Cowboys Failed Themselves In Dak Prescott Contract Negotiations

The Dallas Cowboys secured QB Dak Prescott for four years and $240 million. Combined with CeeDee Lamb's deal for $136 million, the team's future finances are somewhat compromised. Micah Parsons' future deal will become the biggest defensive contract ever, raising concerns over the Cowboys' desire to patiently handle Lamb and Prescott's negotiations.

The good news for the Dallas Cowboys : they destroyed the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 by a final score of 33-17, just hours after signing quarterback Dak Prescott to a contract extension . The bad news is that it took $240 million to get their quarterback locked down, just one week after handing wide receiver CeeDee Lamb a four-year, $136 million deal . Their future finances are.



.. complicated, to say the least.

Of course, things didn't have to be this way. Prescott was ready to sign an extension as soon as the Cowboys were eliminated from the postseason in the Wild Card Round last year, but the Cowboys chose to wait on giving him and Lamb the contracts they obviously deserved. That's proven to be disastrous decision-making by the Cowboys' top brass, as both the quarterback and wide receiver markets were reset multiple times this offseason.

Thus, Dallas was forced to hand their star offensive duo top-of-the-line contracts as the dawn of a new season approached. While paying two guys $94 million per season over the next two years might sound untenable on its own, it's the consequences of this decision that will truly make the Cowboys reap what they've sown. Dak Prescott has officially agreed to a four-year extension to remain with the Dallas Cowboys.

How On Earth Will Dallas Afford Micah Parsons? To make things clear: Dallas had to get Prescott's deal done now. They waited long enough as it was; if they waited until next offseason, Prescott's asking price may have gone above the $60 million-per-year mark. Not to mention, the $231 million he received in guarantees (also an NFL record, by the way) may not have sufficed come March 2025.

He also had a no-tag clause in his previous contract, meaning he would have been hitting free agency if he hadn't signed before Super Bowl LIX. That being said, Dallas doesn't exactly have a lot of money to play with. The front office elected to sit out the meat of free agency in order to preserve cap space for extensions for the team's big three.

Lamb and Prescott have already gotten their deals, but the third of that triumvirate has not. Micah Parsons , known to many as one of the three best defensive players in the NFL, is going to command stupid amounts of money, just like his teammates did. For reference, the largest deal ever given to a defensive player (and non-quarterback) is Nick Bosa 's five-year, $170 million pact with the San Francisco 49ers that includes $122,500,000 in guarantees.

Micah Parsons' Career Stats Category 2021 2022 2023 Games 16 17 17 Sacks 13.0 13.5 14.

0 QB Hits 30 26 33 Total Tackles 84 65 64 Tackles for Loss 20 13 18 Passes Defended 3 3 2 Forced Fumbles 3 3 1 By his standards, Parsons is off to a slow start this year with just four tackles and one sack in his opening performance against the Browns, but rest assured, the ensuing ensemble of pass rushing and ball hawking will be a sight to behold. If accolades are more your speed, you can be sure that Parsons has those in spades, too. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021, has finished second or third in Defensive Player of the Year voting in each of his three pro seasons, has been named a First- or Second-Team All-Pro in all three seasons, has gotten a Pro Bowl nod each year, and for good measure, he finished eighth in MVP voting during the 2022 season.

GIVEMESPORT Key Stat: The 2023 Dallas Cowboys are the only team in this decade to have three separate players finish in the top three of voting for MVP (Dak Prescott, 2nd), Offensive Player of the Year (CeeDee Lamb, 3rd), and Defensive Player of the Year (Parsons, 3rd) in a single season. Parsons' extension isn't as pressing as Lamb and Prescott's were, since the team picked up his fifth-year option (worth $21.3 million) for the 2025 season already.

However, assuming he surpasses the Bosa deal, he'll receive an average salary somewhere around $35 million on a five-year deal ($175 million total). The Cowboys would then be on the hook for $129 million annually between Parsons, Lamb, and Prescott. Salary numbers aren't exactly equivalent to salary cap numbers, but you don't need to be a math genius to figure out that paying three guys half of your available legal pool of money probably won't work out in the long-term when 50 other players need to share that other half.

Other teams have figured out ways to manage multiple hefty salaries, but even they have had to make concessions on certain elite players. Tyreek Hill would still be in a Kansas City Chiefs uniform if money were infinite in the NFL. Again, the Cowboys were going to capitulate on Prescott's demands eventually.

Modern football necessitates good quarterback play as a prerequisite for Super Bowl contention. Had they been a little more willing to come to the negotiating table a few months ago, though, Dallas may have had a few more extra dollars to show for it. All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.

All salary info via Spotrac . Dallas has finally come to their senses and gave one of their best players, All-Pro CeeDee Lamb, the contract he deserves..