The Cowboys remain in talks with both Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, but the standout duo remains a contract-year combination. Months into these proceedings, Lamb is holding out and Prescott continues to wield enormous leverage.
While Prescott has said the right things about another deal with Dallas, his asking price is justifiably high. The ninth-year quarterback is seeking a contract that breaks the NFL AAV record, with The Athletic’s Jeff Howe indicating the Cowboys are negotiating with a player aiming for more than $55MM on average (subscription required).
Given Prescott’s position, it is understandable his price point has reached this place. The parties are not believed to be close on terms, per Howe, though the Cowboys made an offer recently. COO Stephen Jones has also said the ball is in the QB’s court.
As mentioned regularly here (though, perhaps not quite as often as Brandon Aiyuk particulars), Prescott holds a no-trade and cannot be franchise-tagged in 2025. His 2024 cap number ($55.13MM) will break a league record — as Deshaun Watson and other QBs are poised to as well — and the Cowboys would take on $40.13MM in 2025 dead money if they let their QB’s contract expire by the start of the 2025 league year. Rarely in this position with players, the Cowboys are here because they could not come to an agreement on a second contract with the former Offensive Rookie of the Year until a third offseason of negotiations (2021).
The Cowboys “badly” want Dak back on a third contract, Howe adds, and have been trying to finalize a deal before free agency becomes a real possibility. But they are negotiating with a player who has outperformed a few of the QBs who recently joined the $50MM-per-year club. That said, all eight passers presently among that contingent have not yet turned 30. Prescott will turn 31 this season. Though, the 2023 second-team All-Pro remains squarely in his prime and just saw Kirk Cousins collect $100MM in practical guarantees coming off an Achilles tear at 35.
If Prescott pushes this toward free agency, suitors will be there. The Cowboys not playing ball now would run the risk of a historically rare development. On the other side, Dallas will need to again agree to player-friendly terms if it wants to keep Prescott. A deal that hits $60MM per year with a strong guarantee structure will likely be required if Dak is to sign before the season starts. Otherwise, this saga figures to linger to the point other teams will start becoming connected to the former fourth-round find.
Starting over is not exactly a sought-after reality for a Cowboys team that is riding three straight 12-win seasons, but the team does have two other top-market extensions — those for Lamb and Micah Parsons — on its radar. Describing Parsons’ pact as a backburner issue — which runs counter to a recent assessment of the All-Pro pass rusher’s situation — Howe indicates the Cowboys appear closer on terms with Lamb than they do Prescott.
After Jerry Jones said the team does not have urgency to extend the holdout wide receiver, Lamb offered an “lol” X response. Prescott, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota, indeed said he urgently wants the team to pay his top weapon.
The sides have exchanged offers, however, and Howe notes progress has emerged. This deal is viewed as being closer to completion. The Cowboys can waive the daily fines Lamb is accruing due to the fifth-year target being on a rookie contract.
A late-July report pegged Lamb as not being insistent on becoming the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB — a title Justin Jefferson holds at $35MM per year — and Howe indeed offers the Cowboys are hesitant about reaching the AAV the Vikings WR secured in June. Lamb would then stand to command a number between Jefferson and No. 2 on the current list (A.J. Brown‘s $32MM average).
While guarantees could then be a Cowboys concession if they are truly unwilling to go where the Vikings went regarding AAV, the team prefers longer-term deals compared to those receivers have landed this offseason. Dallas has not fully guaranteed a receiver more than $40MM — the Amari Cooper figure from 2020 — but surely realizes it will take more to wrap the Lamb talks. D.J. Moore securing $82MM in total guarantees from the Bears certainly should set a Lamb floor; only Brown ($84MM) is between Moore and Jefferson in this category.
The Cowboys still have some time, but the team has undoubtedly seen prices rise by waiting this long. Although Jones brushed off the notion urgency is needed here, it would surprise if at least one of the two stars was not extended before Week 1.