NFL Rumors: Dak Prescott, Cowboys Haven't Had Any 'Substantial' Contract Talks

Even though Dak Prescott will be entering the final season of his current contract in 2024, the Dallas Cowboys don't seem to be showing much urgency to get a new deal done with their star quarterback.

Appearing on Saturday's SportsCenter, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the Cowboys and representatives for Prescott haven't had "any substantial talks" about a long-term contract.

"I was told that Dallas and Dak Prescott's reps have not had any substantial talks," Fowler said. "They have not discussed numbers, they could certainly meet at the NFL combine next week though to at least get started to see where each side is at."

The Cowboys are currently $3.2 million over the cap with free agency set to begin on March 13.

There are several moves Dallas can make that will free up cap space, including reworking the already-existing contracts for Zack Martin and Trevon Diggs that would give the team up to $20 million. If Michael Gallup were to be released with the post-June 1 designation, it would save the club $9.5 million.

CeeDee Lamb is eligible to sign a contract extension that would almost certainly lower his $17.99 million cap hit for next season.

Prescott's cap figure is likely the biggest priority for the Cowboys to figure out. His $59.5 million cap hit is the second-highest among all quarterbacks, behind only Deshaun Watson's $63.98 million.

If the Cowboys only want to restructure Prescott's current deal, they could free up close to $23 million between his salary and roster bonus. But that would increase his dead-money charge for 2025 to approximately $54 million.

As things currently stand, Prescott will have a $36.5 million dead-cap charge in 2025 as the first of two void years on his contract.

When Prescott originally signed his four-year, $160 million extension with the Cowboys in March 2021, he gave himself tremendous future leverage by negotiating a no-tag clause into it.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported in December the expectation was the Cowboys would sign Prescott to a long-term deal during the offseason that would make him among the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league.

That was before the Cowboys had another ugly playoff performance in which Prescott didn't play well. He went 41-of-60 for 403 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in a 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card Game.

A lot of those yards came in the second half when the Cowboys were playing catch up after falling behind 27-0 in the second quarter.

Terrence Parsons Jr., the brother of Cowboys star Micah Parsons, publicly questioned Prescott's ability after the loss.

Despite the Cowboys' playoff struggles, it still seems like the end result will be Prescott signing a new deal with the club. He's a very good quarterback, and those are very hard to find.

But the fact that the Cowboys seem to be taking their time negotiating with Prescott does leave open the possibility that he may want to explore different options when he can become a free agent after next season.