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“Expect the two sides to get together in the weeks following the Super Bowl and start working,” the report said. “Prescott should once again be one of the highest-paid—if not the highest-paid—quarterbacks in the NFL, with the Cowboys gaining valuable cap room to operate in free agency if they do a deal.”

Some fans will bristle at the idea of Prescott getting an extension that averages $50-plus million on the heels of the Cowboys’ lackluster effort in the NFC Wild Card Round. Prescott’s 403 yards and three touchdowns are deceiving because the bulk of that output came after the game was already out of reach.

The trouble for Dallas is that it doesn’t have much other choice but to sign the three-time Pro Bowler to a new, market-level contract.

Prescott carries a salary cap hit of $59.5 million in 2024, which is the second-highest in the league. Lowering that number is imperative and places a level of urgency on striking a bargain.

From Prescott’s side, there’s little reason to give the Cowboys a hometown discount when he’d have plenty of suitors in the event he becomes a free agent. He was the runner-up for MVP in 2023 after leading the league in touchdown passes (36) and QBR (72.7).

The 30-year-old’s track record in the postseason is impossible to ignore completely, but there isn’t a straightforward path for Dallas to find an upgrade now or at a point in the foreseeable future.

That gives him plenty of leverage to secure a pay raise this offseason.