Cowboys' Stephen Jones addresses offseason strategy to retain star players
Despite what’s been said about Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, the reality is he’s coming off arguably the best season of his career after finishing runner-up to Lamar Jackson for the NFL MVP award.
Because of his remarkable 2023 season, Dallas is working toward signing the 30-year-old QB to a contract extension, which could also help create some breathing room with its 2024 salary cap — something the team is cognizant of as it also tries to lock in star receiver CeeDee Lamb and star pass-rusher Micah Parsons to long-term deals as well.
Can the Cowboys actually afford to keep all three given the massive raises they’re all likely to command? Executive vice president Stephen Jones is hopeful they can.
“We got ways to adjust [Prescott's] cap number for this season,” Jones told The Athletic. “Obviously between Dak and Micah and CeeDee, the salary cap is real for us. We want to do deals with all three of them. Do you get to do everything you want to do with the salary cap? I don't think any team does. But we're certainly going to be able to go out and go to work and get the things done that we feel like we need to get done to be successful. We won't expand on any details — timing, amount.”
Prescott, who’s in the final year of his contract, has a $59.5M cap hit in 2024. An extension for him presumably carries a salary close to the highest-paid QBs in the NFL, likely in the $50M-$55M range.
Lamb is set to make $17.99M in 2024 playing on his fifth-year option. He admitted two weeks ago that he wants to be one of, if not the top-paid WR in the NFL. That means Dallas would have to give him around or more than the $30M per year the Miami Dolphins pay Tyreek Hill.
Parsons is in Year 4 of his rookie contract, but he’s now eligible to sign an extension this offseason. His $5.3M 2024 cap hit is a steal of a deal, and if Prescott and Lamb both get extensions this offseason, the Cowboys might kick the can down the road with Parsons.
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