Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones does not feel like the team is taking a “risk” by letting Dak Prescott’s contract situation drag out.
Prescott is heading into the final year of the four-year, $160 million deal he signed with the Cowboys in 2021. If Dallas can’t reach an extension with Prescott, he’ll hit free agency next offseason, and his market will be very robust.
The Cowboys would be taking a significant gamble if they allowed Prescott to test free agency but Jones doesn’t consider the lack of an extension before Week 1 as a risk.
“From the time I thought about buying the Cowboys, I frankly have never dwelled on assessing the risk of what we do around here,” Jones said on Wednesday, August 28. “There’s risk involved in everything you do, almost. There’s risk involved, that’s the nature of the game. Sometimes it’s worked out really well. Sometimes, taking those risks will bite you. … I don’t even want to talk about any of the decisions we make with personnel with risk. It’s all risky.”
That’s a very Jerry Jones way of describing the contract negotiations without much clarity. He added that talks with Prescott will “will remain like it’s been.”
Prescott has said previously that he feels confident that his agents and the Cowboys will reach an agreement to keep him in Dallas.
CeeDee Lamb Wants Cowboys to Lock in Dak Prescott
The latest update on Prescott’s contract situation comes a day after CeeDee Lamb pushed the Cowboys’ front office to get something done with his quarterback.
“You look at our numbers together, they’re at top of the charts,” Lamb said on Monday. “I have no doubt that they’re going to get a deal done. We all know I want Dak here. Jerry wants Dak here, too. Let’s just get this under control, kill the speculations.”
Lamb is fresh off figuring out his own contract situation. His four-year, $136 million deal makes him the second-highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Lamb will also receive a $38 million signing bonus and $100 million guaranteed.
The Cowboys’ goal is to lock Prescott in before the start of the year. But Jones doesn’t get a sense that talks will stop when the season starts.
“No, not any indication,” Jones said.
Dak Prescott Has All the Leverage on Cowboys
Prescott has said he’s not willing to take a discount on his next deal. He really has no reason to. As NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport pointed out, Prescott has all the leverage in negotiations.
“Make no mistake, he literally has all the leverage,” Rapoport said on Monday. “The Cowboys would clearly like to get a long-term deal done. If it gets done, he is no doubt going to be the new highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.
“Here are the options. It is either take a deal that resets the quarterback market — something that Dak Prescott is proud of, that his agent is proud of, that the union knows is a great deal. Or just go be the biggest free agent in NFL history. Those are really the options for Dak Prescott.”
Prescott and the Cowboys open the regular season on September 8 against the Cleveland Browns.
