The Dallas Cowboys have spent significant money on a free agent outside the organization. That is seldom uttered around these parts, but Jerry Jones has delivered on his promise.
What's even more stunning is that the Cowboys' first signing was a safety, inking former Cardinals starter Jalen Thompson to a three-year, $33 million deal that can reach $36 million. It's a trend-breaking signing if there ever was one, and not just because of the position Thompson plays.
If Thompson earns the $36 million max value through incentives, he'll end up making $12 million a year. At that point, it would surpass Greg Hardy's infamous one-year, $11.3 million deal way back in 2025 as the richest contract for an external free agent in franchise history in terms of annual average value, per Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Jalen Thompson could be the Dallas Cowboys' biggest free agency signing ever
Even if Thompson doesn't earn those incentives, he's the first external free agent the Cowboys have signed for more than $6 million since Gerald McCoy in 2020 (h/t Connor Livesay). Six years is a really long time. A drought that long should not be associated with one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world.
Brandon Carr has become the poster child for Dallas' last “big” free agency investment, but Thompson's annual average value is higher even if his deal never reaches the $36 million maximum.
In 2012, Carr inked a five-year, $50.1 million contract with Dallas that included $25.5 million guaranteed. That deal did not age well, and the Cowboys have been gun-shy ever since.
While there is something to be said for showing restraint on the open market, the Joneses' strategy of shopping on the margins has actively hurt the team's chances of winning. No team should rely on free agency to build a contender, but even the league's best drafting teams have to spend occasionally. The draft is simply too much of a crapshoot to depend on exclusively.
After years of begging, they are finally operating with a sense of normalcy. That shouldn't be celebrated, but March has been boring for so long that the Thompson news hit the fan base like a shot of adrenaline.
The streak is finally over.