“The king is dead. Long live the king.” It’s a customary phrase said at the passing of a monarch. It symbolizes the turning of the page as the new king is coronated and serves to immediately shift focus from the past to the future.
For Cowboys’ fans – don’t worry, Jerry Jones appears to be in fine health – it illustrates the front office’s readiness to move on to the 2024 season. After such a disastrous ending to the previous campaign, the Cowboys are eager to pour dirt on the old season and immediate shift into 2024 mode in one fell swoop.
In discussions with reporters at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Jerry and Stephen Jones wasted no time hyping up the new season, giving just brief homage to the heartbreaking opportunity that was lost weeks ago.
“I think we’ll push the hell out of it,” Owner Jones said describing his level of aggressiveness in the coming offseason. “It will be going all in on different people than you’ve done in the past. We’ll be going all in…”
The, this year will be different vibe, was nothing new from Jones. The Cowboys’ master salesman does this every year about this time of winter, but use of the phrase “all in” was undoubtedly a new addition.
All-in is a strategy fans have been clamoring for, but the Cowboys have been avoiding. All in requires money and resources. It also could come at the cost of future campaigns. For a franchise that’s built on selling hope and hype each season, lean years are something they typically try to avoid.
But with fat new contracts approaching, the biggest window of opportunity appears to be closing. CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons will both be moving off their affordable rookie deals and into top-of-the-market territory. If Dallas wants to strike while the iron is hot and resources are available, 2024 is the time to do it.
Still, it’s difficult to hear the Joneses words without a certain degree of skepticism.
What is “all in?”
According to the most recent numbers from OTC, the Cowboys are over the cap already. Their -$22,805,299 in effective cap space ranks them bottom-six in the NFL this year. While most NFL fans know this cap number is highly malleable and not something that would inhibit a team from fulfilling their widest desires, the Cowboys typically paint the cap in a different light.
On countless occasions the Joneses have used the salary cap to explain and/or excuse their lack of activity in the offseason. They’ve used the excuse to avoid signing their own free agents and used it to explain why they didn’t sign good outside free agents.
The salary cap has served an important purpose for them and other owners. In many ways the salary cap was created by the owners to curb their own spending and justify it to their fanbases. It keeps their costs low and their profits high. It was made in the name of parity but used as a way to deflect blame.
When Jerry Jones says “all in” does he mean all that’s available today (which is nothing), a few dollars he’ll free up through restructuring deals in March (which is modest), or is he really talking about maximizing his spending power?