Cowboys' Jerry Jones Teases Increased Spending in NFL FA, Says He'd 'Hitchhike' to Win Super Bowl

Free agency hasn't been a high priority for the Dallas Cowboys in recent years, but Jerry Jones is at least teasing the possibility that could change next month.

Speaking to reporters from the NFL scouting combine, Jones explained that he would "hitchhike" to Dallas to win another Super Bowl and explained the approach to the impending start of free agency.

"I would bet that we will spend more money in free agency than we have," Jones said.

It's an interesting moment for Jones to make this comment given that the Cowboys have a lot of work to do over the next two weeks just to get cap-compliant, let alone create enough space to sign potential impact players.

After using the franchise tag on George Pickens, the Cowboys are an NFL-high $56 million over the salary cap right now. That number could bump up to around $68 million with second-round free-agent tenders for Brandon Aubrey and T.J. Bass.

There are various ways for the Cowboys to lower their cap figure, including restructuring contracts for some of their more expensive players, including Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. They could also lower Pickens' cap number if he were to sign a long-term extension, but the front office would have to act quickly to get that done before free agency begins.

Any potential major free-agent moves would mark a huge departure from how Jones and the Cowboys do business. Since 2020, their total free-agent spending ranks 25th in the league with $54.8 million in contracts given out.

The Cowboys' $3.4 million per player average is by far the lowest in the NFL. The Houston Texans are the only other team under $5 million per player ($4.6 million), but they have also signed an NFL-high 59 players over the past five years.

Jones is looking for improved performance from his team in 2026. The Cowboys have missed the playoffs in each of the past two years. They haven't missed the postseason in at least three consecutive seasons since 2010 to '13.