History tells us Dak Prescott, Cowboys will resolve contract snafu just in the nick of time

The Dallas Cowboys are about to start the season in active contract negotiations with their franchise quarterback. That is virtually unheard of these days. The best QBs — and even the most average QBs — tend to get their money without much fuss. Trevor Lawrence just got $55 million annually, folks. Prescott is the last major QB standing without his long-term bag this summer, and there's genuine mystery as to why.

If the Cowboys were in a position to replace Prescott on the cheap, okay, maybe we could start to ascribe logic to Jerry Jones' actions. But they're not. Dallas won't be bad enough for a high draft pick and Trey Lance has done next to nothing since arriving on the Cowboys depth chart. If the Cowboys let Prescott get to free agency, several teams will swoop in with competitive offers. There is no benefit to waiting. We have already seen the QB market explode this summer while the Cowboys sat on their hands.

Jones has said there is no pressure to get a deal across the finish line. It sure feels like he doesn't want to make Prescott the richest player in NFL history. That is fair. Prescott signing what will invariably be the largest contract ever is a bit silly on the surface. But, it's the world we live in. The market for QBs is through the roof. There is no more valuable asset in the NFL than a competent quarterback. Prescott, despite his many, many flaws, is well beyond competent. He was second in MVP voting last season, and not without reason.

That is, in part, why we should expect this deal to cross the finish line sooner than later. Another reason? Well, history is on Prescott's side.

Why history tells us Dak Prescott will get a new contract before the season

What is this was all one long con from Jerry Jones? A ploy to garner media attention and keep the tabloids laser-focused on Dallas. That seems far-fetched at first blush, but we are talking about Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. No team owner has more flagrantly blurred the line between sports and business. The Cowboys are trying to reach the mountaintop — there's no doubt about it — but Jones would like to arrive in style, so to speak. He is going to milk it for all its worth.

Over at The Landry Hat, Jerry Trotta put together a compelling argument in line with the above theorem — that Jones is simply waiting for the exact right moment to swing the headlines in Dallas' favor.

"If there is one thing Jones loves, it is controlling the narrative," Trotta writes. "He's admitted to 'doing his job' as long as people are talking about the Cowboys. Well, what would get the people talking more than signing Prescott to a record-breaking extension on the eve of the NFL season?... News of Mike Zimmer taking Dallas' defensive coordinator job broke just before the NFL Honors got underway. Similarly, the Cowboys signed Ezekiel Elliott right after the draft in April. The move undoubtedly took some shine away from the draft's top storylines. The list goes on."

In short, there is every reason to believe Dallas will announce the Prescott contract within the next few days. Maybe "hours before kickoff" is a bit extreme, as Trotta proposes, but the Cowboys could push this to the last minute just for giggles. There is simply no way the Cowboys actually let Prescott leave as a free agent. It would be an egregious mistake rooted entirely in pride. We cannot put it past Jones to make a grave error rooted in pride, but it's so obvious that Dallas needs to pay Prescott. There's no way around it that does not risk sustained mediocrity.

As such, folks should buckle in for a wild week. We could be talking about the new richest man in NFL history before long.