No wonder Jerry Jones doesn't want to talk about extending cornerback Mike Jenkins just yet. The potential cost of his second contract could be prohibitive.
In the last year, the Cowboys have locked up cornerbacks Brandon Carr and Orlando Scandrick for the next five seasons, agreeing to deals for more than $75 million, including roughly $35 million guaranteed.
Jenkins, like Carr and Scandrick, has four NFL seasons under his belt. But unlike the two former fifth-round picks, he comes with a first-round pedigree and has made a Pro Bowl, albeit as an alternate in 2009. Both those players were paid on upside, in large part. Though Jenkins is a couple years older, at 28, he's still got good football ahead of him following a bounce-back season in 2011.
So what's the going rate for a guy like Mike Jenkins?
His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, will draw comparisons to Cortland Finnegan, another one-time Pro Bowl player who is actually a year older than Jenkins. Finnegan just scored a five-year, $50 million deal of his own with St. Louis.
So, five years, $50 million for Finnegan, and five years, $50 million for Carr. Last year, it was five years and $48.75 million for Jonathan Joseph in Houston.
It's pretty obvious what the Cowboys will have to pay to keep Jenkins.
Considering the huge percentage of their salary cap that would be required to have this year's top three corners in place long-term, the Cowboys will have to seriously consider finding themselves some cost-effective alternatives in the draft.
