The Dallas Cowboys are proving once again how much they move the needle in the NFL world. Two of the biggest names set to hit the free agency on Wednesday reside in Dallas. Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper.
The team has been trying to lock down long-term deals with both players, especially as of late with the new league year approaching. However, uncertainty on if a new CBA would be in place has made negotiations a little more tricky, that was until Saturday night.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the NFL players voted (1,019-959) to approve the proposed CBA which ensures labor peace through 2030, and more importantly for the Cowboys, a greater sense of urgency to get Cooper signed for the foreseeable future.
Sources to ESPN: NFL players voted to approve the proposed CBA, giving the NFL 10 more years of labor peace, players an increased share of revenue, former players added benefits, and the league 17-game regular seasons along with an expanded playoff field.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2020
Under the old CBA, the Cowboys had access to both the franchise and transition tags, however, with the passing of the new agreement, the transition tag no longer exists.
As was reported by David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys could place the exclusive franchise tag on Prescott which would pay him 31.6 million in 2020, which is exactly the route the team plans to go seeing as his deal is the more unlikely to get done before today's tag deadline of 11:59 am ET.
Now, it is paramount that the Cowboys get Cooper locked in expeditiously before the legal tampering period between teams and players commences today at noon ET. The last thing the organization wants is for other teams to start throwing the Brinks truck at Cooper and possibly stealing him away.
If Copper had it his way, though, this new deal gets done and he'll be a Cowboy for a long time, as he recently expressed in an interview with 105.3 the Fan:
“I love being a Dallas Cowboy,” Cooper said. “I think about it almost every day. Just the aura of being a Dallas Cowboy, you can't beat it. I want to be a Dallas Cowboy for life.”
It isn't hard to tell why Cooper would want to stay with the Cowboys. Since he came to Dallas he's been one of the NFL's most productive receivers in the league. In 25 regular-season games, he's registered 132 receptions for 1,914 yards and 14 touchdowns. He's coming off a season in which he set career high's in receiving yards (1,189), touchdowns (8), and yards per catch (15.1).
This can be attributed to his chemistry with Prescott as the two have hooked up at a 67.7 percent success rate.
The final seconds are being counted down before the aforementioned tag deadline passes. As was mentioned earlier, it would be in the Cowboys best interest to get Cooper's signature on something long-term before a bidding war for his services kicks off. In what direction will Cooper's future with the Cowboys go? We'll know shortly.
