Insider shares Cowboys' thoughts on signing Dak Prescott to extension

On Thursday, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones attracted considerable attention when he said he has "no urgency" to sign an extension with star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb amid his holdout.

Jones feels at least somewhat differently about quarterback Dak Prescott's status as he enters the final year of his contract.

"The Cowboys badly want to keep Prescott through the duration of another long-term contract," NFL insider Jeff Howe of The Athletic said in a piece published Friday. "It’s why they’ve been trying to execute an extension before free agency becomes more of a temptation."

Anxious Cowboys fans shouldn't spike any figurative footballs quite yet regarding Prescott's future. Howe also reported that "it doesn’t appear the Cowboys and Prescott are close on an extension."

Prescott is widely believed to be looking for a deal worth a minimum of $60M per season. Cowboys reporter Mike Fisher of Athlon Sports revealed on Thursday that one NFL source thinks Prescott's value could "hit $70M annually" if he shows enough "patience" after a regular season in which he ended as a Most Valuable Player Award finalist.

Prescott has much power in negotiations with Jones, as the 31-year-old's current deal includes no-tag and no-trade clauses. Howe suggested that the nature of that deal may be one reason Jones could allow Prescott to reach free agency in March 2025.

"From a cap perspective, it would make more financial sense for the Cowboys to allow Prescott’s contract to expire after the season, eliminating the $26M in dead money from future books," Howe explained. As Howe alluded to, though, such a strategy would have to rely on Prescott and Jones having a handshake agreement regarding the veteran of eight NFL seasons committing his future beyond 2024 to the Cowboys.

On Thursday, ESPN NFL insider Mina Kimes went viral when she said that Prescott would receive "an ungodly amount" of money from the Cowboys or a different club as a free agent. Jones can prevent a future bidding war by matching Prescott's contract requests this summer, but as of Friday morning, there was no indication as of Friday morning that either side was all that close to blinking in a game of "Chicken" that's gone on for months.