It feels like the Cowboys and Dak Prescott will work this all out
By John Buhler
It’s taken a while, but it feels like the Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott are going to work this thing out after with a new contract for him.
Things are improving between Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys at the negotiating table.
Prescott is entering his fifth NFL season out of Mississippi State University. The former fourth-round pick in 2016 has made two career trips to the Pro Bowl and has helped guide “America’s Team” to a pair of division titles in 2016 and 2018. However, orchestrating a long-term deal for the signal-caller has been painfully drawn out by the Cowboys and those in Prescott’s camp.
Even with the 2020 NFL Draft beginning this weekend, things look to be trending up between Prescott and the Cowboys as Dallas commences its virtual offseason program here shortly.
According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, “It remains to be seen if Dak Prescott takes part in today’s start to the Cowboys virtual offseason program. But the two sides have spoken in the last two weeks and a source described that session as ‘very positive.’”
Contract update: It remains to be seen if Dak Prescott takes part in today’s start to the Cowboys virtual offseason program. But the two sides have spoken in the last 2 weeks & a source described that session as “very positive.”
— David Moore (@DavidMooreDMN) April 20, 2020
Less than 24 hours after Moore’s report, the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted out, “Good news for Cowboys [quarterback] Dak Prescott: His exclusive franchise tag number was recalculated and it’s now $31.409M, source said. Previously it was $26.824M. The tags are based on 2020 RFA numbers, and they are finalized after the RFA period ends.”
Good news for #Cowboys QB Dak Prescott: His exclusive franchise tag number was recalculated and it’s now $31.409M, source said. Previously it was $26.824M. The tags are based on 2020 RFA numbers, and they are finalized after the RFA period ends.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 21, 2020
So what does all this mean and why does it mean good things for Prescott going forward?
By seeing more than $4.4 million bump in annual salary on the 2020 NFL franchise tag, this pushes Prescott and his camp’s number closer to the $35 million-range he’d merit on the open market.
Though Prescott will not command $40 million annually on a multi-year deal, as that payment threshold deserves to be broken by Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes alone, Prescott could ask for as his as $37.5 million annually and just might get it from the increasingly desperate Cowboys.
Dallas is seemingly one key injury away from falling back into third place in the NFC East next season. Prescott has provided the Cowboys offense the stability necessary to continuously contend for the NFC playoffs. Owner Jerry Jones has only had two other quarterbacks who could do that before Prescott: Troy Aikman and Tony Romo. Prescott fits the mold to get paid by Jones.
To know you’re getting close to $5 million more annually strictly because of what the new CBA entails, you have to feel fantastic about that if you’re Prescott. You no longer have to negotiate getting over the $30 million threshold, as it’s already baked into the 2020 NFL franchise tag.
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Ultimately, the Cowboys and Prescott will negotiate over $6 million in annual salary. Prescott should want $37.5 million, but would settle for $35 million of yearly salary out of the Cowboys organization on a sweet four-year, $140 million contract. If you don’t think the $4.4 million raise in annual salary on the NFL franchise tag doesn’t matter, then you don’t understand business.