As they have for every season since their win in 1995’s Super Bowl XXX, Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys are gearing up to try to win the franchise’s sixth Lombardi Trophy.
They should have a sense of urgency as they pack up for camp in Oxnard. The window for the Cowboys to finally put an end to their championship drought of nearly thirty seasons may be closing soon.
As soon as the end of the 2027 NFL season at that.
If March 1, 2028, arrives and the Cowboys have still not won their sixth Super Bowl, big changes will likely be coming.
After the end of the 2027 campaign, maybe even if they’ve won a title or at least played in a Super Bowl, the Cowboys are looking at a rebuild. Primarily due to the number of high-value contracts the Cowboys have that will end, or that have opt-outs after 2027.
As Dallas’ contracts stand now, they only have 34 players under wraps through the end of 2027.
When the 2028 season opens for business that March, there will only be 14 of the players on the roster today that will still be under contract.
That assumes Micah Parsons is extended at some point this year. There are some pretty big opt-outs that kick in when the new league year opens.
On The Cutting Board?
There will be at least two big contracts that will have opt outs available to Dallas once the 2028 league year opens.
Quarterback Dak Prescott, who will be 35 that year, would still have two years at nearly $88 million left on his current deal. Cutting him after 2027 would trim roughly $39 million off that number.
Receiver CeeDee Lamb would also have two years remaining on his recent deal for $32 million in salary.
Cutting him loose would trim $14 million from the payroll.
If the Cowboys have come no closer to a championship over the next three years, Jones would be wise to cut them loose. He would then need to do one of two things.
The Next Step
Assuming Jones is still alive, and remains as Owner/GM, his options if the drought reaches 32 seasons would be (1) to sell the team. Or (2) to acknowledge the team is more than just “one player away” and rebuild.
The first option would be preferred by most of the fanbase.
The second option would probably only come if Jones were to turn over control of the team to his son, Stephen.
A full rebuild, which this team should have done on at least two occasions since the end of the 2006 season, will take at least three-to-five years.
The elder Jones lacks the patience for that. Which means he’ll create a third option:
Don’t change anything and watch the years without a title continue to add up.
