The Dallas Cowboys are taking steps to alleviate quarterback Dak Prescott’s significant salary cap hit as he enters the final year of his contract, according to a source familiar with the matter on Monday.
As part of the restructuring, a $5 million roster bonus has been converted into a signing bonus, resulting in a $4 million reduction in Prescott’s 2024 cap hit, bringing it down to approximately $55 million, the person informed The Associated Press under anonymity due to the club’s policy of not disclosing contract specifics. ESPN initially reported the move.
While expressing intentions to retain Prescott, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones has refrained from making definitive statements akin to those in 2021, when Prescott was signed to a franchise-record $160 million, four-year contract.
The contract adjustment also involves the addition of two more voidable years in 2027 and 2028, causing Prescott’s 2025 salary cap number to rise slightly to $40 million.
Dallas has maintained a low profile in free agency, partly due to upcoming contracts for All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb and standout pass rusher Micah Parsons, the 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Securing Prescott beyond the forthcoming season would facilitate negotiations with Lamb and Parsons.
The sole external addition for Dallas thus far has been linebacker Eric Kendricks, on a one-year contract worth up to $3.5 million. The Cowboys acquired Kendricks while releasing linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, their 2018 first-round pick, due to a failed physical designation following a neck injury last season.
Prescott, a three-time Pro Bowler, has been a fixture since his rookie year in 2016, stepping in for Tony Romo after an injury during preseason. Prescott quickly rose from an unheralded fourth-round pick to NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, guiding Dallas to the NFC playoffs’ top seed.
Despite early success, the Cowboys have failed to advance beyond the divisional round in four postseason attempts since Prescott’s debut. Dallas has not appeared in an NFC championship game since clinching the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl title at the end of the 1995 season.
