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Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
DALLAS — Dak Prescott could be entering the final year as the Dallas Cowboys‘ quarterback if there is no resolution on his contract, but he is taking an optimistic view.
“I’m definitely confident,” Prescott said after taking part in a Children’s Cancer Fund event with Hall of Famer Troy Aikman on Monday. “Obviously it helps the team. It’s important for the numbers … That is a process. Both sides understand that. Everything’s great. It’ll happen.”
To date, there have not been substantial discussions between the Cowboys and Prescott’s agent, Todd France. The sides did not speak at last week’s scouting combine in Indianapolis as the new league year opens on March 13.
Prescott is set to count $59.45 million against the cap in 2024. He has a $29 million base salary and has a $5 million roster bonus due on the fifth day of the league year.
An extension could bring Prescott’s cap number down substantially, but it took the sides nearly two years to negotiate the four-year, $160 million Prescott signed in 2021. As part of that deal, the Cowboys cannot place the franchise tag on Prescott in 2025 and he has a no-trade clause.
Without an extension and the inability to use the franchise tag on him, Prescott would be looking at the open market a year from now and the Cowboys have no way of guaranteeing he would remain their quarterback.
Speaking from the combine last week, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said, “What we do there or don’t do [with Prescott’s contract], I couldn’t say at this time, but the main thing is he’s going to be our quarterback.”
The Cowboys can create roughly $18 million in salary cap space without reaching an extension with Prescott by restructuring the deal that has two voidable years remaining. However, that would increase Prescott’s dead money to roughly $58 million without an extension.
Jones said he does not worry about this being Prescott’s final year.
“No, I don’t fear that,” Jones said. “Well, because I have gotten my mind on being better than we were last year. And that’s where the focus would be. Every player you got has some time when his contract is up. You would walk around with the shakes if you feared it. You can’t because they all come up. They all can get hurt. They all can lose some talent. So all of that is not fear. I know you’re asking for a reaction to that. It is my job to when somebody gets hurt or when their career is at the end or when you don’t get things negotiated, it’s my job to do something else.”
Prescott, who became a father for the first time last week with the birth of his daughter, MJ, led the NFL in touchdown passes last season with 36. He had just nine interceptions after tying for the league lead in the 2023 season despite missing five games. He was the runner-up in the Most Valuable Player award voting and was named a second-team All Pro.
As he enters his second season with Mike McCarthy as the playcaller, Jones believes there is more for Prescott to accomplish.
Jones said from the combine the sides can bridge the gaps in talks quickly, “if everybody wants to solve it.
“You can, so how as you get in and get on the same page and see if you can come to an agreement. If you can’t, what we have in place works. And so obviously, if you do it one way, then you’ll be working through some of the other areas on the team in a different way. But you can’t really plan on that until you see where you’re there. That’s what we’re doing.”
Jones has labeled the Cowboys’ offseason approach as “all-in,” after a disappointing playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers following a third straight 12-5 finish.
“I’m excited to see it, honestly,” Prescott said. “I don’t know. I can’t say I’ve had talks with him about what is all-in and how he plans on making those moves, but, yeah, let’s see and I’m excited for it.”