Howe: What I’m Hearing About the Cowboys Contract Negotiations With Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons
OXNARD, Calif. — The Dallas Cowboys continue to find themselves in an extremely complex situation as three of their stars are out of contract.
Quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and linebacker Micah Parsons are all open to new deals, though they’re all in very different stages of negotiations with the team. If the Cowboys extend all three, however, they’ll be adding three players to their roster who are among the highest-paid — if not the highest-paid — players in the league. the highest — at their position at the same time.
All three negotiations are interconnected, with the Cowboys having to factor in the cap gymnastics that will be required to keep the trio in Dallas long-term. After spending time inside the Cowboys’ training camp this week, here’s what we’ve been able to glean from sources around the league:
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First, Prescott has had a great camp and shined during Monday’s practice session. The Cowboys have been impressed with the quarterback’s ability to block the business side when it comes to his own performance.
But now to the business side. Prescott is playing in the final season of his four-year, $160 million contract, and there’s a unique challenge with his extension talks. Due to vacancy and a previous restructuring, Prescott will earn $29 million in cash this season, while taking on a cap hit of about $55 million.
Because an extension would continue to roll that dead money over to future years, it’s a much bigger hurdle to clear from a cap perspective. It’s also unique. Prescott is one of 19 quarterbacks making more than $30 million annually, and none have signed a second major extension with their team. That’s important to note because of the dead money factor.
And of the 16 quarterbacks who average at least $40 million a year, the 31-year-old Prescott is one of four on the other side of 30. While the standard salary for a franchise quarterback has climbed to $50 million — or even higher — in the past year, none of the eight QBs making that amount has celebrated a 30th birthday.
That’s not to say that rule won’t be broken anytime soon. It’s just an expected negotiation point on the team side.
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Prescott has seen quarterbacks with lesser statistical resumes blow past his contract value, and the new standard is now $55 million per year. Because Prescott’s timing is so opportune, he’s asking for more than that amount, which is his well-earned negotiating right.
From a cap perspective, it would make more financial sense for the Cowboys to let Prescott’s contract expire after the season, thereby wiping the $26 million in dead money off of future books. From a logical perspective, however, such a strategy could backfire, as the lure of the open market and the lurking QB-desperate could see teams pounce with offers that could shatter historical benchmarks.
Prescott knows that. So while he would certainly value this season at something closer to market value in cash, he realizes that with a little patience, the bank account will be fine. Remember, he’s been through this before.
The Cowboys are desperate to keep Prescott until the end of another long-term contract, so they’re trying to work out an extension before free agency becomes more tempting.
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The idea of starting over at the position also doesn’t appeal to an organization that has won 36 regular-season games over the past three seasons, second only to the Kansas City Chiefs (37). It hasn’t translated into playoff success, but the Cowboys are contenders because of their overall talent. Prescott only supports that attitude.
At this point, it doesn’t appear that the Cowboys and Prescott are close to a contract extension. Salary cap dynamics and leverage points explain why that is the case.
This one feels closer. Lamb and the Cowboys have made progress, but it’s still too short to the point where either side assumes there’s a guaranteed resolution.
Lamb is holding out, and has informed the Cowboys that he will not report to camp without a new deal. He is currently operating under the terms of the fifth-year option on his $17.991 million rookie contract.
The collective bargaining agreement requires the Cowboys to fine Lamb $40,000 per day in camp, but they will likely waive those fines upon execution of a new contract. The waiver of fines is only allowed because Lamb is still under his rookie contract.
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Last season, Lamb led the league with 135 receptions, finished second with 1,749 receiving yards and tied for third with 12 touchdown catches. The 25-year-old, who was the 17th pick in the 2020 draft, has improved his production profile in every season of his career.
Justin Jefferson ($35 million per year) and AJ Brown ($32 million) have recently reset the market, and there’s no question Lamb’s salary will also top $30 million per year, making him the fifth member of that club.
The discrepancy is where Lamb would fall between Jefferson’s deal and Brown’s contract. Jefferson is widely regarded as the league’s best receiver, and he signed with an organization that has a quarterback on a rookie deal. Brown, another physically dominant receiver, got his deal after quarterback Jalen Hurts signed his massive pact. The other pair of $30 million wideouts, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyreek Hill, also work with $50 million quarterbacks.
The Cowboys appear reluctant to touch Jefferson’s APY with Lamb, so the concession could be the guaranteed money. Jefferson’s four-year, $140 million contract includes about $88.7 million fully guaranteed (about 63 percent), while Brown’s three-year, $96 million extension includes $51 million fully guaranteed (about 53 percent).
Given the two contracts, is a four-year deal worth $30 to $32 million per year, including 63 percent in guarantees, acceptable?
Those numbers might make the most sense. Cut the APY and bump up the guarantees to find a compromise, and it would help with the Prescott negotiations. That’s why there’s reason to believe Lamb’s contract could be the first one agreed to.
The defensive chess piece’s contract is currently on the back burner, but the Cowboys have been thinking about it for a year. He’s in the fourth season of his rookie deal, so he’s eligible for an extension, but the Cowboys also exercised his fifth-year option for 2025.
Understandably, the Cowboys have more pressing matters to attend to with Prescott and Lamb before diving headfirst into the Parsons pool. But there could be a significant cost involved, as Parsons’ price tag could rise, especially if he has another healthy, productive season.
Parsons, 25, has been incredibly consistent with 40.5 sacks in three seasons, but his athleticism as a second-string linebacker has made him unique. The Cowboys won’t play the semantics of treating Parsons as a space linebacker, which would diminish his value.
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San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa set the bar high last year with a five-year, $170 million contract, $88 million of which is fully guaranteed. That $34 million annual benchmark will be the goal, though the league still appears to view Bosa as the better player.
But again, if Parsons stays healthy, he’ll be on the short list of Defensive Player of the Year candidates again and should be entitled to demand Bosa money, especially after a few years of pay raises.
That’s something the Cowboys will have to address going forward. With Prescott the more pressing issue and Lamb out of camp, the organization will have to prioritize accordingly.
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It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where the Cowboys end up hiring the league’s highest-paid quarterback, a top-two receiver, and the highest-paid defensive back. But even with player concessions, they’re still looking at premium players at every position, and therein lies the challenge of keeping this all-star cast together.
(Photo by CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons: Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
