In early August, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he felt “no urgency” to sign CeeDee Lamb, who laughed it off on social media. The Cowboys signed the star receiver to a four-year, $136 million deal a month later.
Jones said in late August that negotiations with Dak Prescott were more about the Cowboys than the quarterback, prompting Prescott to respond that he stopped listening to anything Jones says publicly “a long time ago.” Nine days later, the Cowboys signed Prescott to a record-setting, four-year, $240 million extension.
Jones said Tuesday no tension remains between the front office and his offensive stars after contentious negotiations.
“I’ve never seen anybody get their feelings hurt enough that the money couldn’t cure,” Jones said on his radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan. “When you have a significant decision, or you have a significant event in your life, when it gets in the crosshairs where the parties are in agreement.
“If your goal is to get a deal done, nail it right there. Do not fool around. And it started happening for us.”
The deals took longer than they should have and thus cost more than they should have.
The Cowboys still have not ever lost a player they really wanted to keep. It might have been close with Prescott, who could have become a free agent in March had the Cowboys not gotten it done when they did.
It took making Prescott the league’s first $60 million-a-year player for him to agree, giving him four more years to try to accomplish something the Cowboys haven’t since 1995.
“I think when I look at what Dak is: He’s a leader; he plays the position of ultimate leadership in sports, in my opinion, as the quarterback,” Jones said. “You can put a huge value on measures of success that don’t reach a Super Bowl.
“I will say this: Any time that we’ve ever made players the highest-paid player — key players, such as Troy Aikman, the highest-paid player in the game — we’ve won Super Bowls.”
Prescott is 2-5 in the postseason, but the Cowboys have won 12 games in three consecutive regular seasons.