Report: Dak Prescott, Cowboys not planning further contract discussions

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are running out of time to agree to a long-term deal, and they may not even make a last-second effort to work something out.

Wednesday is the deadline for franchise tagged players to sign long-term contracts with their respective teams, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported on Tuesday that both Prescott and the Cowboys “remain dug in” and have not shown any interest in negotiating further.

With a little more than 24 hours to go before the deadline, the #Cowboys & Dak Prescott remain dug in and no further talks are scheduled, per me and @TomPelissero. So barring a significant shift, Dak is in line to bet on himself again — this time playing on the $31.4 million tag.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 14, 2020

It seemed at one point like it was a foregone conclusion that Prescott would not be forced to play the 2020 season under the franchise tag, but that is the direction in which the two sides are headed. There has been no movement in contract talks in recent weeks, though it wouldn’t take much time for that to change if one side was willing to sacrifice.

The issue all along has been the length of the contract, as Prescott reportedly wants a four-year deal and the Cowboys want to lock him up for five.

While playing under the franchise tag takes some long-term security away from a player, Kirk Cousins made roughly $44 million by playing under the tag in 2016 and 2017. Prescott is set to make $31.4 million this year, so there are worse situations he could be in.