What Deshaun Watson’s contract means for Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson

Deshaun Watson has gotten paid by the Texans, and the agents for Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson surely noticed.

Deshaun Watson was the proverbial next quarterback up for a big contract, and now it’s done. As first reported by John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, Watson and the Houston Texans have agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $39 million per year with a $27 million signing bonus. Further reports have said it’s a four-year, $160 million deal with $111 million in guarantees.

Watson is now under contract with the Texans through 2025. A $39 million or $40 million per year new money average makes him the second-highest paid quarterback behind Patrick Mahomes, with more cash over his deal than Mahomes will get in the first four years of his mega deal.

The key numbers in Watson’s deal are the length, the new money average and the raw amount of guaranteed money. The quarterbacks who are next up for a big contracts, and their agents, have surely taken note.

What does Deshaun Watson’s deal mean to Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson?

Prescott didn’t bite when the Cowboys made a contract offer last fall, and that bet on himself paid off when he topped 4,900 passing yards with 30 touchdowns last season. The Cowboys franchise tagged him, and no long-term deal was reached by July 15. So, he’ll collect $31.4 million this season, with a second franchise tag in 2021 set to cost Dallas $37.68 million.

Watson had wanted a shorter deal, even three years as opposed to the four he got reportedly. There were reports suggesting Prescott wanted a four-year deal this offseason, while the Cowboys (naturally) preferred a five-year pact.

Unlike Watson, who will play this year and next before the salary payout of his new deal kicks in, Prescott is playing 2020 on a franchise tag and could be an unrestricted free agent next March. If he is indeed freely available, he will have multiple suitors. If he has another big season this year, a push toward $40 million per year feels inevitable.

As for Jackson, the reigning league MVP is entering his third season in 2020. The Ravens will inevitably pick up his fifth-year option for 2022 next offseason, giving them two years of contractual control. With that same circumstance this offseason, the Texans and Watson got a contract extension done.

The next top-end quarterbacks to sign a multi-year deal will likely match, and possibly top, Watson’s new money average. Based on greater situational urgency alone, as the Cowboys have to make a decision on him next March, Prescott is just ahead of Jackson in line for a big new contract.