5:54pm: The Cowboys are not closing the door on a Prescott extension, per Nick Harris of the team’s website. The team would not shut down talks during the season, though it remains to be seen if Prescott would do so. Nothing is on the team’s immediate radar, and past negotiations have produced deadline failures (2020) and successes (2021). This will obviously be a central storyline in the offseason months to come.
12:47pm: The last time the Cowboys and Dak Prescott engaged in extension talks, the process covered nearly two full offseasons and dragged into mid-March of a third. Long expected to take place this year, Prescott’s second round of negotiations are not yet off the ground.
Dallas restructured its ninth-year quarterback’s contract recently, dropping his cap number from $59MM to $55.5MM. The new number would still smash an NFL record, as no player has gone into a season with a cap number higher than $45MM. An extension would be the easiest way for the Cowboys to reduce that figure now, but no deal is imminent.
The sides have reached an understanding regarding this situation, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who notes the Cowboys have not made an offer. Although extension talks began recently, the team does not appear the team is planning to submit one anytime soon.
Prescott’s contract expires after the 2024 season, and with the Cowboys not being able to use the franchise tag on their QB in 2025, free agency (and a big dead money bill) would stand to enter this equation if the former Offensive Rookie of the Year is unsigned. As of now, that prospect seems closer to reality than it once did.
The 30-year-old QB is no stranger to playing on expiring contracts. He played out his rookie deal in 2019 and played the 2020 season on the franchise tag. Despite suffering a season-ending ankle injury that year, the standout passer scored player-friendly terms from a Cowboys team that prefers longer-running extensions. Prescott signed a four-year, $160MM deal just before the Cowboys would have had to tag him a second time to prevent a 2021 free agency exit.
That deal wrapped a lengthy saga, which had begun when the QB became extension-eligible in 2019, but set the stage for another battle. As part of that 2021 extension, the Cowboys procedurally tagged Prescott; this took a 2025 tag off the table.
Jerry Jones would prefer his QB accept a team-friendlier contract this time around. This topic came up during Dallas’ previous Prescott talks, but the team eventually caved to its signal-caller’s demands. Prescott’s price steadily climbed before reaching that $40MM-AAV point. With the market now well beyond $50MM per year, Prescott has the leverage to command a deal in that neighborhood — perhaps a record-setting accord.
“As you address a player like Dak, you take away from his supporting cast,” Jones said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill. “That’s not a sales job. Everybody realizes, if you get the bucks, someone else who can help you win doesn’t. That’s factual.”
Painting Prescott to be on the greedy side certainly could be a negotiating tactic on Jones’ part, as Patrick Mahomes‘ 10-year extension has benefited the Chiefs. But other QBs have not followed Mahomes’ lead. And the Cowboys will be battling uphill if they push this process toward the season. The Browns have not yet restructured Deshaun Watson‘s deal a second time; his fully guaranteed contract has the team set to carry a record-shattering $63.9MM cap number otherwise. If the deal is restructured, Prescott’s cap number would top the league. But the AFC North team did restructure its QB’s deal last year. Watson is also signed through 2026. Like Kirk Cousins, tagged twice in Washington, Prescott would have a clear path to free agency if no extension came about.
The Vikings are eating $28.5MM in dead cap this year; because of the recent restructure, the Cowboys would take on $40.5MM in dead money if they cannot extend Prescott before the 2025 league year. Due to his age and accomplishments, Prescott would stand to far outdo Cousins on the open market. The prospect of finding a suitable replacement also a rather notable part of this equation.
The Cowboys acquired Trey Lance via trade last year, but the ex-49ers No. 3 overall pick’s contract expires after this coming season. Again armed with a quality roster, Prescott will — barring injury — likely have Dallas in playoff contention, which would not give the team favorable draft real estate in 2025. While it would be easier to extend CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons with Prescott out of the picture, his 2025 dead money would make it more difficult to carry a top-market Lamb contract and a Parsons fifth-year option on the books next year.
While it would certainly be noteworthy if the Cowboys were serious about letting Prescott play out his contract, the leverage being skewed toward the QB make it premature to indicate Dallas is done negotiating.
Over paid for a QB that chokes in pressure games and having a hard time making the playoffs.
The Pokes made the playoffs 5 times in Dak’s 8 years — and in 4 of those years they won the NFC East.
How many playoff wins? Can’t get out of the divisional round. Dak is a good QB..but he is not worth 50MM a year.
Yeah, and the entire time he’s had a very solid OL, receivers and weapons, and a running game, yet it has equated to virtually no playoff success whatsoever.
Dak is severely overpaid, but Dallas has also backed themselves up against a wall and put themselves in that situation without any leverage whatsoever YET AGAIN!!
It’s possible they’ll get a long-term deal worked out, and it’ll benefit both Dak and the Cowboys. It is just really difficult to see any scenario where Dallas does not have to overpay Dak to keep him once more.
Maybe if they did a better job talking up Trey Lance, publicly acknowledging how inpressed they are with his ability to learn the offense, his talents, etc., and if they would have extended him for an extra year or two, then maybe it might be a different story..
Here comes Quinn Ewers or Shadeur Sanders 2025!!!
The Cowboys have Trey Lance a NFL player around the same age of the players mentioned above- but with NFL experience. There is no need to draft a Ewers or a Sanders. Especially since Lance will be competing for QB2
BAHUMBUG
Ewers and Sanders both have more experience actually playing QB and I don’t think Lance’s 100 passes in the NFL supercedes that.
@rct— this guy gets it!!
Good, at this point might as well let him play out the season and see what happens. It sucks that if he leaves they won’t get any compensation (unless they trade him in the middle of the season, which they won’t), but this is the bed Jerry and Stephen made.
Easy to consume, hard to digest words
We are in a down decade for QB’s, I don’t see many GM’s leaving Dak on the dock in these past years. It is what it is, Cowboys have done a pretty good job {lately} with cap and draft outside Dak.
A Sophie’s choice conundrum the whole way
Actually, they’d likely receive a 3rd Round compensation pick for Dak signing a big deal elsewhere…
But, that isn’t very much in the grand scheme of things.
This has just been a textbook, colossal #$%@ up by the Cowboys from the time they began negotiations leading up to Dak’s second contract. They’ve been paying for it ever since, and they haven’t done anything to provide themselves with any leverage once again, royally setting themselves up for another huge overpay…
Good. Let him walk after losing in the 1st round again.
IMHO I rather wait until after the 2024 season to extend or not to extend Dak. After 8 seasons in Dallas and a 2-5 playoff record. Dak is what he is. Jerry is planning IMHO for the long term this time around.
I have several friends who are octogenarians like Jerry and I don’t think any of them are planning for the long term…lol.
Oops. Meant *shot* not *sh**t* in previous post. Dolt.
Having a player count as dead money when they leave via free agency, meaning that their contract has expired, is ridiculous.
Their contract expired and they left on their own accord. Why is the team (any team) being punished for that?
Well you can’t defer cap money to future years without it actually sticking, regardless if the player is there. Risky times doing that..but a lot of teams do it…
The contract didn’t expire, it was voided which is not the same for cap purposes.
What do you reckon the trade value for Prescott is? Teams have paid a king’s ransom for Wilson and Watson, and Zak’s as good as they are.
Probably not quite as strong as the Hershel Walker trade was, but to your point, someone would pay a king’s ransom
He has a no trade clause. Doesn’t matter.
I wasn’t aware. But still, I assume that a new contract would have to be part of the deal for the receiving team.
Just for fun again, what is the Bears #1/1 worth in comparison to Prescott?
If you are the Cowboys, why would you even consider it?
I hope they sign him. They’ll never see a championship as long as he’s the QB. And an overpaid one at that.
Jerrah will fold and sign Dak to a massive deal. He always folds in the end and pays through the nose for his guys.
Weirdly feels like the cowboys have a decent amount of leverage in this situation.
Cousins signed for 45 mil. I wonder if the cowboys could get Dak to sign that because he makes so much money off the field from being the Dallas Cowboys QB that he won’t get other places.
Also worth noting Aikman and Romo the last two prominent Cowboys QBs make a ton of money from broadcasting after their playing careers because they were cowboys QBs.
It would be interesting to see because it’s one of the only positions in sports where even if another team offered 10-15 mil more he would actually lose money from leaving.
Smart prove it this year or be gone.
The train wreck that continues to crash with itself.