Jerry's Cowboys Fear Daunting Reality After Historic Signings

The Dallas Cowboys will start training camp next week, and if that wasn't a strong enough reminder of the business the front office needs to attend to, this week provided some a couple major nudges.

Dallas has a handful of star-caliber players up for contract extensions ... and yes, it's still the same bunch we've been talking about for months: All-Pros Micah Parsons, DaRon Bland, Tyler Smith and Brandon Aubrey.

A couple of those positions are seeing a goldmine in recent years with teams throwing historic bags to top players. The cornerback and offensive guard spots in particular confirmed that theory in a big way on Tuesday.

The New York Jets signed star cornerback Sauce Gardner to a record-breaking four-year, $120.4 million contract - the richest ever for the position, surpassing Houston Texans' Derek Stingley Jr. by a hair.

This deal is the latest seismic shake of the cornerback market. Pat Surtain II became the highest-paid corner ever when he signed his four-year, $96 million contract last offseason.

Flash forward to today? Surtain - last year's Defensive Player of the Year - is fifth on the cornerback list by annual contract value.

Bland is next in line for this type of pay day after putting together a stellar career as a former Day 3 NFL Draft pick.

The California native enters his fourth year in the league in 2025, with his most memorable year coming the last time he played a full season. Bland's iconic 2023 campaign saw a league-leading nine interceptions and NFL-record five of them returned for a touchdown.

Last season, the Cowboys' star couldn't match that effort as he played just seven games and struggled with injury. But that shouldn't take away from his long-term value. Bland won't receive a contract that reaches Gardner territory, but it's believable that his deal should be near the top 10. Gardner's new figure only raises that floor for Bland.

There is no doubt that Smith deserves to be much higher on a list of the highest-paid guards, and that floor was raised Tuesday as well.

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the buzzer on the franchise tag deadline by signing Pro-Bowl guard Trey Smith to a four-year, $94 million extension - you guessed it, the largest contract for an offensive guard in NFL history.

This is good for DaRon and Tyler's pocket books down the line, but terrifying for Jerry Jones'.

Dallas is already prepared to fork over a $40 million APY for Parsons (which is top of that market, too) and Aubrey may have out-performed all of his teammates last season, rightfully earning him for of a top-one value consideration.

As productive as he's been, Bland's place in this group may be perceived as the least-valuable piece in this difficulty-to-construct puzzle for the Cowboys' future cap. But with the cornerback depth still in flux, the need for him is extremely high. Smith is also a major piece to retain as the heir to retired Zack Martin on a young offensive line. And for that matter, so do Parsons and Aubrey as two superstars in their disciplines.

It's a daunting task thinking about paying each of them their deserved amount. Even still, we assume - and hope - that Jerry is aiming to make it all work. Just on his own schedule, of course.

As with all contracts, the longer a team waits to get something done, the more the top-end value will increase once other teams go into action.

The Cowboys' front office - as they were likely kicking back on their pre-camp rest - were hit with that rude awakening Tuesday.

And that will continue until Jerry is stops favoring watching the leaves fall and starts working when others around the league do.