The Dallas Cowboys are slightly reducing quarterback Dak Prescott's massive salary cap hit by reworking his contract going into the final year of the deal, sources told ESPN's Field Yates on Monday.
A $5 million roster bonus has been converted into a signing bonus to reduce the 2024 cap hit by $4 million, to just over $55 million, the sources told Yates.
The Cowboys can create more salary cap relief with an extension for Prescott, who is coming off a wild-card loss at home to Green Bay that dropped his playoff record to 2-5.
The Cowboys are continuing attempts to sign Prescott to a contract extension, a source told ESPN's Ed Werder.
While Jerry Jones has said the club plans to keep Prescott, the team owner/general manager hasn't struck the same definitive tone he did in 2021 before signing his franchise QB to a club-record $160 million, four-year contract.
The reworking of the contract included adding two more voidable years in 2027 and 2028, which pushed Prescott's salary cap number in 2025 up slightly to $40 million.
The Cowboys have been quiet in free agency in part because of looming paydays for All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb and star pass-rusher Micah Parsons, the 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Committing to Prescott beyond the coming season would make it easier to get deals done with Lamb and Parsons.
The only addition for Dallas from another team so far has been linebacker Eric Kendricks on a one-year deal worth up to $3.5 million. The Cowboys added Kendricks while releasing linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, their 2018 first-round pick, on a failed physical designation after he suffered another neck injury last season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.