Dallas Cowboys Exec Explains Challenges Of Contract Extensions

The Dallas Cowboys are in a pretty tight financial spot heading into 2024, and that’s putting it lightly.

The Cowboys entered the offseason over the salary cap as it was, and after some finagling, they have now gotten to $10 million under the cap going into training camp.

But here’s the problem: Dallas has to worry about handing contract extensions to Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, which has obviously created quite the quandary in Big D.

Cowboys executive Stephen Jones spoke about the challenges of getting the team’s three top players locked up and says the team is exercising patience.

“Well those things take time,” Jones said on the Scoop City podcast. “And we’re talking about deals here. You know when you’re talking about CeeDee and Dak and you know somebody like a Micah coming up. I mean you’re talking about two players that aren’t quarterbacks that feel like they ought to be a little bit like (Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin) Jefferson, the top-paid non-quarterbacks in the league.”

Keeping all of those players under contract while also paying Prescott will certainly be difficult.

“And then of course you have Dak,” Jones continued. “Obviously, his resume speaks for itself. You know, he was second in MVP voting last year. You know, he’s just had an extraordinary career here in Dallas. And, you know, those things just take time when you’re talking about the amount of money involved. And of course, we’re trying to a little bit play Houdini in how to keep all these guys around Dak and keep these players we were fortunate enough to draft.”

The Cowboys have been much-maligned this offseason

The Cowboys have been heavily criticized for being largely inactive this offseason, but when you look at the situation in front of them, can you really blame them?

Linebacker Eric Kendricks represents the only truly impactful free agent Dallas signed (unless you count aging running back Ezekiel Elliott), which created frustration among the fan base and resulted in considerable backlash from the media.

But with the Cowboys already tight against the cap and having to pay Prescott, Lamb and Parsons, you have to understand that Dallas doesn’t exactly have an easy task.

All of that being said, the Cowboys still boast one of the more talented rosters in football and are coming off of three straight 12-win campaigns.

Dallas could very well win its second straight NFC East division title this year. The question is whether or not the Cowboys can actually make a deep playoff run, as they have not advanced past the Divisional Round since January 1996.

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