Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who has been pursuing another Super Bowl for 30 years, said he plans to “spend more money than we have in free agency” in order to win another title.
The 83-year-old Jones told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this week that he felt he had disappointed Cowboys fans by not building a roster good enough to win another championship.
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How eager is Jones to get back to the top? He said he would “hitchhike back to Dallas to win the Super Bowl.”
The Cowboys went 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs for the second straight season. The team has won five playoff games since winning Super Bowl XXX, the same season they last advanced from the second round.
According to OverTheCap.com, the NFL announced this week that the 2026 salary cap will be $301.2 million, leaving the Cowboys $56.1 million over the cap. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, the contracts of quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and linebacker Tyler Smith will be restructured to free up $66 million in cap space.
This is the second year in a row that Prescott’s deal has been renegotiated.
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Jones said the contracts of Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams and Osa Odijizwa will also be adjusted, as the three defensive tackles have a combined salary cap hit of $63 million.
Pro Bowl wide receiver George Pickens received the non-exclusive franchise tag on Friday, which means he can negotiate a deal elsewhere, but given the price tag required by potential teams, it puts the Cowboys in control of the negotiations.
“I look at where we are with Dak, I look at where he is in his career. I look at some of the advantages we have in front of us and what we think we can do there. And what we can do [George] Pickens and Lamb and what can we do with the running backs we just signed. [Javonte Williams],” Jones said. “So I want to do whatever it takes to stop somebody and basically get a third win more than we did last year. So I think that’s going to be an area where I’m going to blow my budget. Where you’ll see me do that is on defense that we’re doing.
“I wish any Cowboys fan or Cowboys critic would say, ‘Well, it’s not hard to see, Jerry, do it.'” But I guess what I’ve done is said, yeah, if the opportunity arises, I’m going to do it. “
Defensive help will be at the top of Jones’ free-agent wish list. Last season, the Cowboys ranked last in the NFL in third-down success rate (47.3%).
There is a new defensive coordinator in town in Christian Parker, which Jones believes will be an advantage for the returning defensive players “because things have changed.”
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The Cowboys will have money to spend in free agency, just as Jones wants, and they’ll also have two first-round picks in April’s NFL draft to help continue the pursuit of the owner’s only goal.
“This is the prize of everything I have except family and the love you have for your family,” Jones said. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, without a doubt, there’s nothing more important to me than winning a Super Bowl.”
