How the Cowboys mishandled the Dak Prescott situation -- and why they'll pay for it

Every Cowboys fan is wondering why the team hasn't locked up stars Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons to new contract extensions -- especially Prescott's 2024 cap number is over $55 million , and a contract extension could bring that down, allowing the Cowboys to use more cap space than the $12,050,365 they currently have to get their other big stars addressed.

In a recent article by Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News , it was revealed just how much the team has put itself in an impossible bind by the ways in which they've dealt with Prescott's NFL future.

And Prescott isn't the only problem -- Dallas' desire to kick the cans down the road contractually has now come home to roost. Last year, they restructured Prescott's contract to acquire cornerback Stephon Gilmore and receiver Brandin Cooks, and the bill has come due.

From Gehlken:

The Cowboys have restructured Prescott to such magnitude that, if he becomes a free agent next March, he will count $40.14 million against the 2025 cap while playing elsewhere. That amount would be $13.25 million without restructures. If re-signed before his deal expires, he will count $26.13 million on top of whatever new cap dollars his extension dictates for 2025.

The Cowboys also allowed language into Prescott's current contract that does them no favors now.

At the start of the 2025 league year, Prescott would count the aforementioned $40.14 million upon becoming a free agent. He cannot be franchise-tagged or traded because of contract language his agent successfully inserted in his 2021 extension.

Prescott has said that he wants to give the Cowboys enough of a break on a new deal to allow them to continue to sign other stars, including Lamb and Parsons, but it's not really on the quarterback if the team has made suboptimal decisions that affect their team-building ability beyond what Prescott does or does not do.

But that's why, despite Jerry Jones' claim that the Cowboys are "all in," they really can't be. With Prescott or anybody else, and whether Prescott is in a Cowboys uniform in 2025 and beyond, or not.