Jerry Jones Putting Cowboys In Do-Or-Die Mode For 2024 Season

Now we know what Jerry Jones really meant when he said he's "all in" for the 2024 Dallas Cowboys' season. He actually meant something closer to it's do or die.

That's the message everyone should be getting following the close of the NFL annual meeting at which the Cowboys owner/general manager/voice from on high told reporters the contract situation with quarterback Dak Prescott is where it is for the 2024 season and there may or may not be further movement on it.

"We have our contract, we're locked and loaded for this year," Jones told a mini-gaggle of reporters on Monday. "We can see as we move along how we are thinking, inclusive of everybody, including Dak. We’ll see what we do. I don’t have anything to report today."

Jerry Jones is all smiles about Cowboys future. (Credit: Getty Images)

No Extension For Dak Prescott Now

Well, NFL Media took that a step further, reporting Tuesday that Prescott is playing this season under his current deal. Period. No extension.

Which is curious because Prescott is in the final year of his contract and teams normally extend their starting QBs before a contract expires to have security and avoid the usual cost increase of deals signed later rather than sooner.

But, no pressure, folks. Or at least that's the feeling from the Cowboys on extension talks with Prescott – the guy playing the team's most important position.

Except this makes for tons of pressure. And tension. And drama.

And it may play out the entire season.

The message this sends is let's see what happens in 2024, and then we'll figure out 2025 and beyond when all the information is in.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has a .500 record in the playoffs.. (Credit: Getty Images)

Jerry Jones All About Now

Jones is apparently declining to sign up for more of what he's been experiencing for years – early and disappointing playoff exits – by extending the contracts of Prescott and others.

And by others, we're talking about major names.

Remember that head coach Mike McCarthy is in the final year of his contract in 2024.

Top receiver CeeDee Lamb is in the final year of his contract in 2024.

Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence is in the final year of his contract in 2024. Same with perennial Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin. Same with veteran receiver Brandin Cooks.  

It's as if Jerry Jones, looking at the team's salary cap structure that has paid all of these players and McCarthy handsomely for years, is telling his star-studded cast to perform. 

And if you do, then you'll get an extension. Then you'll get paid.

But if you don't perform, we're turning the proverbial page and moving on to something else. Someone else.

Do or die.

Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy find themselves in a do or die situation in 2024.  Credit: Getty Images

Cowboys Have Disappointed In The Playoffs

And how did Jones and the Cowboys get here? By not meeting expectations in the playoffs.

Jones is on record saying he and his personnel department have put together an outstanding roster, one worthy of competing for if not winning a championship.

But since Prescott became the starter in 2016, he's 7-7 in the playoffs and has never tasted an NFC Championship game.

McCarthy took over in 2020 and didn't make the playoffs that season. The Cowboys have qualified for the playoffs the past three seasons but lost in the wild card round in 2021, lost in the division round in 2022, and lost in the wild card round last season – a bitter upset loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Jones must see this in some respects as under-achievement. And based on what he's doing on the contract front, he sees it as not worth repeating.

Owner Jerry Jones thinks the Dallas Cowboys can win the Super Bowl. (Credit: Getty Images)

Jones Strategy Comes With Risk

This, of course, is where the pundits will offer their "oh no" exclamations about what might happen as Jones goes into show-me mode. 

They'll say Jones runs the risk of losing Prescott in free agency. They'll say the club will respect McCarthy less since there's no certainty he'll be back after this season.

Maybe.

But Jones is betting on himself. He's clearly comfortable with the idea of paying and perhaps overpaying for Prescott if the quarterback takes the Cowboys to the Super Bowl.

And weighed against paying slightly less, but getting another playoff disappointment, Jones is happy to take the gamble.

Jones in January decided to bring McCarthy back for one more (perhaps last) season without guarantees for more, knowing another playoff disappointment would mean the coach's exit. He weighed the intangible cost of McCarthy's locker room respect against the tangible dollars he'd save if the coach failed again under a new contract.

This is what good businessmen do. They invest in success and divest from repeated failure. 

So, yes, Jerry Jones is, in a very practical way, all in on the 2024 season. And just the 2024 season. If it goes well, great. If it disappoints, it'll be time to start over in a major way.