NFL says Cowboys have 264 days to extend Dak Prescott

The NFL outlined the beginning of the 2025 league year, turning the hour glass bottoms up on the negotiations between the Cowboys and their star QB. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The heat is on. Despite outlining every possible outcome of the Dak Prescott negotiating window soon after the Cowboys’ season ended, one thing has remained true. With all of the time in between mid-January and the completion of his contract, Dallas and Prescott have always leaned toward eventually coming to an agreement on how much he’s worth to remain with the club.

And although the odds have shifted some over the last four-plus months, there’s still plenty of time for that to become the reality. On Thursday, however, plenty of time was given a official expiration date. The two sides have 264 days to complete an extension or else Prescott hits free agency for the first time in his career.

The NFL released the opening framework of the 2025 league year to the player’s association and with it the end of the exclusive window the Cowboys have to negotiate with Prescott, who finished second in MVP voting in 2023.

Prescott’s last round of negotiating took a couple years to hammer out a deal. For the trouble, Prescott got everything he could have asked for at the time. He got the second biggest QB deal next to Patrick Mahomes. He was only inked for four years. He secured veto rights to any trade. He forced them to waste their second franchise tag on him and most importantly he forced them to include a no-tag clause once that deal expired.

That expiration date is officially March 12, 2025. And with the league allowing 48 hours of legal tampering (let’s all just pretend that negotiations aren’t ongoing as soon as the scouting combine begins), that means that Prescott is allowed to agree to terms with any team on March 10.

264 days away.

The options to replace Prescott mostly focus on the draft, though there are a couple of potential veterans who could be brought in if Dallas loses Prescott’s services. One possibility had been if Jacksonville had let Trevor Lawrence hit the open market, but he was recently signed to a $55 million per year extension that clears Prescott by $15 million annually currently.

That reinforces the floor for where Prescott negotiations will begin, as he’s going to clear the marked shared with Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow. If Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa reaches a deal before Prescott does, that floor can only get raised, not lowered. Green Bay’s Jordan Love is also eligible for an extension, though he might come with a lower price considering he’s only started for one season.

Regardless, its going to cost Dallas if they want to retain Prescott’s services. Either they’ll clear the average annual amount, or the guaranteed money amount, or he’ll be appearing in local commercials outside of Dallas Ft. Worth sometime next March.