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IRVING – Now the fun starts for Stephen Jones.

For the last month or so, the Dallas Cowboys' executive vice president was focused solely on the NFL draft and acquiring suspended cornerback Pacman Jones from Tennessee. It didn't leave a lot of time to sign players who have shown a thing or two on the field to long-term deals.

With the construction of the new stadium, talks about naming rights, bringing events to the new place, his work in real estate and the oil business, Stephen Jones' days are pretty busy.

They are sure to get busier with the team hoping to sign running back Marion Barber, cornerback Terence Newman, safety Ken Hamlin, defensive end Chris Canty and possibly outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware to new deals.

The Cowboys have about $3.5 million worth of salary cap room, but that does not take into account the rookie pool needed to sign the team's six draft picks. They can create more space by restructuring some contracts (Tony Romo) or by cutting players, although none of the big-money players are in danger of that.

"Terence is a guy we want here. Period," Jones said. "Marion Barber is a guy we want here. Period. Kenny Hamlin is a guy we want here. Period. It's a question of resources."

The Cowboys are in the beginning stages of discussions with Drew Rosenhaus regarding Barber's future. Canty, Newman and Hamlin have expiring contracts after this season. Ware has two more years.

The Cowboys have tendered Barber ($2.5 million) and Canty ($2 million) offers as restricted free agents. Hamlin was named the franchise player and will earn $4.396 million under the tender.

"On all the guys we want to work with, we have something in place if we agree to disagree," Jones said. "They can sign the tenders. They can play with what they're under contract for. Or we can try to figure out a way to do the right thing."

With the deal running back Michael Turner signed with Atlanta (six years, $34.5 million), the Cowboys believe they have a solid feel for where Barber should come in. Cornerback Marcus Trufant's contract in Seattle (six years, $50.2 million) has some relevancy to talks about Newman. The numbers thrown at safeties Gibril Wilson (six years, $39 million) and Madieu Williams (six years, $33.75 million), however, likely make the Hamlin talks the most difficult because Hamlin is more accomplished.

"A lot of this is timing," Jones said. "At the end of the day, you have to measure how many resources you have. But Kenny Hamlin is important to this team, and we want him on this team."

Complicating matters is the future of the collective bargaining agreement. If the owners opt out this fall, as expected, then next year is the final season of the salary cap and 2010 would be uncapped. That would create challenges in talks relative to incentives and escalators. Those challenges are not insurmountable, however, and the Cowboys are among the most creative teams in the NFL regarding the salary cap.

"You've got to get through a couple of years here where this is going to be tight until everything works out," Jones said. "It's not just weathering that storm, it's even weathering it in the future."