Dallas Cowboys news this summer raised significant concerns regarding the futures of wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott with the franchise. Now, hours after Lamb signed his record-breaking extension, there’s promising Cowboys news on contract talks with Prescott.
The Cowboys certainly put themselves in a difficult spot this summer. With NFL revenue skyrocketing in recent years, teams spent more than $1 billion in salary commitments over the next five seasons on extensions for quarterbacks and wide receivers alone.
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- Dak Prescott stats (Pro Football Reference): 12-5 record, 105.9 QB rating, 69.5 percent completion rate, 36-9 TD-INT, 4,516 passing yards, 6.1 percent touchdown rate, 7.7 yards per attempt
Extensions meant the average cost of keeping Prescott and Lamb exploded, with salaries for the highest paid NFL players rocketing up by more than $10 million annually at each position. With each deal that was signed, the cost increased for Dallas.
Finally, Lamb’s holdout from training camp drew to a close on Monday with the team signing him to one of the richest deals ever for a wide receiver. While the $34 million average annual salary is a high price to pay for a wideout, it’s only a fraction of what the team will need to pay Prescott. However, they appear willing to do it.
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- Dak Prescott contract (Spotrac): $55.455 million cap hit in 2024, NFL free agent in 2025
On the latest episode of Scoop City, hosted by Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the senior NFL insider reported that negotiations between the Cowboys and Prescott are going “really well” right now. While the two sides aren’t negotiating daily heading into the regular season and there’s no timeline for a deal, progress is being made on a new extension.
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The consensus from NFL rumors this offseason is that an extension of Prescott could approach the $60 million average annual salary mark. There’s a widespread belief around the league that if Prescott hits NFL free agency, he’ll receive multiple contract offers worth well north of $60 million per season, so the Cowboys have to get near that figure.
- Dallas Cowboys cap space 2025 (OverTheCap): $64.489 million
Signing Prescott to a multi-year extension is critical for Dallas. Under his current deal, he holds a no-trade clause and the team can’t franchise tag him in 2025. Even more damaging, if he leaves, the Cowboys would be on the hook for a $40 million cap charge in 2025 even with Prescott off the roster.
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The other notable Cowboys news from Russini is that there’s no indication of Prescott cutting off contract talks when the regular season begins. That means, that even after the Cowboys schedule kicks off on Sept. 8, the Pro Bowl quarterback will still be willing to negotiate a deal to remain in Dallas long-term.