ARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 15: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys scrambles under pressure from the Los Angeles Rams in the first half at AT&T Stadium on December 15, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Dak Prescott has hesitated to sign a long-term deal with the Dallas Cowboys, and now he’s in perfect position to squeeze every penny out of Jerry Jones.
To this point, Dak Prescott has not bent to the Dallas Cowboys in long-term contract talks.
A report the team and his agent haven’t talked since September surfaced in February, and the looming vote on a new CBA has put things in a league-wide holding pattern.
According to the Dallas Morning News over the weekend, the Cowboys’ latest offer to Prescott was a deal that averages $33 million per year with $105 million guaranteed. That’s the same AAV as deal that was reportedly offered back in September, so any hesitation from Prescott is probably rooted in that as well as the structure and amount of the guaranteed money.
Prescott has a fair amount of leverage, as new Cowboys’ head coach Mike McCarthy surely needs his starting quarterback in the building from the start.
Now, according to multiple reports, the Cowboys have now upped their offer to Prescott.
Russell Wilson ($35 million) and Ben Roethlisberger ($34 million) are at the top in terms of annual average, followed by Aaron Rodgers and Jared Goff ($33.5 million). Carson Wentz comes in at $32 million.
Todd Archer of ESPN Dallas has suggested the new offer to Prescott is in the territory of Rodgers and Goff, with Patrik Walker of CBS Sports confirming a “nudge” toward $34 million per year.
Prescott could follow the Kirk Cousins path and willing play things out via the franchise tag for a couple years. There have been reports he wants a shorter deal, with an eye on a new deal under a looming new CBA. There could some disagreement on length of contract right now, even if as an example a fifth year is essentially a hardly guaranteed dummy year tacked on by the Cowboys to make Prescott look greedy.
In any case, all Prescott did was have his best year in the final year of his rookie contract. He bet on himself and it paid off. It’s time for him to cash in, and he should get every penny he can from the Cowboys as the franchise tag deadline looms. If Monday’s news of a quickly increased offer is any indication, Prescott will win this staredown with Jerry Jones.