Cowboys' Dak Prescott says he doesn't listen to what Jerry Jones says as contract talks stall
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott lets anything Jerry Jones says go in one ear and out the other, if he even hears it at all.
Prescott told reporters Thursday he often disregards whatever Jones says when asked about the owner's recent comments about a potential contract extension or replacement strategy for the quarterback.
"I stopped, honestly, listening to things (Jerry Jones) says to the media a long time ago. It doesn’t really hold weight with me," Prescott said, via The Athletic.
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Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys on the sideline before a game against the Detroit Lions at AT&T Stadium Dec. 30, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Prescott's response came when he was asked about comments Jones had made a day earlier when Jones was asked about the state of contract negotiations between the two sides. Prescott is going into the final year of his contract and is scheduled to become a free agent in 2025.
"Dak’s situation right now for me has more to do with our situation than it does with the merits of Dak Prescott being the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys," Jones told reporters.
Jones was also asked if the team had a "Plan B" for Prescott, since the team has no quarterback under contract in 2025.
"Contracts isn't the end-all solution, and some of the best decisions that I've been a part of with the Cowboys have been when we didn't have contracts one way or the other, with a player on our team or some other team," Jones said.
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Owner Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys attends a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams at training camp Aug. 8, 2024, in Oxnard, Calif. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
"I quit a long time ago getting bent out of shape about having anybody under contract or not. There are all kinds of things other than a contract that could change the outcome of him being under contract — injury, level of play. So, you can’t just pick that and say that should give you a better feeling about our team or me a better feeling. The whole thing has a lot of moving parts. Now, I can live with that … because we play a game that it can change on the next play."
The Cowboys can't put their franchise tag on Prescott, who is in the final year of a four-year, $140 million deal he signed in 2021. If he hits free agency next spring, the quarterback would count for $40 million against the team's salary cap in 2025.
When Prescott was approaching the end of his rookie contract ahead of the 2019 season, the two sides were working toward an extension before he was set to hit free agency that summer. But no deal was reached before the start of the season. Then Prescott had his best season statistically in 2019 with career highs in passing yards and touchdowns.
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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, left, talks with Jerry Jones before a preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders Aug. 26, 2023, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Jones failed to re-sign Prescott in the 2020 offseason, and the team used its franchise tag on him that year. Prescott only played in five games that season before a season-ending compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle against the Giants in Week 5. The Cowboys stumbled to a 6-10 record without their quarterback, then Jones signed Prescott to his current deal in March 2021.
Once again, Prescott is coming off the best season of his career in 2023. He threw for a league-leading 36 touchdown passes and a career-best 105.9 passer rating and finished second in the MVP voting.
Prescott will have a historic $55.45 million cap hit on the final year of his deal in 2024, and the Cowboys are saddled with CeeDee Lamb's new four-year $136 million contract, the second-richest deal for a non-quarterback in NFL history.
Prescott is projected to land a deal comparable to Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence's annual $55 million per year.
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