Stephen A. Smith calls out Jerry Jones’ thrift store spending habits during pursuit of $75,000,000 WR

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith blasted Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for his penny-pinching approach in free agency. His criticism follows reports that the Cowboys expressed interest in wide receiver Cooper Kupp but retreated after learning his price tag.

Smith pointed to Dallas ranking near the bottom of NFL teams in free agent spending this offseason. The Cowboys are 29th in the league, with only three teams spending less.

During his appearance on Wednesday's edition of "First Take," Smith didn't hold back.

"We always have to go the route of cheap when we're talking about Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys because right now they ranked 29th in the NFL this offseason in free agent spending," Smith said. "Only the Eagles, the Bengals and the Ravens have spent less than Philly and Baltimore don't need to because they're Super Bowl contenders."

According to Adam Schefter on "The Adam Schefter Podcast," Cowboys stars Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb personally recruited Kupp.

"Last Thursday, the Cowboys reached out about Cooper Kupp and they were interested," Schefter said on Wednesday. "Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, who I understand it, were on the phone with Cooper Kupp talking to him about the idea of coming to Dallas, and it was floated out there. And then the Cowboys heard the numbers, and they were at numbers that the Cowboys weren't going to get to."

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Stephen A. Smith highlighted how this pattern has become a trademark of the Jerry Jones regime in recent years.

"I'm just saying the word cheap in free agency is synonymous with Jerry Jones at this point," Smith said on Wednesday, via 'First Take.' "It's something that he looks to do, it's something that he looks to do as it pertains to cutting corners."

Cowboys Wire reports the team has maintained a 10-year streak of not giving any outside free agent more than $6 million annually since Greg Hardy received $11 million in 2015. Even Dante Fowler's 2025 contract only reaches $8 million if certain incentives are met.

Pro Football Focus ranks Dallas in the bottom 10 of the league after the first week of free agency. The team's reluctance to spend big reportedly stems from prioritizing an extension for Micah Parsons, although Spotrac shows Dallas still has approximately $41 million in available cap space.

Kupp ultimately signed with the Seattle Seahawks on Friday for three years and $45 million. The Cowboys will likely turn to the NFL draft to find another receiving option to pair with CeeDee Lamb.