What did Stephen Jones say regarding the contract situations of Prescott, Lamb, and Parsons?

Throughout this entire NFL offseason, the Dallas Cowboys’ hottest topic has been the uncertain contract situations of quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, and edge rusher Micah Parsons. Even head coach Mike McCarthy’s future is up in the air heading into the 2024 season. Prescott and Lamb are both entering the final year of their contracts, and looking for a significant pay raise with their next extension.

Lamb has made his stance clear as he skipped out on OTAs and the Cowboys’ mandatory minicamp in May, and looks ready to hold out on training camp next week as well, if a deal is not reached before then. While Prescott and Parsons aren’t putting that kind of pressure on, the pressure is still on regardless. Cowboys COO Stephen Jones knows that they will have to come up with a solution soon.

What did Stephen Jones say about Prescott/Lamb/Parsons contract situations?

Jones was interviewed on a podcast for The Athletic called “Scoop City” and he touched on the subject, mentioning that those kinds of moves take time, and shedding light on how expensive it is to keep three huge stars on the team.

Prescott is entering the final year of his contract under a $55.1 million salary cap figure, set to make $34 million this year before an extension. Lamb is in the final year of his rookie deal and set to make $17.99 million. Parsons is eligible for an extension after the Cowboys exercised his fifth-year option in April with a $2.989 million base salary this season. With extensions, Prescott could make up to $60 million, Lamb could make up to $30 million, and Parsons could make up to $40 million.

“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 (the Vikings’ Justin) Jefferson, the top-paid non quarterbacks in the league,” said Jones.

“And then of course you have Dak. 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.”

Jones mentioned that the Vikings, who are paying receiver Justin Jefferson $35 million a year after his contract extension, do not have any other players on the team who are being paid over $20 million. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have at least three players looking for that much and then some. He also took that moment to remind listeners that the Cowboys have other great players they have to keep paying as well - Trevon Diggs, Zach Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence.

Still, he said, “that’s no excuse”. Jones knows they need to get a deal done for all three of those players, and he plans to do so. “It just takes time,” he reiterated. He feels optimistic about getting the deal done for Prescott, who he says understands the challenges and is waiting it out patiently in the meantime. Jones also noted that at some point, with expensive quarterbacks, sacrifices must be made elsewhere on the team, comparing the situation to the two-time Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs, who let go of star receiver Tyreek Hill and top cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. The Cowboys may have to make similar sacrifices, but the deal will get done one way or another.

“You have to make some tough choices along the way. But we’re optimistic that we can do that.”