Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has finally broken his silence on why he doesn’t hand out early paydays to his stars.
Known around the league for dragging out negotiations, Jones has built a reputation for making his players wait before landing the big deals they want.
It’s not that he doesn’t value them; he just prefers to play the long game, keeping leverage on his side. His approach may frustrate players and fans, but Jones insists it’s how the Cowboys stay competitive.
Jerry Jones Explains His Contract Strategy
Jerry Jones doesn’t see early extensions as the smartest move, and he isn’t shy of saying why.
“I would like to list right beside that the ones that I paid early that I wish I hadn’t paid early, relatively speaking,” Jones said.
He doubled down, adding, “The ones that I have paid as early as what we’re talking about here that I shouldn’t have paid early, that we should have seen a few more things come down the pike.”
For Jones, patience outweighs rushing into big-money commitments.
Jerry Jones on Injury Risks and Contracts
Jones, on Michael Irvin’s podcast, said one reason he avoids paying players early is the reality of injuries. “People get hurt playing this game,” Jerry said.
“One time, if they get hurt playing this game, and it was one time they got hurt, it had an impact on the team for the next several years at the kinds of salaries that you’re paying,” he added.
He noted how losing elite talent is devastating: “Let’s say the top 10 or 12% of the players in the league today, when those guys aren’t available to play. That’s a major hit on the rest of the team or the team’s opportunity to go forward.”
That’s why Jones warns against massive guarantees: “So you better be real careful when you’re laying things like plus a hundred million dollar worth of guarantee on a player and not be aware of this game.”
He added, “There’s a chance that you could pay that money and not be around to help you win the championship or help you play the season. That risk alone puts in perspective having that much at stake on my one player.”
Balancing Star Contracts
When it comes to the debate of paying one superstar versus spreading that money across multiple players, Jerry Jones insists the Cowboys can do both.
“Well, the answer is, we’ll get both, have that player plus those three players,” Jones explained.
To him, the league’s salary cap rules are designed to keep balance across rosters, preventing any one team from stacking talent unfairly.
“That’s where competitively the rules keep us all within the range of competing for the Super Bowl; parity,” he added.
In Jones’s view, success isn’t about choosing one path. It’s about finding ways to secure stars while still maintaining depth.
Also Read: When the Dallas Cowboys Reduced Deion Sanders’ Signing Bonus Because Jerry Jones Felt Superstitious