How doable is actually signing Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons? I realize the $255 million salary cap will go up, but aren't we talking at least $120 million per season to sign all three? If you defer some of that through signing bonuses, the bill eventually comes due either way. Wouldn't over 40% of the cap be taken up by three players. Can a team actually be competitive in that situation? – Jeff Parsons/Amarillo, TX
Nick Eatman: I think we're about to find out because I do think the Cowboys can realistically sign them all. But one of the reasons it has taken so long is because they're trying to figure out how to make it work structurally to fit these guys in at the same time. You're exactly right with your question and you even seem to understand that there are ways to alter the cap and not have it hit at the same time. But you're also right in that the bill eventually comes due and that could be the case next year. I think the Cowboys are banking on the fact that all three of these guys have different situations that can help them structure the deals in a unique way to them. For instance, Dak's deal might not be as long as the other two and therefore they eat more of the cost up front. Also, the Cowboys don't really have to do anything with Micah right now so he's someone who they could wait on, although that might not sit well with him. The answer is yes they can sign them all. The answer is yes it's going to be a challenge. The answer is "we'll see" if this team can be competitive that way. What has to happen for that third question is players step up the way Ferguson did and DaRon Bland did to become emerging superstars on a cheap level. Then again, you have to eventually pay those guys, too.
Kurt Daniels: Can they sign all three? Sure. If the Cowboys truly want to, the salary cap can seemingly always be manipulated to make it work. The question is indeed should they sign all three? Dallas would become the first team in NFL history to have three guys averaging at least $30 million, and with such a high percentage of the salary cap going to such a small percentage of players, it does make you wonder how the Cowboys will be able to fill out the rest of their roster. After all, this isn't the NBA where three stars can carry you to a championship. It would put just that much more pressure on the scouting department to draft well and find bargain-basement free agents to fill in the gaps, a hit-and-miss proposition as we've seen. Remember, the Cowboys kind of went down this road in the late 1990s with the signing of Deion Sanders and new deals for guys like Michael Irvin and later Emmitt Smith. By the end of the decade, their salary cap was wrecked, leaving us to suffer through the early 2000s. Of course, Jerry Jones said not too long ago, "We've got exceptional insight into where the cap is going to be," so maybe we're all making much ado about nothing. Perhaps they can stagger these somehow so that the hit isn't so great. But like many, I worry if they do sign all three, being competitive in the coming years is going to be no easy task.
