Simple restructuring of Dak Prescott's contract doesn't solve the Cowboys' problem
The Cowboys have a problem. Well, the Cowboys have plenty of problems. But they have one very specific and significant problem at quarterback.
Because they dragged their feet with Dak Prescott in the past, their present entails: (1) Dak entering the last year of his contract; (2) the Cowboys having no way to use the franchise tag to keep him in place for 2025; and (3) a massive 2024 cap number of $59.4 million.
It gives Dak all the cards in the negotiations for an extension. He has the kind of leverage that owner/G.M. Jerry Jones would fully exploit, if in the same situation. Basically, Dak can name his terms.
An item in the Dallas Morning News introduces a smart wrinkle I hadn't previously considered. Because the contract already carries two voidable years, the Cowboys could (if the contract allows it or Dak agrees to it) implement a simple restructuring that would knock his $29 million salary for 2024 down to the league minimum of $1.21 million. The difference ($27.78 million) would be spread over 2024, 2025, and 2026. That would create $18.52 million in cap space for 2024, dropping his cap number to $40.88 million.
That's great for 2024. It's not great for 2025. If the Cowboys fail to extend Dak's deal before next March, he'd count for nearly $55 million against the cap in 2025 — even if he signs elsewhere.
It still might be the only way out of this mess for the Cowboys. Kick the can and hope the cap goes up so much by 2025 that, if push comes to shove, they can take $55 million in dead money for a player who is no longer on the team.
Regardless, at some point in the next 12 months the Cowboys either need to pay Dak or watch him walk away. And if they don't extend his contract, they'll take a total cap charge of $95.915 million in his name over the next two league years.
It's not easy to build a Super Bowl winner with that many cap dollars tied up in one person. For nearly 30 years, the Cowboys haven't been able to build a Super Bowl winner without that many cap dollars tied up in one person.
