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          Dak Prescott not sweating pace of Cowboys contract talks

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          • Todd Archer, ESPN Staff WriterApr 19, 2024, 09:15 PM ET
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              Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010. You can follow him on Twitter at @toddarcher.
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          DALLAS -- If the Dallas Cowboys are in no rush to sign Dak Prescott to a long-term extension, then that's fine with the quarterback.

          Prescott said negotiations have not really begun with the Cowboys on a new deal, although he had what he termed a "great conversation" with owner and general manager Jerry Jones about a month ago.

          "I'm focused on here, right now where I am," Prescott said Friday as he prepared to take part in the Children's Cancer Fund's "A Knight to Remember" gala, where he serves as a co-chair with Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. "That's how I've always been. Anytime y'all have asked me, it's always been about right now, getting better tomorrow. And I've been in this situation before, so it's OK. I'm fine in any situation at that point betting on myself or playing this year out."

          Prescott is entering the final year of a four-year, $160 million deal he signed in 2021 and is set to count $55.4 million against the salary cap. The Cowboys cannot use the franchise tag on him after this year, and he has a no-trade clause.

          In 2019, Prescott played out the final year of his rookie deal and was given the franchise tag in 2020. He suffered a dislocated and fractured right ankle in the fifth game of that season but still signed the most lucrative deal in franchise history.

          He was asked if he wants to be the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.

          "No, I'm not trying to be the highest paid necessarily," Prescott said. "We'll wait until the negotiations begin and obviously want to put this team in the best situation."

          Cincinnati's Joe Burrow has the highest average salary at $55 million, followed by the Los Angeles Chargers' Justin Herbert and Baltimore's Lamar Jackson at $52 million. Prescott's $40 million average is tied for 10th highest in the league.

          "I'm not going to say I fear being here or not," Prescott said. "I don't fear either situation, to be candid with you. I love this game and love to play and love to better myself as a player and my teammates around me. Right now it's with the Dallas Cowboys. It's where I want to be and that's where I am and that's the focus. And after this season we'll see where we're at and if the future holds that ... and then if not, we'll go from there."

          Prescott has been at the early stages of the Cowboys' voluntary offseason program, although two other players the team has prioritized in re-signing, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons, have not. Lamb is in the final year of his contract and looking for a long-term deal. Parsons is following a similar plan he had last year, when he worked out away from the team's facility early in the offseason.

          Prescott said he has been in communication with his No. 1 receiver.

          "We'll get the work in, whether it's him getting into the facility, maybe a deal gets done," Prescott said. "If it doesn't, I'll guarantee that we'll still find a lot of time to make sure we're putting in the work [so] that we feel comfortable."

          Prescott was asked about the lawsuit he filed regarding an alleged extortion claim made by a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by him in 2017. He said that case will not affect the contract talks.

          "I know the truth," he said. "Very confident in what we filed."