Dear Jerry Jones, please, just stop lying to Cowboys Nation

That puts the Cowboys behind the second-least spending team, the Los Angeles Chargers, by a difference greater than $28 million. And while I'm pretty sure your comeback is about to be somewhere along the lines of "well, we're paying Dak," may I point out Dallas has consistently been one of the teams spending the least amount of cash, including having the fourth lowest payroll right now, per Over the Cap's Jason Fitzgerald? 

Let's focus on Smith for a moment, considering you compared the situation to losing DeMarcus Ware back in 2013 at the NFL owner meetings. Why not pay him? 

"We can’t afford that," you said to reporters via Dallas Morning News. “If he makes all of these incentives and things like that, we would be really wrecked.”

Except that's not really the case? Wrecked how? You can't be talking about the salary cap. While the Cowboys currently have the fourth-lowest cap space at $5.5 million, simple restructures or cap conversions for a handful of players could immediately open up over $20 million in cap space. And that's without including Dak Prescott, whose deal you have restructured to open up $4 million when it could've opened around $20 million as well. Not to mention, a contract extension could significantly bring down Dak's cap hit in 2024. 

Let's go one step further. The Miami Dolphins signed DE Shaquil Barrett on a one-year deal worth up to $9 million with $6.75 million guaranteed. Do you know what the cap hit is for Barrett in 2024? Under $3 million. Let's use another example, Jalen Hurts averages much more than Dak per year at $52 million in average value. His salary cap hit for 2024 is under $15 million. 

And I know you know all this. That you can manipulate the salary cap in countless ways to make things work when you want to. That contending teams kick the can down the road all the time. That you can spend the cash and that it wouldn't hurt the franchise. That the real reason why there's not more aggression in free agency is simply because y'all don't want it to be. 

But that wouldn't sound great in front of a mic, so instead lies are directed at fans, many of whom actually believe it and later take aim at the QB for taking all of the team's money.  

And here's the thing, if you, Jerry (and Stephen, who we both know is the kid who runs the business these days) would come out and tell the world you didn't think Tyron had it in him anymore, that would be better. That would at least show there's a legit thought process instead of claiming that if he hits incentives it would be a bad thing when all it means is that you have a future Hall of Famer on the field, which would make the team much, much better.

The same goes for negotiations with Dak. You told reporters the Cowboys quarterback is one of the few that will win the Super Bowl. Yet you're waiting out an extension at the risk of not being able to open up a big chunk of cap space and risking a holdout at the most important position in the sport? 

It's not like you're telling the world you're not sure Prescott is the right man to lead the franchise, which even if wrong, would still show a plan that makes sense.

Instead, it seems like the Cowboys aren't going all in while also not going into a rebuild effort. They're sitting somewhere in the middle to avoid going all in and losing the bet, which could mean a step backward for a franchise known for making headlines and staying relevant. That's likely where the organization's goals stop from a business standpoint, which Joey Ickes masterfully made clear in a Twitter/X thread.

So the organization is scared to push the chips to the center of the table and shake things up because of the risk of the brand taking a hit. Well, at least say that. But this whole thing about lying about every little thing is getting exhausting. 

If Stephen will treat the job as a hobby going on promotional Kid Rock events and South by Southwest festivals during the first week of NFL free agency, so be it. Just don't have him come out and say his favorite line on talent acquisition being a 365 days a year thing. 

It's been three decades of not making it past the Divisional Round. Fans are getting used to it. Fans have accepted you won't change your ways as a front office. But can we please stop the lying? Cowboys Nation can only take so much.