NFL Exec on Dak Prescott’s Cowboys Future: ‘It Could Start It Down a Path’

Getty The Dallas Cowboys face a decision on Dak Prescott's future.

Few things are debated more among the Dallas Cowboys fanbase than what the franchise should do with Dak Prescott. The star quarterback’s four-year, $160 million contract runs through the 2024 season, and the front office continues to hint at a possible extension. During an October 9, 2023 feature with The Athletic’s Mike Sando, one NFL executive pondered whether Prescott’s three-interception performance against the Niners could impact the quarterback’s future.

“Don’t think this game by itself impacts Dak too much, but it could start it down a path,” the exec noted.

Another executive emphasized that Prescott’s chances to get a lucrative extension took a hit in Week 5. Spotrac projects Prescott’s market value to be a four-year, $193 million deal, potentially giving the quarterback an average annual salary of $48.4 million.

“Hard to pay Dak after tonight,” another exec admitted to The Athletic.

Stephen Jones on Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott: ‘We Want Dak Here for the Long Term’

The Cowboys have said all the right things about how trading for Trey Lance will not impact Prescott’s future. Yet, it will be interesting to see how the front office handles the quarterback’s extension if Prescott’s inconsistent play continues.

“The Cowboys are keenly aware of Prescott’s recent injury history: the ankle in 2020, a calf strain in 2021 and the broken thumb last season,” ESPN’s Todd Archer wrote on October 4. “The addition of Lance provides quarterback depth but not leverage in negotiations with Prescott, according to ownership.

“’We want Dak here for the long term,’ executive vice president Stephen Jones said of Prescott, who is signed through 2024.”

The Dallas Cowboys Do Not Plan to Pick up Trey Lance’s Fifth-Year Option for 2025: Report

There had been talk that Prescott and the Cowboys could agree to a new extension this past offseason, but no deal came to fruition. Prescott is not the only Dallas quarterback whose deal will expire following the 2024 season.

Lance’s four-year, $34 million rookie contract will also expire in 2024. The Cowboys will not exercise Lance’s fifth-year option for 2025 but could reach an extension agreement with the team’s newest quarterback, per Archer.

“If there was a quarterback who it impacted more, it was Rush,” Archer added. “He went 4-1 as the starter last season after Prescott went down with a broken right thumb in the season opener. In the offseason, the Cowboys signed him to a two-year deal worth $5 million and included a $1.25 million signing bonus. Now he’ll have competition.

“The Cowboys assumed the final two years of Lance’s guaranteed rookie contract in the trade. He is making $940,000 this season and is guaranteed $5.31 million in 2024. The Cowboys will not exercise the fifth-year option next spring on Lance for 2025, since that would cost more than $25 million, but they could work out a short-term extension for him if they like what they see in practice this season and in next year’s preseason.”

The Cowboys face decisions on all three of their quarterbacks including Cooper Rush. The veteran’s deal is also set to expire after the 2024 season, but Dallas has an out in his contract this offseason.