The Dallas Cowboys are prepared to use their franchise tag on Dez Bryant if they're unable to agree upon a long-term contract.

Jerry Jones made his comments on 105.3 The Fan Dallas/Fort Worth, confirming what had been widely expected.

"No, we have the franchise -- for sure. Not at all," he replied. "You're talking about Dez? No, we have the franchise alternative -- which I thought everybody was aware of."

Earlier in the interview, Jones had talked about the status of negotiations between the Cowboys and Bryant.

"The key thing is, in agreements -- and these are agreements -- to be trite, two have to agree," Jones said in the interview. "We've just got to come to an agreement there."

Jones added that the Cowboys have "got to really look at how we go forward managing our dollars."

"Every dollar that one player gets is not there for the next player or for another player. And so this thing has to be balanced out," he said.