Cowboys: Stephen Jones admits biggest regret was Dak Prescott

Stephen Jones admits waiting to pay Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was a mistake.

During a sit-down interview with Pat Doney of NBC DFW, Dallas Cowboys executive vice president, CEO and director of player personnel Stephen Jones regrets not paying starting quarterback Dak Prescott sooner.

Dallas lucked out in getting a bona-fide franchise quarterback unbeknownst to them in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Prescott was an amazing player at Mississippi State, and everybody who watched SEC football could tell you that. However, even the Cowboys organization doubted him when it came to extending their Pro Bowl signal-caller during the 2020 NFL offseason.

Prescott played last season on the franchise tag. Despite breaking his ankle a third of the way through the year, he was able to secure the bag with a four-year, $160 million contract extension this offseason.

The Cowboys may have overpaid for Prescott, but you can’t put a price on a franchise quarterback.

Dallas Cowboys: EVP Stephen Jones regrets not paying Dak Prescott sooner

Prescott’s high-profile contract negotiation had everything to do with length rather than compensation. His camp wanted a four-year deal, while the Cowboys preferred a five-year one. Prescott got his way with the four-year contract he signed this past winter. He will not be hitting unrestricted free agency again until 2025 ahead of his age-32 season out of Mississippi State.

While they did not expect this, Dallas lucked into replacing a former top-10 quarterback in Tony Romo with another in Prescott. Of course, Prescott is on the lower end of that spectrum. Then again, he is certainly talented enough to get the Cowboys back to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1995, assuming Jones can continue to put the right playmakers around him.

Delaying paying Prescott was an ice cream headache the Cowboys could have avoided all together.