Anyone who hasn't been living under a rock knows that despite the Dallas Cowboys dreadful 3-9 record this season that the biggest elephant in the room is the contract situation with Dak Prescott. Unfortunately for the former Offensive Rookie of the Year, he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 5 and effectively ended the Cowboy's chances of making the postseason.
Cowboys COO Stephen Jones appeared on 105.3 The Fan on Wednesday to discuss Prescott's contract. Jones said he believes that Prescott is made of the right stuff and that the organization isn't worried about getting him inked to a long-term deal.
“Our issues are in our negotiations with Dak have been we're wanting to be more committed in terms of the term,” Jones said, via the Dallas Morning News. “We're not nervous to sign Dak. I think his makeup is all the right things. He's an amazing man off the field, he's a great leader in our locker room, a great player and that's why we've wanted to sign him long term. … When you sign a player long-term you've got more flexibility in how you work the salary cap with a player who's gonna eat up a big percentage of your cap when you're talking about a quarterback.”
The hold up with Prescott's contract wasn't the amount but rather the length of the deal. The Cowboys wanted a five-year marriage but Prescott opted for the four-year deal which would put him in a position to cash in again when the salary cap explodes with new television revenue. When asked if he's disappointed that Prescott wants a shorter deal, Jones had this to say.
“No. I'm not disappointed, I understand where he's coming from. I have respect for it. He's betting on himself. He's done a great job of that, he certainly believes in himself.”
That statement couldn't have been more true. After the first three games of the 2019 season, owner Jerry Jones said a deal was “imminent” after Prescott accumulated over 900 yards and nine touchdowns. Even though that never materialized, Prescott was one-yard shy (4,902) of Tony Romo's single-season record for passing yards and threw 30 touchdowns (4th in the NFL).
2020 was no different. In the five games he played in, Prescott led the league with an unreal 1,856 passing yards which included becoming the first quarterback in league history to have three consecutive games with over 450 yards passing.
Prescott played under a franchise tag in 2020 that paid him $31.4 million, and that number will balloon to around $38 million if another tag is applied in 2021. The Cowboys and Prescott have been adamant that they want a long-term deal to be reached. Now, it's about playing the waiting game and seeing where the chips fall.
