Monday and Tuesday were days of both excitement and relief for Dallas Cowboys fans and the organization, as the much-anticipated news of CeeDee Lamb's contract extension broke. The 2023 All-Pro wide receiver inked a four-year, $136 million extension, effectively ending his holdout and ensuring that one of the NFL's premier pass-catchers will remain with the team for the foreseeable future.
With Lamb's future secured, the focus now shifts to another crucial piece of the Cowboys' offensive puzzle—quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott is entering the final year of his contract in 2024, and his performance has been nothing short of stellar. Leading the NFL with 36 passing touchdowns in 2023, Prescott has proven himself to be an indispensable leader on the field.
Despite his on-field heroics, Prescott's contractual future remains uncertain. The discussion around his extension has been on the forefront of the Cowboys' agenda. The quarterback's current contract includes both a no-franchise tag and a no-trade clause, meaning he could hit the open market by March 2025 if an extension isn't reached. This potential scenario only heightens the urgency for the Cowboys to secure their star quarterback.
“You look at our numbers together, they're at the top of the charts. I have no doubt that they're going to get a deal done. We all know that I want Dak here. Jerry [Jones] wants Dak here, too, so let's just get this under control and kill the speculation and let's go win,” said Lamb, expressing his support for Prescott’s contract extension.
Financial considerations are inevitably at the forefront of contract negotiations. With the contracts of Trevor Lawrence, Jared Goff, and Jordan Love averaging $55 million per year, Prescott's new deal will likely need to be competitive. Currently, the Cowboys have $39.6 million in effective cap space to work with in 2025, and a projected $160.1 million in cap space in 2026. However, managing an NFL roster under salary cap restrictions is a complex, high-stakes game.
“You’ve always got to remind everybody that this is a zero-sum game. Any dollar one player gets is a dollar another one doesn’t get,” Jerry Jones, the Cowboys' owner, rightly pointed out. “If you can get the most and the best players out there for the least amount of the cap, you’re doing your very best job.”
Looking Ahead to the Season Opener
As the regular season approaches, the Cowboys' priority remains firmly on their opening game. “We’re continuing to, first of all, put all of our focus on what’s coming up here in the next 10 days, two weeks. That game [Week 1 at the Cleveland Browns] takes priority over anything,” Jones emphasized, signaling that immediate goals are not being overshadowed by long-term contractual complexities.
Prescott himself has refrained from delving deeply into contract talks, preferring to leave those matters to his agent. “There’ve been conversations back and forth, but for the most part, as y'all know, I let my agent (Todd France) handle that, especially as we get right here into training camp,” Prescott shared. “The money and all that will take care of itself as it always has.”
With Lamb secured and Prescott’s extension in negotiation, the Cowboys find themselves at a pivotal juncture. In the high-stakes world of NFL roster management, “Sometimes it’s worked out really well. Sometimes taking those risks will bite you,” Jones aptly summarized. Indeed, the forthcoming season opener stands as a priority, but the shadow of financial strategizing looms ever large.
Owning the Dallas Cowboys since 1989, Jones is no stranger to the complexities and risks involved in managing a competitive team. The months ahead will indeed be telling not just for the Cowboys’ salary cap intricacies but for their performance on the field. As fans gear up for another season, the anticipation is palpable, interweaving hopes for both immediate wins and future security for their star quarterback.