There seems to be a new opinion surfacing daily as to what Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott should do when it comes to his next contract. These opinions range from credible members of the Dallas media all the way to diehard Cowboys fans across all social media platforms. Now the NFL’s all-time leading rusher and Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith gave his thoughts on the Prescott contract situation on The Lefkoe Show and it seems to have caused a stir.
“Dak has to understand and maybe take another perspective. The perspective may not be all the money that you get. It may be how much of the money you willing to leave on the table. Because the Cowboys is a marketable organization. So if you are the face of the franchise would it not, instead of taking 35, would you take 28? And leave some for Amari and pick up the other 35 through endorsements?” Smith expressed to Adam Lefkoe.
#Cowboys HOF Emmitt Smith on
Dak Prescott’s contract situation:“How much money are you willing to leave on the table? The Cowboys are a marketable organization…
Instead of taking 35, would you take 28? Leave some for Amari and pick up the rest in endorsements.”@LefkoeShow pic.twitter.com/coZn8iPVpy
— Adam Lefkoe (@AdamLefkoe) February 19, 2020
This may come as somewhat of a surprise to Cowboys fans everywhere considering Smith’s history with his very own contract situation with the team in 1993. The Cowboys started off with two straight losses largely in part to Smith holding out for a new contract himself. After that rough start for the team, Smith signed his deal and the Cowboys went on to win the Super Bowl. All was great at that point and each party was happy. However now, when it comes to salaries in the NFL, a lot has changed in the last 27 years.
The idea that a quarterback taking up a large percentage of the salary cap being a detriment to team building was deconstructed recently in an article by Bob Sturm of The Athletic (pay wall).
I did this study inside today's piece – since the last CBA, you have 36 QB situations to have made the final 4. They break out like this:
36% are on rookie deals
31% are on Top 10 QB deals
16% are on QBs on inexpensive vet deals
16% are Tom Brady on inexpensive deal. pic.twitter.com/HveLvfqgxe— Bob Sturm (@SportsSturm) February 18, 2020
Smith was a strong advocate for running back Ezekiel Elliott to get his big pay day just last summer.
“If he doesn’t do it now when the league it talking about devaluing the running back position and he’s proven he can carry the ball 350 plus times on a consistent basis, there aren’t many backs in the National Football League that can do that,” Smith said. “We have one on our team and there’s another one up in New York (Saquon Barkley) and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone else. When you have those caliber of backs on your squad, they’re unique individuals … He deserves to be paid like that.”
Within the same year, Smith has gone on record from supporting Elliott in getting the highest of contracts possible to now saying the franchise quarterback should be taking a “team friendly” deal. Some could wonder if he has a bias for running backs.
In any event, the March 10 franchise tag deadline is rapidly approaching and if the Cowboys want to get a long term deal signed with their franchise QB, then one of the two sides will have to budge just a little. Smith clearly suggests it should be Prescott.
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