Jimmy Johnson thinks the Cowboys made a mistake with the Dak Prescott extension

The Dallas Cowboys are in the midst of a disappointing 4-7 season and their future could be even bleaker due to their salary cap.

Dak Prescott’s record extension, along with the new deal CeeDee Lamb signed in August, will account for a large portion of the Cowboys’ salary cap in 2025. With Dallas likely to have some tough financial decisions this offseason, former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson believes , that the franchise made a misstep with Prescott’s deal.

“They’re so financially strapped with all these contracts,” Johnson said on FS1’s “The Herd” when asked what he would do if he ran the Cowboys this offseason.

“First of all, I never would have given Prescott a new contract. I would have let him play it out. He’s the highest paid player in the league. He’s not the best player in the league. He wasn’t going anywhere If you go to the Super Bowl with him, hey, wouldn’t go anywhere. If he struggled in the playoffs, negotiate got hurt, you save money.

“But they’re so financially strapped right now, I don’t know what they’re doing.”

Prescott signed a four-year, $240 million extension with the Cowboys in September that included $231 million in guaranteed money. The average annual value of the deal and the guaranteed money were the richest in NFL history. His season ended after Week 9 when he tore his hamstring.

The contract for Prescott came a few weeks after Lamb signed an extension worth $136 million over four seasons with $100 million guaranteed. As a result, Prescott ($89.9 million) and Lamb ($35.5 million) will have huge cap numbers next season. With the salary cap for next season expected to be set at around $272.5 million, Prescott and Lamb’s numbers will be around 45% of their salary cap space.

While Prescott and Lamb received new deals, standout linebacker Micah Parsons did not. He enters the final year of his contract in 2025, and if he were to be extended, the Cowboys would likely have a significant portion of their salary cap tied to three players in 2026 and future seasons.

As a contract decision on Parsons looms, some have pondered whether it would be a good idea for the Cowboys to trade him to help round out a roster that has proven to have several holes. Johnson doesn’t think that would be a good idea.

Jimmy Johnson’s take on what the Dallas Cowboys should do in the offseason

“Parsons is such a great, great player,” Johnson said. “It would be a boatload of picks to trade him. I don’t want to get rid of him. He’s their whole defense. He’s a game-changer. Al Davis told me one time I was talking about players and he said that the very player I was talking about – it was Michael Irvin – wins games for you. You don’t want to get rid of a player who wins games for you.”

Parsons has missed four games this season with an ankle injury, which is just part of the reason Dallas’ defense ranks near the bottom of the league. But when he’s been healthy, he’s been productive. In seven games, he has a team-high five sacks, along with 25 total tackles, 11 QB hits and a forced fumble. He also has a team-high 36 pressures this season, per Pro Football Focus.

Earlier this week, Johnson said on “The Facility” that he wouldn’t make a move to hire Colorado’s Deion Sanders as head coach if he was in charge of the Cowboys. While seat rumors swirl around head coach Mike McCarthy, Johnson also wouldn’t make a move there after owner Jerry Jones left open the possibility McCarthy could be extended at the end of the season.

“They’re talking about changing coaches,” Johnson said. “Well, I don’t know if changing coaches is going to help them. Mike McCarthy is a good football coach. I don’t know if a new coach coming in can fix the problem.”

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