The Dallas Cowboys will reportedly prioritize reaching a contract extension with quarterback Dak Prescott before linebacker Micah Parsons and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said Friday on SportsCenter.
“You’ve got Dak Prescott. The Cowboys have a world of problems here financially with three players they have to sign—Micah Parsons, CeeDee Lamb as well—but the feeling around the league and sources I’ve talked to is that they want to start with Dak,” Fowler said. “They’ve put it on the table with Dak’s people that ‘Hey look, you’re a priority. We want to try to get something done.’ As far as hard dollars, not a lot of progress yet. I would describe their efforts so far as passive.”
Prescott, 30, will be entering the final year of his four-year, $160 million contract in 2024 and will be a free agent next offseason if the Cowboys do not give him an extension before then.
Dallas exercised Parsons’ $21.3 million option on his contract, keeping him around for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The Cowboys did the same for Lamb ahead of the 2023 season, so he will be a free agent after this year.
Dallas has a little more breathing room when it comes to Parsons as he won’t be a free agent until 2026, but it still makes for a tricky task of getting all three signed.
Prioritizing Prescott makes sense given his success in his eighth NFL season. He had the third-most passing yards in the NFL with 4,516 and led the league in passing touchdowns with 36, making a strong case for MVP.
At just 30 years old, Prescott has plenty of good years left and the Cowboys will look to capitalize.
But when Dallas finds an extension for Prescott, it will likely have to be a big one considering the quarterback market over the past few years. The top quarterbacks in the NFL are making more than $50 million per year, including Trevor Lawrence who inked a five-year, $275 million contract this week.
Prescott is clearly one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, and his extension will need to reflect that.
Luckily for Dallas, it will have $67.552 million in cap space next offseason, per Spotrac, meaning the Cowboys should be able to give Prescott a lucrative deal. However, it will likely still be difficult for Dallas to find fitting deals for Prescott, Parsons and Lamb.