When Dallas couldn’t get a deal done with quarterback Dak Prescott before the deadline last week, some fans were jumping up and down and others questioned why it wasn’t done.
Let’s not start a pity party for Dak. He’s going to get $31.4 million for playing this season.
And the Cowboys would have paid more but Prescott wants a four-year deal. The Jones want five. Doing that gives Dallas a little more wiggle room in the salary cap, which is why Kansas City in effect locked up Patrick Mahomes for a dozen years (he’s still got two years left on his rookie deal).
Everyone is going crazy trying to understand why the Cowboys won’t just agree to a deal that pays Dak what quarterbacks make that have won a playoff game … or a Super Bowl.
The Cowboys are gambling due to the coronavirus that the salary cap is going to drop next year. There are estimates it could fall up to 50%.
“Obviously there is a great amount of question when it comes to next year’s salary cap given the financial situation the entire world is in the middle of,” Blogging the Boys’ writer R.J. Ochoa told Derek Ruscin and Zach Arns (Ruscin & Zach) last week on ESPN Arkansas.
But he doesn’t think Prescott’s going anywhere else.
“If you’re trying to envision the most dramatic scenario possible, I don’t think in any way possible Dak Prescott is not part of the Dallas Cowboys in 2021,” Ochoa said. “The divorce mark — if you’re looking for that — is 2022.”
Similar to the way Kirk Cousins get squeezed out in Washington a couple of years ago.
Next year the franchise tag will be $37.7 based on today’s financial status. We’ll see about that next year.
“The year after that is $54 million, that’s a little bit of a tough cookie,” Ochoa said.
Both Jerry and Stephen Jones have said they want to keep Prescott with the Cowboys.
And in a league where contracts aren’t always what they seem to be and full of loopholes, don’t get hung up on the noise that goes into getting one of them done.
Dak ain’t gonna starve and the best way he can get a deal like one of the top quarterbacks is win games in January that matter.
