The Dallas Cowboys recently signed quarterback Dak Prescott on for a 4-year, $240 million contract extension, one that will see him become the highest-paid player in NFL history. Paying out at $60 million per year, the contract guarantees him a $231 million minimum. The 31-year-old has been with the Dallas Cowboys since 2016, when they took him on as a fourth-round pick in the draft.

Speaking on the deal, team owner Jerry Jones was keen to paint the signing as a victory for both sides. “We’re the No. 1 cash-spender on players. The reason I’m saying it in that manner is because there was a critique going on a few weeks back that we weren’t sending money on players, which is amusing and ridiculous,” he said, on an interview on 105.3 The Fan.

This refers, of course, not just to the historic Dak Prescott deal, but also the CeeDee Lamb 4-year, $136 million deal. With a $100 million guarantee and a $38 million signing bonus, this makes Lamb the second highest paid non quarterback in the NFL. Reportedly, the negotiations behind both contracts were longdrawn and frustrating.

But of course, the conclusion shows that the Cowboys were willing to bet big on the star duo. In the 2023 regular season, Prescott led the league in passes completed, with an impressive 410, while Lamb received 135.

Are the Cowboys really the biggest spenders in the league?

While the decision to keep the duo on will be looked at favorably, Jones’ claim that they are the “No. 1 cash-spender on players” is curious. For the current season, it appears to be the Cleveland Browns who are shelling out the most at $334.6 million. The Cowboys are all the way down at 13th place, at $272.6 million. Still a sizable sum, no doubt, and it’s more than some teams like the Bengals or Vikings have spent, but definitely not “No. 1” by any means.

There are a couple different ways to look at this big, provably false boast. First, Jerry Jones is a man out of time, accustomed to an era when fact checking wasn’t available at the push of a button and you could lie faster than the audience could keep up. Second, we truly do live in a post-truth society where it doesn’t matter if what you’re saying is true. It just has to sound true, and be said with enough confidence. Billionaire Jerry Jones certainly isn’t short on confidence.