Here’s when Dak Prescott is expected to accept a deal from the Cowboys
By John Buhler
Dak Prescott will have a new deal in place with the Dallas Cowboys sooner rather than later.
The Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott have tried to put together a long-term extension for well over a year now. Prescott massively overachieved his rookie contract with “America’s Team” as a former fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State University. He was slapped with the franchise tag for 2020, but a new long-term deal will get done at some point.
Dallas understands it got tremendous production out of Prescott for pennies on the dollar for the last four years. It’s time for the Cowboys to pay up and give Prescott the contract he deserves. While figuring out the precise price point and the length of the multi-year deal remains in flux, ESPN’s Ed Werder offered some insight to how the negotiations are going in the last few days.
When will Dak Prescott sign his new deal with the Dallas Cowboys?
“I actually think both sides feel like (a deal before July 15) is going to be the outcome,” Werder said on SportsCenter Saturday. “If you look at it, seven of the past 10 NFL quarterbacks to be franchise tagged actually signed multi-year deals before that July deadline, this year, July 15. I think that’s going to happen here.”
The day before, Werder appeared on Get Up to offer some more insight on what the price range we should expect on Prescott’s new contract.
“I believe the Cowboys have offered Dak Prescott something approaching five years, $35 million per year deal, which would be what Russell Wilson makes as the highest-paid player in the NFL. But Prescott’s representation has adamantly denied to me that they proposed $45 million for a fifth year, which has now been reported.”
The $35 million is the lowest annual number Prescott and his camp would accept. It’s only a few million above what he’d make on the 2020 NFL franchise tag. While the high-end number of $45 million was first reported by NBC Sports’ Chris Simms, that number has been shot down almost immediately. Prescott will likely make somewhere between $35 million and $40 million annually.
So while the price point isn’t up for much of a debate, the big key here is the length of the contract. Werder appeared on Get Up Friday morning, expressing how Prescott’s camp wants a four-year deal, while the Cowboys would prefer something of at least five.
“The primary difference between Dak and the Cowboys is that they want a four-year deal. The Cowboys want a five-year deal or longer…While there’s no agreement on money, that the parameters on a per-year basis are close enough that they feel they are within striking distance in that regard.”
“There is a deal to be made. But the fact remains, four years is what Prescott wants. Anything else is a total non-starter considering he took the risk of playing out his contract.”
What feels like a reasonable deal for both parties is for Prescott to get $37.5 million annually for four years. He’ll surpass the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson for the highest-paid quarterback in the league. Certainly, he’ll be surpassed by the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson and the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson in the coming year.
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By making it only a four-year deal, it will afford Prescott an opportunity to take another bite at the apple in his early 30s. The 26-year-old signal-caller has brought stability and made the Cowboys playoff viable the last four years. He will get paid by the Cowboys because they don’t really have a choice. If seven other franchise quarterbacks got paid ahead of the July deadline, so will Prescott.
It’s still a few weeks out but, we should expect Prescott to sign his new deal by mid-July.