The Cowboys are moving to save on the salary cap in 2023, but guarantee the team will extend Dak Prescott out next season by a year ahead of his contract.
Remember the grueling negotiations between Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys in which Jerry Jones seemed reluctant to offer the quarterback a long-term contract. Well, we might be about to have that back in the 2024 season – awesome!
While the Cowboys are said to be working toward “something big” this season, they first had to start by freeing up some space under the salary cap. They worked to do it with some minor moves but made a big dent in that Friday.
According to NFL insider Tom Bellicero, the Cowboys restructured the contracts of both Dak Prescott and All-Pro guard Zack Martin on Friday to create more than $30 million in cap space.
The #Cowboys cleared nearly $30 million in cap space by restructuring the contracts of Dak Prescott and Zach Martin, per team.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 10, 2023
However, this is what going forward can mean, for the midfielder in particular, this is very important.
NFL rumours: Cowboys extension to Dak Prescott in 2024 now inevitable
Given that restructured deals, in essence, only push money into future years on contract, that means Prescott is now set to hit $59 million in the 2024 season, the final year of his current deal, as explained by ESPN Insider Field Yates.
After his contract was restructured, Dak Prescott’s cap figure for 2024 is now set to be north of $59 million.
This is also the last year of his deal.
A reduction in this number can be achieved through another restructuring or extension at any time prior to the following season.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 10, 2023
And as Yates also pointed out, the only real way for the Cowboys to not have that monstrous number for the 2024 season not on the books would be to restructure again or, the more likely option, extend it.
Despite the fact that fans were upset with Prescott after Dallas’ premature exit last season, it’s clear that Jerry Jones and the front office are committed to him as the quarterback who can bring this franchise back to the Super Bowl. It was always possible that they would start working on an extension, but this latest restructuring confirms it.
There is no way that money will be paid for the 2023 cap into the 2024 season if they don’t have plans to pay it again with an extension. It’s just plain logic about how cowboys usually operate and with all the writing on the wall.
Now let’s just hope that the negotiations on this extension are not as tenuous as the last round.
