According to NFL Network reporter Jane Slater, Dak Prescott is seeking a $40 million per year contract extension after turning down an offer of $30 million per season. This report has incited a firestorm of reactions from Cowboys fans and members of the media but is it really a cause for concern? Is Dak out of his mind or are he and his camp just playing hardball?
On the surface it appears that the Dallas Cowboys and Prescott’s representatives are far apart in negotiating a Dak Prescott contract extension. Why else would specific numbers be leaked unless one or both sides was trying to leverage the court of public opinion? As is usually the case, only vague numbers are being thrown out to the public and no specifics about contract length, guaranteed money, or incentives are being disclosed. That leads me to believe that the reported $30 million dollar offer was not as generous as it sounds. It also leads me to believe that any demand of $40 million per season is either being greatly exaggerated or a knee jerk response to the $30 million offer. Jane Slater herself does not seem convinced at the finality of these reported offers and demands:
To some fans and media members, the $34 to $35 million dollar mark is equally absurd as the $40 million dollar amount but it would be in line with the market trend for quarterback money. Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlesberger, Aaron Rodgers, and Carson Wentz have all reset that market and there is no turning back. $30 million per season would have sufficed as a follow up to Jimmy Garopollo or Kirk Cousins but that ship has sailed and Dak Prescott’s agents were more than happy to wait it out.
Truthfully, both sides should be anxious to get a deal done sooner now rather than later. Apart from waiting on a Jared Goff deal, Dak’s camp should not be motivated to wait much longer. Playing the season on his rookie deal puts Dak Prescott at risk of injury or at the very least of under performing. Especially with the potential absence of Ezekiel Elliott. Although, if Dak does play well without Zeke it would be worth the risk. The Dallas Cowboys certainly do not want to wait longer as the QB market continues to rise and their championship window is getting smaller and smaller every day. Since it is advantageous for both sides to get a deal done, I still expect it to happen soon, hopefully before the season starts to avoid further distractions that could carry over and impact the team’s performance.
The numbers being thrown out there of $30 millon and $40 million don’t really mean anything. Likely, the biggest negotiating points are the length of the contract and the guaranteed money. If I were Dak Prescott, I would focus less on the dollar value and more so on the guaranteed money portion similar to the Kirk Cousins deal. If I were Jerry Jones, and I believed in my quarterback, I too might leverage the guaranteed money to negotiate a more “team friendly deal’. At the end of the day, the Dallas Cowboys will not win many games without Dak Prescott and Dak Prescott will not have a better situation for himself than right here in Dallas. Hopefully both sides will consider this and act accordingly.
*Photo by Kieth Allison https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode