Stephen Jones addresses Dak Prescott contract extension

The Dallas Cowboys aren't rushing to sign quarterback Dak Prescott to a contract extension ahead of Sunday's regular-season opener at the New York Giants. 

"If you wait one more year, and then the key for us is just going to be spreading out how we pay Dak," Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones explained during a Friday appearance on sports radio station 105.3 The Fan, per The Dallas Morning News. "Most of these guys have some long-term type deals, five-plus years. I think if we can do that it’ll not only be advantageous for the team as a whole, but advantageous for Dak so we can continue to put the type of players, give him the offensive linemen he needs to protect him, give him the weapons he needs to move the football and certainly have a defense that can get the ball back for him." 

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones insisted that he expects Prescott "to be with us a long time" even though Jones acquired 23-year-old signal-caller Trey Lance from the San Francisco 49ers in late August. Jones offered that comment before the Cincinnati Bengals made Joe Burrow the highest-paid player in NFL history via a five-year extension worth up to $275M with roughly $219.1M guaranteed. That deal reset the market for the quarterback position and likely made Prescott more expensive for the Jones family. 

Prescott signed a four-year contract in March 2021.

Jerry Jones said during a Friday radio segment he'd "have to cut four players" to sign Prescott to an extension before the weekend, and Stephen Jones mentioned the club will soon have to pay star pass-rusher Micah Parsons. The Cowboys can retain Parsons' rights through 2025 via the fifth-year option attached to his rookie deal, but he nevertheless is on track to at least match the historic extension that reigning Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa received from the San Francisco 49ers this week. 

Extending Prescott would lower what is roughly a $59M salary-cap charge for the 2024 season attached to his contract, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted that charge gives the 30-year-old "incredible leverage" in negotiations. Unless Prescott signs an extension soon, though, some within the NFL community will continue to wonder if the Jones family is keeping all options open for 2024 regarding the sport's most important position.