NFL rumors: Dak Prescott, Cowboys haven’t had ‘meaningful’ contract talks

The Cowboys are moving at a snail’s pace with Dak Prescott.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is preparing to enter the final year of his deal, and the two sides apparently have not made much progress in extension talks.

The Cowboys may actually want to get something done before the season, but it seems to be Prescott who is exercising patience, via Todd Archer of ESPN.

There have not been any “meaningful” contract negotiations between Prescott and the Cowboys, which is fairly concerning given that training camp is just around the corner.

Prescott recently stated that he doesn’t play for money, but owner Jerry Jones knows that he will likely have to cough up more than the $55 million annually that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is earning in order to retain him, Archer notes.

The platitudes from Prescott are nice and all, but let’s be real here: money is a significant part of the equation, and if it weren’t, there wouldn’t be this current standoff in Dallas.

Would the Cowboys really move on from Dak Prescott?

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

If the Cowboys are unable to strike a long-term pact with Prescott before the 2024 campaign, it would set the signal-caller up to hit free agency next March.

Dallas may actually be comfortable with that if it means it won’t have to agree to a $60 million-per-year contract with Prescott in the coming months. There is also a chance (and a sizeable one, at that) that no other teams would be willing to pay Prescott that much money in free agency.

If that ends up being the case, the Cowboys could then bring Prescott back on a more team-friendly deal.

Still, Dallas fans must prepare themselves for the possibility of a future without Prescott.

The 30-year-old (who turns 31 in July) is coming off of a spectacular 2023 season in which he led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes to go along with 4,516 yards and just nine interceptions. He finished second in MVP voting as a result. However, Prescott and the Cowboys came up short in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, getting routed by the Green Bay Packers at home.

That loss dropped Prescott’s career playoff record to 2-5, and while that certainly isn’t all his fault, you can be that Dallas will factor that in contract talks.

Of course, the question is if not Prescott, then who?

The Cowboys do have Trey Lance, but it doesn’t seem like they believe in him as a long-term answer. They didn’t select a quarterback in the NFL Draft last month, and they will probably be too good to land a high enough draft pick to land one of the top signal-callers in next year’s class.

Prescott is still relatively young, and his lack of postseason success aside, he has been mostly dependable under center ever since he entered the league in 2016. He did lead the NFL in interceptions in 2022 in spite of playing in just 12 games, but for the most part, Prescott has arguably been a top-10 quarterback in the game.

Right now, this is all posturing. Prescott surely wants to remain in Dallas, and the Cowboys almost definitely want to retain him. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the two parties begin inching closer to a deal as the regular season draws nearer.