OXNARD, Calif. — Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is gearing up for his ninth season at the helm of America's Team, but with contract negotiations uncertain -- could this be his final go in Arlington?
The quarterback is entering the last year of his contract, which pays him an average salary of $40 million per year. While this was good money for an NFL quarterback four years ago, it's seemingly now not enough to keep Prescott around for much longer.
While the Jones family tries to arrange a contract suitable for Prescott and his agent, they also have to figure out new deals for wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons, who are both well-deserving of a big payday.
Earlier this training camp, Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones said this presents a large challenge because those three players could take up a significant portion of all available money, leaving little for the other 51 players on the roster.
Whether this is his last season with the Cowboys or not, Prescott said he's made peace with it and he's not worried about the things he can't control.
"I'm not going to allow that to tear me down as a person or as a football player," Prescott told WFAA Sports Anchor Joe Trahan at training camp. "It's important to me as a man to stay focused on the people around me, what I've been blessed to do and everything will take care of itself."
Prescott credits this mentality to previous adversities he's dealt with and it's something he believes has developed over his time in the NFL.
Another personal development that's kept Prescott level-headed is that he is now a father. The 31-year-old and his girlfriend, Sarah Jane Ramos, welcomed their daughter MJ to the world in late February. Prescott said he's grateful that she's a happy baby and that it's a real testament to her mother and his entire family.
The Cowboys quarterback said he feels blessed to bring a child into this world and wants to focus on passing down important lessons to her that his mother taught him.
"One just being intentional," Prescott said. "Everything that I do, especially like my conversations and the one thing that my mom gave to me that stands with me each and every day and allows me to get through anything and everything is just belief in myself."
Prescott acknowledged that it would be a lot different than his upbringing with two brothers, but it's something that he looks forward to every day.
While this offseason may have started earlier than the Cowboys and their supporters expected it to after a Wild Card Round loss to Green Bay in January, Prescott said he learned some things about himself and the position he plays.
"Each and every play matters," Prescott said. "When you play this position and the ball is in your hands, it's almost the temperature of the whole team and being able to control that from the beginning to the last play. Whether it's being down and making sure the guys have belief that we can come back or it's starting fast to give the team confidence, it's being able to control that thermometer."
The playoff loss last season was met with a mountain of criticism on Prescott and his ability to perform in high-stakes scenarios. However, Prescott said at this stage in his career, it's not something he reads into as a lot of the times the same people that take shots at him are the ones to show praise when he's doing well.
"None of it really matters," Prescott said. "It's all noise. You have to be true to who you are, true to the people that are around you, true to what got you here and understand that that's what's going to get you further. That's what's going to get you through the adversity and it's going to make you a better person, man and quarterback on the other side."
The quarterback said this mindset allows him to block out the negativity and have that peace and freedom to continue to grow.
Playoff losses and contract negotiations haven't been the only headlines surrounding Prescott in the lead-up to this season. In June, the Cowboys quarterback was cleared of all civil claims against him stemming from a months-long legal battle where a woman accused him of sexual assault in 2017.
The accuser demanded $100 million from Prescott to not go to Dallas Police with her case. However, once she did go to the police in March, Prescott filed a civil lawsuit and a criminal report in response, calling her claims an "extortion plot."
In April, the accuser's attorneys dropped the suit originally filed in Dallas Couty and filed a similar lawsuit in Collin County. However, Dallas PD declined to pursue any criminal charges against Prescott due to lack of evidence, and a month later, a Collin County judge cleared all civil claims against him.
