For those tired of hearing about how the Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott are nearing a deal to keep him under center for the foreseeable future, turn back now. On Thursday, Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that vice president Stephen Jones that talks are “fixing to heat up.”
“I know he wants to get his contract in the rear view mirror and we want it too,” Jones said. “We want him to be treated well, financially and respectfully. We are going to have a real urgency to get this done.”
That must be music to Prescott’s ears, as the fourth-round draft pick has made a pittance on his rookie contract compared to his level of play. Apparently, the two sides broke off negotiations last season with the club offering a deal that would put Prescott in the upper tier of QB salaries.
The two sides came close to deal in September on a contract that would have paid him roughly $33 million annually, sources said, before talks broke down when Prescott upped his asking price.
The devil, of course, is in the details. While the average annual salary of a deal is what makes the headlines and what gets measured publicly, there are other important details such as guaranteed money that play just as vital a role.
For instance, if the Cowboys offered Prescott $33 million annually, but also short-changed him on what the player believes he should get in guaranteed money, then Prescott’s negotiation response could have easily been to demand more annually, to offset the risk.
Reports to the media on contract talks should always be viewed with this lens.The 64-game starter and 2016 rookie of the year was one yard shy of the team’s passing record in 2019 and has made just over $4 million over four seasons. Meanwhile his fellow draft class mates who he has dominating wins and stat totals over, spent 2019 making 15 times as much as Prescott did, not to mention the higher salaries their first three years in the league due to draft slot.
One thing is certain, Prescott isn’t going anywhere one way or another. The Cowboys have use of the franchise tag in case the conversations go south to keep him around for at least two years, though that’s not the ideal route.
What his contract will ultimately look like is going to draw laughs from the uneducated masses that get their information through talking heads who are paid to stir up controversy. The five highest paid quarterbacks on a per-year basis are Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz.
Prescott outplayed four of the five quarterbacks on that list in 2019.
Even with Jones’ statement that by all parameters the deal they offered would be considered top 5, there’s a lot of wiggle room there.
Goff, who after two strong years was a shell of that version in 2019 for the Rams after inking his deal, has a deal worth $33.5 million annually but with $110 million in guarantees. Rodgers is currently fifth in guaranteed money with $98.5 million in his latest deal.
Prescott could have a reasonable gripe if the Cowboys offered less annual and $12 million total less guaranteed than what Goff received. Public perception however, is shaped by the reports everything would be top 5.
Prescott bet on himself last year and won big. It would come as no surprise to see his contract be the richest in NFL history, topping Wilson’s $140 million deal with $107 guaranteed.
Where things get even more interesting this off-season is when the Kansas City Chiefs or Houston Texans decide to extend Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson. If Dallas is again too slow to pull the trigger, Prescott might have more data points to make his argument a convincing one to the public.
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