Much of the NFL offseason has been focused on what the Dallas Cowboys would do for Dak Prescott after they gave him the franchise tag.
As my colleague Steven Ruiz wrote, Jerry Jones already had dug himself into a hole with Prescott by giving Ezekiel Elliott a ton of money. Then he went and signed Andy Dalton, and our Henry McKenna noted that if that was how Jones wanted to get leverage on Prescott, that wasn’t the answer.
And then! Back in May, Ruiz had the best advice for Jones: just pay the man! We all know Prescott is a franchise QB and deserves to be paid as such.
Now, after we spilled so much digital ink over this situation? Things just got way more complicated for Jones and Prescott thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs giving Patrick Mahomes a humongous extension.
Sign Dak Prescott before Patrick Mahomes signs.
Sign Dak Prescott before Patrick Mahomes signs.
Sign Dak Prescott before Patrick Mahomes signs.
Sign Dak Prescott before Patrick Mahomes signs.
Sign Dak Prescott before Patrick Mahomes signs.
Sign Dak Prescott before Pat–Whoops.
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) July 6, 2020
Jerry Jones currently moving at a furious pace to cut off Dak Prescott’s internet/phone service. https://t.co/gs8liiMuLO
— Cousin Sal (@TheCousinSal) July 6, 2020
Whatever Prescott and his agent were negotiating can be torn up now. The line has moved. Does Mahomes’ contract mean Prescott will ask for more years or more money? Probably both!
The only thing in Jones’ favor is at least that Mahomes’ contract is for one of the game’s best players who just won a Super Bowl and has looked otherworldly ever since he took the starting job. When it comes to quarterback contracts, it’s a game of leapfrog: everyone who gets a new contract usually gets a little more than the highest-paid player, who then gets beat by the next notable name up for a deal and so on. This is like strapping on a jet pack and leaping ahead like 50 years. It’s not like Jones has to give Prescott a 10-year, $451 million contract to beat out Mahomes.
But now he’s got to figure out what to give his star QB. It’s got to be more than what Jared Goff ($110 million guaranteed) and Carson Wentz ($107 million) got. If quarterbacks are suddenly demanding more than the usual four or five years, that has to be factored in.
This is what happens sometimes when you wait too long in negotiations. The July 15 deadline for players with franchise tags to sign extensions could be when Jones was looking to finalize a long-term contract with Prescott with whatever number he had in his head.
Now, Prescott has a lot more leverage.
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