Dak Prescott had previously said he would not set a deadline on a Cowboys extension. While Jerry Jones subsequently offered that the team expected to have Prescott on the 2025 roster, the owner’s timeline may have rankled his longtime quarterback.
Jones said the team was unlikely to have a Dak deal done by Week 1, going so far as to say the team does not need to complete one by that point. It is rather bold for Jones, given the leverage Prescott possesses, to remain confident Prescott will be the team’s 2025 starter when the Cowboys can only keep him off the market via an extension. The franchise tag, based on Prescott effectively winning the sides’ first negotiation, has long been off the table. 
When asked about Jones’ comments, Prescott said (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota) he “stopped listening to things [Jones] says to the media a long time ago. It doesn’t really hold weight with me.” Though, Prescott did seem to take issue with part of Jones’ assessment. When asked if he would like a deal by Week 1, Prescott replied (via the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins), “I think it says a lot if it is or if it isn’t.”
To be clear, Prescott continued his refrain of staying out of negotiations and insisting he is indifferent on whether a deal comes to pass before next Sunday’s opener in Cleveland. But talks appear unlikely to produce any resolution at this point. Negotiations have continued throughout the summer, ESPN’s Todd Archer confirms. Those efforts do not have the parties on the verge of an agreement, he adds.
Interestingly, Prescott noted (via Archer) that the matter of whether or not talks continue into the regular season is up to Jones and agent Todd France to decide, not him. Earlier this month, the 2023 MVP runner-up noted he is on board with extension negotiations taking place during the fall, although his role in any talks which occur at that point will no doubt be limited with the season taking place. Waiting until the spring would add further pressure with a free agent departure becoming a distinct possibility.
“When you look at a situation, you’ve also got to weigh, ‘OK, what are the consequences of the other side of the coin?'” Jones said when addressing the Prescott case. “And so Dak’s situation right now for me, from my mirror, has more to do with our situation than it does with the merits of Dak Prescott being the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.”
Even with wideout CeeDee Lamb‘s deal now on the books, two key questions remain for Dallas from a financial standpoint. Prescott and edge rusher Micah Parsons are in contention to top their respective markets on their next contracts, and affording both (in addition to Lamb’s $34MM AAV) will be challenging. Since Parsons has two years left on his rookie deal, his situation is on track to remain unsettled until next offseason. For Prescott, meanwhile, plenty of progress will still need to be made — before or after Week 1 — for an agreement to emerge.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
If two guys ever deserved an award for absurd posturing it’s Jerry and Dak.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dak left to earn his next contract this year. Make or break year for him and his coach.
Jones would really like to retain, but if Dak prices himself out of Dallas, the Cowboys simply won’t be able to afford him. Lamb’s deal is already on the books, and Parsons is going to set a record for non QBs in all likelihood. I personally would have traded Lamb, simply due to comparative positional value in relation to the quarterback, but if Dak wants $60 million or more, he’s just not going to affordable.
No matter what we think of him as a player, you can’t just find franchise quarterbacks reliably enough to discard him. So the Cowboys have to try (even if they made this harder on themselves by trying to anticipate a hypothetical salary cap shrink). With that said, this is simply about the numbers. If Prescott wants to stay in Dallas with his other top end earners, he’s going to have to make some decisions here soon.
Dak isn’t a “franchise qb”. That term is so overused it’s almost meaningless now. Dak can’t win a big game. He does good during meaningless games, he will keep the record positive, but he’s not the guy who’s going to win you the big games.
Soo winning TWO playoff games weren’t Big games???
And losing to SF Twice(Best D in Football)
And Farve Twice is “Can’t win a big game”???
Just trying to make sense out of ur Nonsense….
Okay, who is a franchise QB? Rescott’s done everything you could ask if a QB as an individual player. He’s started for the Cowboys for years. He’s posted good stats, he has great metrics, and he has a great a record. It’s a team’s job to win “big” games, not an individual player’s, and there less than five quarterbacks right now who have won more than Prescott has as a starter.
Look, I’m under no delusion that he has many areas to improve, but to claim that Prescott hasn’t been a franchise QB is simply not true.
Signing CeeDee first is a smart move by JJ…it lets Dak know that Jerry is serious about winning and keeping his best WR for 4-5 more years…soo Dak knows if he signs with Dallas he has his guy with him.,.
Also it allows Dallas to have a “Plan B” if Dak prices himself out of Dallas…
If Dak walks Dallas can then trade Parsons for a couple of number 1 picks and a player or two…
And with those picks go after their next QB…
Sign CeeDee first..
Deal with Dak second..
And Decide on Parsons Third depending on what Dak Does…
Say what you want about JJ but he’s No Dummy!!!
Jones is no GM either, though he thinks he is. He should have already locked up Lamb and Parsons. Prescott will lose in the playoffs, then Jerry will have to decide if he can tolerate Belichick as a replacement for McCarthy? Doubtful though …
It’s clear Jerry does not consider Dak a top of the market QB so he’s not paying top of the market money. Dak will need to get his money from another team in 2025. I’d wager it will be the Raiders or the Giants. I think Jerry is fine with that.
I don’t think any team will make Dak the top paid QB unless they are convinced he is the missing piece to them winning a championship. That disqualifies the Raiders and Giants who need help in many other areas as well. Dak is 31 so he doesn’t have much appeal to rebuilding teams either (since they would rather go with a guy on a rookie deal). I think Jerry and Dak are stuck with each other with Jerry simply looking for some way to save face after totally botching things.
Dak is a solid player – but his ceiling has been reached. That might be worth paying for if you don’t have time to find an alternative, as you never know what will happen once the playoffs begin.
Given their roster, however, my own feeling is they could win the same number of games with someone like Tannehill.
Odd how this is viewed by some. JJ says: “Why pay 55+ million to a player who fails to win SBs?” If he produces, he gets paid in DAL. If he fails, yet again he’s looking for a team that excepts less.
LMAO. I love to see this on “America’s Team”. You sign Lamb, Dak and Parsons to long term deals, you are going to have absolutely nothing around them and they will sink year by year. There’s only so many of Jerry’s millions to go around, and when you give 3 of your 53 players 35%-45% of your cap, it will get ugly as hell quick. Going to be interesting to watch this sh!t show progress.
I think its game theory for Jerry. He has a win win. Makes little sense to sign him now. If Dak shines in the playoffs this year and takes them deep or to a Bowl or wins a Bowl, then he is worth it. Either they do sign him to an extension after that or they can just be happy that after so many years they accomplished what they were hoping for. Even if they lost him, its a win of sorts. If Dak has a repeat of his first half GB performance and some other playoff games or big games where he did not shine, then Jerry gets to feel good and say I made the right call. He was not worth paying that.
I think its just gotten to the point where the next FA up gets the most money thing does not work as much as it used to. For this money Mahomes is worth it. Maybe a few others. Some may be worth overpaying a little cause the alternatives are not there.
If Dak does not shine in the postseason this year, think it makes sense to move on even if for a year or two its not an incredible replacement. Maybe whoever Pittsburgh does not keep. Someone in the draft. Probably better for them to have a Geno Smith type QB at a much cheaper price than Dak at 60M, limiting who else they can add.
Every qb but Mahomes choked in playoffs last year . Only one champion every year . Love got beat by sf but no it was kicker sf loses Super Bowl not Purdy’s fault defense fault . Cowboys could lose and Dak throw 500 yds and 5 td and Dak’s fault can’t win big game . Dan Marino win any Super Bowl’s?