Stephen Jones has assured the world that all is well in Dallas; it’s just difficult to accomplish what they have set out to do. During his recent appearance on the ‘Scoop City’ podcast, Stephen’s comments gave a sigh of relief to Cowboys fans concerned about their star athletes and their contract situations.
Advertisement
The executive VP for the Dallas side made it clear that conversations around their star QB’s contract are moving in the right direction. At the same time, he also admitted that it isn’t easy to get the deals done for all the deserving Cowboys awaiting extensions. Thus, it is taking monumental effort to get them done.
“Those things just take time when you’re talking about the amount of money involved. And, of course, we’re trying to; little bit play Houdini to keep all these guys around Dak and keep these players we were fortunate enough to draft.”
The list includes Ceedee Lamb, Micah Parsons, and even Trevon Diggs. All of these players expect to land lucrative deals. Moreover, Parsons has been on record, saying he wants to be one of the highest-paid non-QBs in the league.
While the Cowboys haven’t impressed in the postseason, they have delivered stellar performances during the regular season, thanks in large part to these skill players.
Stephen stated that most of these stars have expectations similar to Parsons. This puts them in a uniquely different position than the Vikings, who awarded the current highest non-QB contract to Justin Jefferson.
Stephen Jones Compares Cowboys’ Situation to Vikings’
The Cowboys’ COO noted that the Vikings managed their salary cap more efficiently and have fewer high-paying contracts, which is quite the opposite of the Cowboys’ situation. This might explain why the Vikings were able to offer such an ‘inordinate’ deal to their wide receiver, Justin Jefferson, making him the only Vikings player to earn at least $20 million per season.
“I know the Vikings there with Jefferson when they, you know, made that inordinate deal at the receiver spot. You know, they don’t have one player on their team other than Jefferson making over $20 million.”
The unique situation the Cowboys find themselves in is not replicated elsewhere in the NFL. They aren’t succeeding in the playoffs, but the individual performances need to be rewarded eventually. Playing Dak into his contract year led to them agreeing to a $40 million per year deal.
This time, though, it isn’t just Dak but a whole array of stars. Navigating this intense financial maze is taking considerable time. Hopefully, Jones and his front office team can finalize the deals before any real disruption occurs to the training schedule.
