One anonymous NFL executive believes the Dallas Cowboys are deliberately aiming to make the club poorer the following season in order to sign quarterback Dak Prescott to a less expensive contract extension. This is due to the team’s tightening purse restraints.

In an effort to conserve money for a potential Dak Prescott contract deal, could the Dallas Cowboys’ summer plans be shifting from going “all in,” as team owner Jerry Jones famously declared, to trying to self-sabotage their own season?

Even if it seems like a strange idea, this is one anonymous NFL executive’s perspective. Mike Sando of The Athletic recently published an article in which three league executives discussed their opinions of the Cowboys offseason. Nevertheless, one sticks out above the others.

In the Cowboys’ offseason, an unidentified official speculated to the Athletic, “If the guy wants $60 million a year, you know what we are going to do instead?” about Dallas’ perspective. “You’re going to play worse, we’re going to have an average team, and we’ll get you for less money.”

Our instantaneous response? This is a ridiculous estimation of what a stupid scheme would entail.

The Cowboys’ offseason motto has evolved into trying to “do more with less.” Without adding any replacements, they allowed important members of the squad from the previous campaign to leave free agency, including running back Tony Pollard, center Tyler Biadasz, and left tackle Tyron Smith.

Thus, in that regard, the executive is correct—at least in part: the Cowboys’ roster has gotten worse during the summer.

But Prescott isn’t the only Cowboys player who has been frugal with his expenditures. Some concerned critics speculated that even the team’s star receiver, CeeDee Lamb, who had a stellar year and broke several franchise records, would fall victim to the team’s newly tightened budget. Jones caused a stir at the NFL Owners’ Meetings when he made comments that seemed to raise the question of whether losing out on four or five other players would be worth re-signing Lamb.

When talking about their best playmaker, Jones even went so far as to say, “Whoever has CeeDee,” which translates to, “whichever team employs CeeDee.” This is definitely not what fans want to hear.

The Micah Parsons extension, of course, does nothing but wait and sit.

Let’s examine the reasoning behind this unidentified executive’s absurd notion, though: the Cowboys are giving up the opportunity to win in 2024 by signing Dak for, say, $55 million APY in the spring of 2025 rather than $60 million APY?

Is it worth $5 million in cap space to tank a season? No.

Would Dak be more likely to sign again for less money with a Dallas team that isn’t winning than he would with one that is? No.

Dallas’ collapse will deter other NFL teams from bidding on Dak as a free agency in 2025. Not at all?

As our own Mike Fisher has frequently argued, we continue to feel that the strategy inside The Star in Frisco is more likely to be the “blow it up” plan—that is, the Cowboys have determined that this team, as it is, isn’t good enough for the long run. Thus, it will get its “all in” opportunity in 2024. A makeover, with or without Prescott, will follow in 2025.