Dallas Cowboys Have Tough Decisions With New Deals for Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb

The Cowboys must decide whether to invest millions in Prescott or use those funds to build other parts of the roster, including Lamb.

Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys looks to pass the ball in the first quarter of the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, in Pa., on Jan. 8, 2022. Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys have big, financial decisions to make on two of their most prolific playmakers—quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.

Prescott, 30, is in the final season of a four-year, $160 million deal he signed with Dallas in 2021. The contract includes a no-franchise tag clause and a no-trade clause. He led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes, earned his highest-ever quarterback rating (105.9), and was second in the MVP voting last season behind Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Lamb signed a four-year, $14 million contract after being selected by the Cowboys with the 17th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He has been one of the team’s most productive wide receivers and was named First-Team All-Pro last season. Lamb is holding out of training camp until he gets a new deal.

“We are conscientiously working to get something done,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said about Lamb’s contract status at the team’s training camp on Aug. 14. “I know he wants to be a Dallas Cowboy, and we want him to be a Dallas Cowboy.”

Prescott has been a three-time Pro Bowl selection and won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award in 2022. The Cowboys must decide whether to invest millions in Prescott or use those funds to build other parts of the roster, including Lamb.

Prescott is already an expensive player and has a $55.5 million salary cap hit this year. Prescott will count more than $40 million against the 2025 cap in dead-money charges if he doesn’t reach a new deal with Dallas by next March when the new league year opens.

The Cowboys selected Prescott in the fourth round (135th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft from Mississippi State. He was the first quarterback drafted by the Cowboys since Stephen McGee in 2009 and the fifth since Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989.

Prescott was named the starter after Tony Romo suffered a back injury in a preseason game at Seattle. After losing the season opener, Prescott led the Cowboys on a club-record 11-game win streak to a franchise-tying 13–3 record and the NFC East Division title.

However, there are questions over whether Prescott can lead the Cowboys to a Super Bowl title.

Prescott is 2–5 in the postseason over his career. He threw for 403 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in a 48–32 loss to Green Bay in the wild-card round this past season. Jones is open to re-signing Prescott, but the two sides have been at a stalemate.

“We’re in good shape there. We’re having good talks,” Jones said at Cowboys practice on Aug. 20.

In his first year in Dallas, Lamb caught a team rookie-record 74 passes for 935 yards and five touchdowns. He ranked second among league rookies in catches and receiving yards and became the first player in NFL history to start a rookie season with six consecutive games of five or more catches. Lamb also became the seventh rookie in Cowboys history to surpass 1,000 scrimmage yards.

Lamb had his best year as a pro in 2023 when he led the NFL with 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. He earned All-Pro honors for the first time and is already a three-time Pro Bowler.

In addition to holding out of training camp, Lamb skipped the Cowboys’ offseason program, including the mandatory minicamp, which resulted in about $100,000 in fines.

The cost of signing both Lamb and Prescott could be prohibitive for the Cowboys. Lamb’s projected market value is $136.1 million over four years, with an average salary of $34 million. Prescott’s projected contract is even higher: $220.3 million over four years or $55.1 million per year.

Both players want new deals with the team, but they also know their value in the free agent market if they were to look for a new team.

“If it happens, it happens. Honestly, it’s a business,” Prescott said on Aug. 16 at training camp about his contract situation. “Whether those contracts [talks] are going good, the conversations, I’m happy where I am right now and that’s truly where my focus is. I enjoy being a Cowboy, 1,000 percent. I enjoy living in Dallas and everything about it. But this is a business.”