Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is already one of the highest-paid NFL players in 2024 and coming off an MVP-caliber season last year, owner Jerry Jones will reportedly need to be prepared to pay a much higher price in the next deal.
The Cowboys have run into trouble during negotiations with Prescott in the past. When he was first eligible for NFL free agency in 2020, Dallas placed the $31.4 million franchise tag on him. There were opportunities previously to sign him to a contract extension worth around $30 million annually, but Dallas’ hard-line stance in negotiations led to him playing on the tag.
- Dak Prescott contract: $59.455 million cap hit in 2024, 2025 NFL free agent
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One year later, Prescott was franchise tagged again this time at a cost of $37.69 million guaranteed. However, the two sides eventually agreed to a four-year, $160 million deal that carried a $40 million annual salary. Now headed into the last season of his deal, Dallas is on track to repeat history.
The Cowboys managed to lower Prescott’s cap hit this season from $59.455 million to $55.455 million thanks to a contract restructure. However, the Pro Bowl quarterback still has one of the largest cap hits in the NFL and controls his future in a contract year.
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- Dak Prescott stats: 105.9 QB rating, 69.5% completion rate, 36-9 TD-INT, 4,516 passing yards
On the latest Yahoo Sports’ Inside Coverage podcast, NFL reporter Charles Robinson shed light on what it will likely cost Dallas to extend Prescott regardless of whether a deal happens this year or next offseason.
“When he does the extension, it’s hard for me to see him not being at the top of the quarterback pile once again…You just have to beat the best deal that’s currently on the market. You’re not going to gap it and push it to 60 (million per year), unless you want to piss people off
Charles Robinson on the looming Dak Prescott contract extension for the Dallas Cowboys
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Why the Dallas Cowboys don’t have leverage in contract negotiations
Dak Prescott reset the quarterback market the last time he went through this process with the Cowboys. After being franchise-tagged twice, Dallas was put in a position where it effectively either had to lose Prescott to the open market or tag him for a third consecutive year with a 144 percent raise, which isn’t done in the NFL.
Because of the leverage Prescott had in negotiations, he received a no-tag clause and a no-trade clause in his current deal. Not only that, Dallas would be left with a $40.46 million void total left on its books in 2025 if he doesn’t sign a new contract.
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If Prescott’s contract expires without an extension signed, Dallas can’t prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. Considering Kirk Cousins landed a four-year deal worth $45 million annually entering his age-36 season as he rehabs a torn Achilles, Prescott would be well-positioned to surpass that easily. With the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL making $55 million annually, Prescott would easily be able to top that in a free-agent bidding war among teams in 2025.
Because of that leverage, he controls the power in negotiations with Dallas and if they lose him with NFL teams already low on the 2025 quarterback class, Jones and the Cowboys would risk falling into quarterback purgatory. That’s why Prescott will likely be signed to an extension before March 2025.
