a weapon to make people think they are maxing out their money spent. This is why I've said for months now that it's a complete slap in the face to fans if the Cowboys wait until August to sign these guys to extensions. It needed to either happen before free agency opened or not at all.

 

[Rayman70]

I might "EL PASO" on investing my time on the Cowboys this year, pending the draft and camp.

 

[Stash]