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The Dallas Cowboys are getting ready to start the regular season against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. They’re running out of time to sign quarterback Dak Prescott to a long-term contract.
Prescott’s current contract is almost up.
He’s in the final year of a four-year, $160 million deal he signed back in 2021. Negotiations for a new contract have been ongoing throughout the offseason, but no agreement has been reached yet.
After preseason ended, it looked like this might be Prescott’s last year with Dallas. But recently, there have been reports that a new deal could still happen. According to The Athletic’s Diana Russini, the Cowboys are conflicted about the length of the contract.
Cowboys could still sign Prescott before regular season
Clarence Hill of DLLS reported on Thursday that progress has been made and “a deal is closer than it has been.” Hill also mentioned that the team hopes to finalize something before Sunday and disputed claims about concerns over contract length.
In 2023, Prescott had one of his best seasons ever. He led the league in completion percentage (69.5%) and touchdown passes (36). He also posted career highs in passing yards (4,516) and passer rating (105.9). This performance earned him second-team All-Pro honors and he finished second in NFL MVP voting.
The Cowboys haven’t managed Prescott’s contract well, giving him leverage in negotiations. Despite being only the 13th highest-paid quarterback by average annual value, his $55.1 million salary cap hit is the second-highest in the NFL. This large figure restricts the team’s ability to make significant acquisitions in free agency.
His contract includes a no-trade clause and prevents the Cowboys from using the franchise tag on him. If no new deal is reached, Prescott will become a free agent next offseason. Currently, Dallas doesn’t have any quarterbacks under contract for 2025. They tried to gain leverage by using backup Trey Lance, but that experiment didn’t work out.
Without a new deal, Dallas might need to find a new franchise quarterback next offseason.
