Dak Prescott contract: Here’s what’s holding up extension between Cowboys and star QB, per report

Dak Prescott’s long-awaited contract extension may be coming down to one thing. While the Dallas Cowboys are willing to pay Prescott an annual salary that would make him one of the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks, the amount of years the team is willing to commit to is what is holding things up, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. 

Why would the Cowboys be leery about committing to Prescott for the log haul? It appears that the team’s uncertainty regarding Prescott’s ability to lead the Cowboys back to a Super Bowl is a big reason why. Despite the Cowboys’ success with Prescott as their quarterback, the team’s Super Bowl drought remains at 28 years and counting. 

“(Prescott’s) looking for a long-term commitment from Dallas,” Russini said on her podcast, via Sports Illustrated. “So the hold up here is really the belief from the Dallas Cowboys. This is a guy who’s won a lot of games. But is that enough? Winning’s not enough for Jerry Jones. We know this. They want to do more … they don’t want to just be the team that wins a lot of games. They want to be the team that can play in the Super Bowl.”

It goes without saying that the 31-year-old Prescott would already have a new deal if he had more playoff success on his resume. While he’s 73-41 in regular-season starts, Prescott (who is entering the final year of his current contract) is just 2-5 in the playoffs that include three home defeats. The most damming one may have been January’s shocking 48-32 playoff loss to the heavy-underdog Packers. 

It should also be noted that Prescott was the starting quarterback for half of the team’s playoff wins since the Cowboys’ last Super Bowl win (at the end of the 1995 season). Additionally, Prescott’s playoff losses have largely come against formidable opponents (Aaron Rodgers in the 2016 playoffs, the 2018 NFC champion Rams and the 2021 and ’22 49ers). Prescott’s postseason also includes a win over Tom Brady in the final game of his legendary career. 

Despite his individual and team success, Prescott apparently hasn’t done enough for the Cowboys to feel completely confident in investing in him long term. Fortunately for Prescott, he is channeling his energy into the Cowboys’ upcoming season, one that will include wideout CeeDee Lamb after his contract saga recently reached a happy conclusion for Dallas. 

“I’m blessed, man,” Prescott recently said. “I’m getting paid a lot of money to do it. I’ve already got paid. To get paid again that’s just part of it. I’m due up for that whether it’s signing here or whether it’s somewhere else that I don’t care to think about at this moment. It’s all part of it. 

“For me, it’s like I said, it’s about controlling what I can and being the best version of myself, best leader and make sure all these guys in here understand that we’re on a mission. It’s not about next year right now. It’s not about my contract. It’s not about anything but getting ready for Game 1 against the Browns. Simple as that.”