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Cowboys have to extend Dak Prescott or fail to sign other key players to long-term contracts

NFC Wild Card Playoffs - Green Bay Packers v Dallas Cowboys
Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images

Dak’s contract is the key to the future

The Dallas Cowboys announced earlier this week that head coach Mike McCarthy would stay in Dallas for at least another season. McCarthy, who is now in his final contract year with the team, held a press conference in the week to talk to the media and answer questions. McCarthy came out quickly during the press conference to back his starting quarterback, Dak Prescott, who is set to cost $59.4 million against the cap in 2024.

The talk of Prescott’s failure in the NFC Wild Card loss has been much debated and evaluated already, but his regular season performance cannot be overlooked. In 2023, Prescott threw for 4,516 yards, 36 touchdowns leading the league, and only nine interceptions. He spent the back half of the season being a prominent player in the MVP race.

The Cowboys restructured Prescott’s contract in 2022, converting $18.4 million of his salary into bonus, creating $14.72 million in cap space. Again in 2023, the front office restructured Prescott to free up more cap space. The move put Prescott’s 2023 cap figure to just over $26 million. People wanting to trade or move on from Prescott forget he has a no trade clause in his contract. And for anyone saying the front office should see this year through and tag Dak next year, he also has a no tag clause in his contract.

The Cowboys will probably look to sign Dak to another extension prior to the start of the season. The extension will free an estimated $26.2 million for the team to use on other contracts for crucial players. The extension of Dak’s contract is the key to all the other players like CeeDee Lamb, DaRon Bland and Micah Parsons future contracts. Or if they look to retain a number of players on expired contracts this upcoming season, Dak’s extension becomes even more vital.


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