It’s not yet known whether Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will sign a contract extension ahead of their Week 1 game against the Cleveland Browns.
We have heard mixed reports about Prescott’s status throughout the entire offseason. The reigning NFL MVP runner-up is set to hit free agency after the 2024 campaign. Dallas does not have the ability to place the franchise tag on him, making things a bit more complicated.
It was previously noted that the Cowboys were alright with Prescott playing out the remainder of his deal and testing free agency next spring.
In fact, one report suggested that he could very well leave Dallas after acting as the face of the franchise over the past eight seasons.
We now have a bit more information on this courtesy of ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (h/t Bleacher Report). While contract talks have not advanced a great deal this offseason, Dallas would like to extend Prescott before he ultimately hits free agency. There is also a market factor in play here.
“Here’s a little bit of a wrinkle. You still have Tua Tagovailoa in Miami who needs to get a deal done. You still have Jordan Love in Green Bay who needs to get a deal done,” Fowler reported. “Dak Prescott has the most leverage of those three, so he very well could be waiting for those two to go first and then he bats clean up with a huge deal that could be a market resetter.”
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What a Dak Prescott contract extension would look like
It had been noted multiple times in the past that Prescott is likely looking at north of $60 million annually on a new contract. That would make him the highest-paid NFL player in history.
As Fowler suggested, Prescott has all of the leverage here. He boasts a no-trade clause. Dallas can’t place the franchise tag on the star quarterback. The team pretty much needs to give in to what Prescott and his team is demanding in order to get this settled ahead of next March.
- Dak Prescott stats (2023): 70% completion, 4,516 yards, 36 TD, 9 INT, 105.9 QB rating
The other issue here is rather obvious. Do the Cowboys have a better option than Prescott? Internally, that’s obviously not the case.
As for free agency or the trade block, there is not a single signal caller likely to be available that can provide what Prescott does for the Cowboys.