The Dallas Cowboys have already shown Dak Prescott that they don’t believe in him. The fact that he isn’t under contract and Dallas is considering franchise tagging him says a lot.
Prescott reportedly wants $35 million per. That bag would tie him with Russell Wilson for the highest-paid QB in the history of the NFL.
Considering this has been going on for some time now and just recently Jones was quoted as saying, “It’s about the team, and if it doesn’t feel right it won’t happen,” neither side appears to be budging.
Prescott has done everything the Cowboys have asked of him in his young career. He hasn’t won a title yet, but firing head coach Jason Garrett was supposed to fix that problem.
4,902 passing yards and 30 passing TDs.
Career year for @dak. 💪 @dallascowboys pic.twitter.com/CZyU6x7RrM
— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2020
He’s still a Top 10 QB in the league and rising. Dak got busy. All-Pro caliber QBs don’t fall from the sky and Dak has certainly earned the right to be paid among the Top pigskin-slingers in the game.
Unfortunately, as March 18 and free agency looms a deal is not completed. With new HC Mike McCarthy entering the fold, the Cowboys really don’t need this uncertainty, headache.
To make matters worse, rumors previously surfaced that the Cowboys might even be considering signing 43-year-old Pats legend Tom Brady.
Michael Irvin says he heard from “very significant people” that the Cowboys could trade Dak Prescott… and sign Tom Brady? https://t.co/nVSeI39wmt pic.twitter.com/YuEQFUtEi3
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 9, 2020
Where that leaves Dak, who knows? It certainly ain’t good for negotiations.
Speaking on the topic in early February on WEEI’s “Dale & Keefe,” NFL Network’s Michael Irvin – a legendary and plugged-in former Cowboy – shared a Super Bowl Week conversation that he termed “shocking” that he had with “very significant people.”
From Irvin: “I am telling you right now, at the Super Bowl in Miami, some very significant people that I had conversations (with were) leaning in that same direction. It was shocking. I had a vodka cranberry in my hand and when they said it to me I put the drink down and said, ‘Let’s talk a little bit more about this.’
I mean, how disrespectful is that. Dallas thinks so low of Prescott that they’d consider bringing in a 43-year-old ex superstar on the decline and risk losing a 26-year-old Pro Bowler in his prime? Brady is damn near washed. Bringing him in for a one-season run at the chip — ala Joe Montana went he went to Kansas City — is just crazy. If Prescott gets away, it will haunt the Cowboys for years to come;
Simple Question for 2020.
Dak Prescott or Tom Brady? pic.twitter.com/liLCckrtvg
— Dallas Cowboys Fanatic (@CowboysNews365) February 10, 2020
Dallas and Dak are reportedly just $5 million per year apart. Stephen Jones wants to prove that he can be the master negotiator his Dad was credited with being, but that was in another era. Players are empowered now. Dak could possibly even sit out the season and then go into free agency with Dallas getting nothing in return. That’s a long shot, but players aren’t just folding to the pressures of ownership these days.
Under the current collective bargaining agreement — negotiations are taking place on a new CBA — Prescott may be franchised in consecutive seasons similar to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Cousins was franchised in consecutive years by the Washington Redskins before he became a free agent. In 2018, he signed a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings.
Some will tell you that Prescott is being undervalued as an African-American quarterback. In the “Year of the Black Quarterback,” that’s hard to believe but something is stopping Dallas from breaking Prescott off properly. The fans surely don’t like it.
Wow I see the Colts want Dak and is willing to pay $35 mil. 👀this has blown up in Jerry & Stephen Jones face. McCarthy came here because he had a qb. This is pathetic. This is why we are losers for 25 years.
— Darrellbent9 (@darrellbent9) February 4, 2020
Some NFL insiders such as Keyshawn Johnson have said that this is simply negotiating tactics at play. The same one Dallas used before signing Zeke Elliott to a huge bag.
Others insist that the franchise just doesn’t believe that Prescott is the talent to lead them to the next Super Bowl. Was Tony Romo better than Dak Prescott? Probably not. So what’s the hold up with Dak’s bread?
In fact, Romo gets paid substantially more than Dak does as an analyst.
What’s Jerry doing? And why?
This is not the old NFL. Prescott is being patient and will continue to be until he’s forced to make a move
“As far as coming to patience, I think for me, it’s about the reasons why I play this game,” Prescott told dallasnews.com about a potentially large financial contract.
“It’s not for that. All that is a benefit, all of that is a plus, it’s great, it’s going to be great when it happens. But that has no motivation or reason why I play this game. So it doesn’t affect me week-to-week.
“It doesn’t affect me preparing for a game or saying I’ve got to play two seasons without it. All that stuff is going to happen and when it happens it’s going to be a blessing. Yeah, I don’t have to be coached on how to prepare for that.”
Prescott was noncommittal about waiting until the offseason to complete a deal.
“It’s not the reason I play this game,” Prescott said. “I have people I trust handling that. When it gets done, it gets done.”
With the refusal to commit to Dak at his price long term, Dallas has already fractured future relations. Dak understands that it’s business but you can’t help but wonder if he was a white quarterback would he be getting the runaround.
Once Dallas franchise tags him, then the real drama begins. This could get ugly, but hopefully, the Cowboys just do the right thing.
