Welcome To The Dallas Cowboys in Free Agency
This is what they do and if anyone is surprised by this, it might be our own fault.
One of the outside perceptions of the Dallas Cowboys, from those who do not actually follow the team, is that the Jones family has endless amounts of money. Jerry and family are here to use those untold riches to push the limits and outspend your favorite team.
Don’t get me wrong. They do have endless amounts of money. And they do pocket more and more in sheer profit every single season owning the most profitable franchise in professional sports.
It’s just that they don’t seem to actually spend it on the team that they own. Not anymore, at least.
Why?
I cannot begin to guess. But, if you examine the amount of cash spending that the Cowboys have engaged in, and the lack of interest they have shown in free agency for at least the last decade, you notice an obvious trend.
You might tell me it’s because of that darned salary cap. That’s what keeps restricting the Cowboys financial advantages from being the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers of the NFL.
Why can’t they find loopholes and make sure that the product on the field is pushing the limits? Compliance to the league structure, shouldn’t limit them from outwitting others. Deeper pockets, are deeper pockets, and money always finds a way.
Again, I am not here to offer particular substance as to why the franchise does not participate in big spending. But it is worth noting that any “big spender” reputation is misleading.
They profit more than any other franchise and they seem to operate as if they are cash-strapped when it comes to aggressive team building.
The Cowboys meet all of the minimum requirements laid out by the NFL/NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement, but so do the Arizona Cardinals. In terms of elective spending, we should know that the Cowboys do not push the limits in things like free agency and even “before market” extensions to their own players, as we have seen countless times over across the league.
So, today, to help explain the lack of activity from the Cowboys in free agency, I would like to offer you an 11-year review of the Cowboys in free agency.
Why 11 years? Because 12 years ago, in 2012, they signed the No. 1 corner on the market and the No. 3 free agent overall when they signed corner Brandon Carr to a five-year, $50 million deal.
It was a bold and aggressive play that at the time was praised because “the Cowboys hardly ever did anything in free agency” back then. Those who said that were right and it did seem to offer some intent to change that.
But, they have not done a single thing of note in the 11 years since in free agency and I am willing to offer proof: