The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott still don’t have a deal to keep the quarterback with the franchise past the 2024 season.
But there is an effort to get something done before Sunday’s season opener against the Cleveland Browns.
And, per a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations, progress has been made during talks with Prescott and the Cowboys and a deal is closer than it has been.
What’s also true, per the source, is the length of the deal is not a sticking point in negotiations, as has been reported. They are on the same page in terms of length.
But the fact remains a deal has yet to be agreed upon.
And the clock is ticking for one to get consummated before the beginning of the season, which has become Prescott’s arbitrary line of demarcation.
“I think it says a lot if it is or isn’t,” Prescott said last week. “When asked what it says if it isn’t, Prescott said “just how people feel.”
Prescott is in the final year the four-year, $160 million contract he signed before the 2021 season.
Prescott wants to remain with the Cowboys. And owner Jerry Jones has said he wants to keep Prescott in a Cowboys uniform for years to come.
But Prescott holds all the cards.
He has a no-trade clause and a no-franchise tag clause in his current deal.
And per market trades, he could command $60 million or more as a free agent in March.
So there is no question that whenever Prescott signs a new deal he will top Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, Green Bay’s Jordan Love and Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence as the highest paid player in NFL history.
So if the Cowboys want to get something done and truly understand it will likely come at a record price, what is the hold up?
While Prescott has won just two playoff games in eight seasons as Cowboys quarterback, he is coming off the best season of his career, leading the NFL in touchdown passes and finishing second in NFL MVP balloting in 2023.
And he his poised to be even better in a second year with coach Mike McCarthy calling plays.
It was Jones who said last week in regards to Prescott, “You could easily say, if you haven’t seen it by now, you haven’t seen it. I’m such a fan of Dak. And I appreciate all of the great things that we all know are there. And I appreciate his work ethic probably more than anything. I can’t tell you how proud I am that we’ve got him this year to start this campaign. … Dak’s situation right now for me has more to do with our situation than it does with the merits of Dak Prescott being the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.”
When it comes to the Cowboys situation, Jones has literally tied himself up on knots trying to explain how hard it is to get the deal.
It’s to the point where he seemingly fooling himself.
Consider this conversation regarding a Prescott deal in training camp.
“Part of our challenge with Dak is that if we get him signed, we will be the first team to ever go into. and I say the first but that’s pretty big statement. We will be the rare team that will go into having paid the quarterback his rookie season, plus two other contract times, a premium quarterback.
Nobody’s done that, they’ve moved on, Brady, they’ve moved on. Brady hasn’t gotten two contracts. Brady did not play two contracts. I don’t think he played two contracts. That’s why he’s made the deal he made with Tampa.”
The Patriots signed the seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback to eight extensions after his rookie deal before he joined the Tampa Buccaneers in free agency.
Jones questioned his own facts but continued down that path.
“I could be wrong,” Jones said.” I don’t know of anybody that has gone back to back on a contract where you had to go borrow the money to get the first one and still owe a bunch of the money on the first one right before you did the second one. I don’t know. I’d better get clear that, just to be accurate.”
And while Brady never got big money on his contracts, Aaron Rodgers certainly did while signing four extensions with the Green Bay Packers after his rookie deal before signing with New York Jets.
And it’s one reason Prescott is fed up with the talk.
“I stopped, honestly, listening to things (Jerry Jones) says to the media a long time ago,” Prescott said last week. “It doesn’t really hold weight with me.”
Jones has also consistently said he wants to get a deal done with Prescott and believes one will get done.
The Cowboys are in an untenable situation.
They have no quarterback under contract for 2025.
And if they don’t sign him to a deal, he will count $40 million against the cap in dead money. And they still will have to sign two or three quarterbacks on the roster to replace him at a cost of $10-20 million with no chance of getting a better player who will give them to win in the playoffs.
The Cowboys simply don’t have a Plan B beyond signing Prescott.
Not doing it now and waiting until after the season, forcing him to risk injury and continued national scorn to get paid again, is akin to playing with fire.
Cowboys receiver Brandin Cooks has played with Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady and Drew Brews during his 11-year career and has often compared Prescott to them in terms of his play and leadership.
He said the criticism Prescott gets for not having more success in the playoffs is unwarranted.
“It’s blasphemy. It’s unbelievable,” Cooks said. “The guy shows up every year, year in and year out. Putting up numbers, leading his team. He can’t do it all by himself. A lot of those great quarterbacks that I’ve been with, Tom (Brady) and Drew (Brees), don’t get me wrong, they won a lot of games, won a lot of Super Bowls, but they had a lot of help around them as well, right?
“Us players around (Dak) also got to step up. So when we hear that disrespect, I take that personally and as his teammates we should take that personally, because at the end of the day, somebody has got to be able to help him get over that hump so we can go win one.”
If Jones and the Cowboys are waiting for Prescott to win one then their wait may come unfulfilled.
As Prescott said, not doing one one says how you feel.
It likely will impact how Prescott feels if he is forced to head into free agency.
The Cowboys should beware of that.
“Let him go if you want to,” a forewarning Cooks said and walked away.
