publicly announced his retirement and departure from Florida State TODAY due to his NEW CONTRACT with…

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is preparing to enter the final year of his deal, and the two sides apparently have not made much progress in extension talks.

The Cowboys may actually want to get something done before the season, but it seems to be Prescott who is exercising patience, via Todd Archer of ESPN.

There have not been any “meaningful” contract negotiations between Prescott and the Cowboys, which is fairly concerning given that training camp is just around the corner.

Prescott recently stated that he doesn’t play for money, but owner Jerry Jones knows that he will likely have to cough up more than the $55 million annually that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is earning in order to retain him, Archer notes.

The platitudes from Prescott are nice and all, but let’s be real here: money is a significant part of the equation, and if it weren’t, there wouldn’t be this current standoff in Dallas.

If the Cowboys are unable to strike a long-term pact with Prescott before the 2024 campaign, it would set the signal-caller up to hit free agency next March.

Dallas may actually be comfortable with that if it means it won’t have to agree to a $60 million-per-year contract with Prescott in the coming months. There is also a chance (and a sizeable one, at that) that no other teams would be willing to pay Prescott that much money in free agency.

If that ends up being the case, the Cowboys could then bring Prescott back on a more team-friendly deal.

Still, Dallas fans must prepare themselves for the possibility of a future without Prescott.