‘Absolutely!’ Cowboys Speak on Dak Prescott Contract Plan - With Caution & Commitment
It was more when we reported that the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott were "ready'' to open negotiations on an extension as the MVP quarterback is about to enter the final season of his current contract in 2024.
Now the Cowboys are in Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine, and COO Stephen Jones was asked on Tuesday to address that and much more about a Dak deal.
And we would characterize Jones’ responses as “confident” but “cautious.”
“Confident” how?
"Our whole thing with Dak is him being a Cowboy," he said. "That's all that's on our mind."
Jones said Dallas “absolutely” wants to craft an extension with its MVP quarterback.
And “cautious” how? In two ways.
One Jones stressed how private he wishes to keep the negotiations, saying, “We won't be expounding on those types of things with our negotiations. That's obviously something as we move forward, hopefully we'll continue to make progress and communicate, but we're not going to be giving reports on how things will be going."
Indeed, Jones wouldn’t even acknowledge that there is a plan to meet agent Todd France face-to-face during this “football convention” in Indy. (Psst: there is indeed such a plan.)
And two, regarding “caution”? Jones for the first time ever acknowledged that there are ways for Prescott's cap hit in 2024 to be adjusted … even without the wished-for extension.
"We’ve got ways to adjust his cap number for this year," he said.
With a "deadline'' of sorts of March 13 to be cap-compliant, and with a move on Dak's present $59.4 million cap hit the motivation for eventual change, what is the “way” besides an extension?
As CowboysSI.com has detailed in depth, Dallas entered this process with a trio of options here, including what we're terming "The Voidable-Years Band-aid'':
OPTION 1) Stick with the original plan of believing in Dak and give him an extension, maybe worth $60 million APY, that would make him the highest-paid player in NFL history. ... but one that would also provide Dallas with $20 million of cap room.
OPTION 2) Let it ride. Leaving that $59.4 million as is would be crippling in terms of roster-building, because it wouldn't provide that aforementioned cap room. But if there is a distrust of what Prescott is as a QB? Let him be a prove-it lame duck, just like coach Mike McCarthy.
And then either pay him later ... once he's winning playoff games ... or don't.
OPTION 3) Flip the Switch, Apply the 'Band-aid.' As we've written before, most Cowboys contracts include "automatic conversions,'' what we call "flipping a switch'' that "converts base salary to bonus'' ... and pushes money into future years.
In Dak's case, there are already two voidable years on the contract after 2024. So the Cowboys could "flip a switch'' and knock his $29 million salary for 2024 down to the league minimum of $1.21 million.
That might end up being the “way” do deal with Dak, who as usual earned praise from the boss.
“He certainly does everything in his ways to make everybody better and hold people accountable,” Jones said. “He sets a high bar and a high standard.”
