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Cowboys Prepared To Make Strong Dak Prescott Offer

June 4th, 2024 at 9:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Plenty of extension candidates and recipients have come through Cowboys headquarters in recent years, as the team has strung together three straight 12-win seasons. But this profiles as a unique offseason for the oft-discussed franchise, as three cornerstone players — Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons — are each extension-eligible.

Both Prescott and Lamb are in contract years; the latter has not shown for minicamp this week. Two seasons remain on Parsons’ deal, via the fifth-year option. Prescott resides in the most interesting situation — due to the terms of his current contract.

Dallas’ QB cannot be franchise-tagged, and a no-trade clause gives the MVP runner-up security on that front as well. As of now, Prescott’s cap number ($55.13MM) trails Deshaun Watson‘s ($63.77MM). Both numbers would shatter an NFL record for a cap figure in-season.

Absent another restructure, the Browns could be ready to take some medicine on their Watson contract. The Cowboys, however, have a clear motivation to complete an extension. Although a report in the spring suggested Dallas was open to having Prescott reach free agency, pushback emerged soon after pointing to the team — as should be expected — having no desire to move to the free agency cliff with their QB. The team is “all in” on a Prescott extension, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler noted during a recent Get Up appearance.

The “all in” phrase has become a bit tiresome when connected to this Cowboys offseason, but the team has made clear it wants to do a third deal with Prescott. Thus far, however, Fowler notes the team has taken a passive approach here. The Cowboys waiting with Lamb has likely cost some money, especially considering the monster guarantees the Vikings gave Justin Jefferson. As more quarterback deals are completed, that will certainly affect Dallas-Dak talks. The sides have been in discussions since March, though it is clear these talks have not reached the serious stage.

As the offseason winds down, the Cowboys will need to operate in a more urgent fashion with their ninth-year QB. They are planning to make a strong offer at some point this summer, Fowler adds. Considering the way Prescott operated during his first negotiation, the numbers associated with these discussions remain a central 2024 NFL storyline. Prescott bounced back from a down 2022, throwing an NFL-most 36 TD passes (compared to just nine INTs) and ranking second in QBR, to boost his market. Though, it would have been strong regardless.

While the 30-year-old passer downplayed his desire for a market-setting contract, the shrewd negotiations that led to his four-year, $160MM extension in March 2021 point have the Cowboys battling uphill. The team’s inability to tag Prescott and a recent restructure inflating the void years-driven penalty to $40.1MM in 2025 dead money leave the former fourth-round pick in the driver’s seat.

How the Cowboys handle this Prescott-Lamb-Parsons situation will be one of the more interesting contract chapters in recent league history. A quarterback on a deal at or near $60MM per year and a wideout on track for a near-Jefferson-level payment would be difficult enough, but Parsons having a clear case — thanks to his accomplishments and the cap increase — to top Nick Bosa‘s defender-record contract by a notable margin creates quite the crunch for the Cowboys, whose depth will be tested should the team indeed go through with extensions for all three.

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