Cowboys, Dak Prescott reportedly remain at impasse
The Dallas Cowboys have less than 48 hours to sign Dak Prescott to a long-term deal. Apparently, don’t bet on it.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Cowboys and Prescott’s representation have not made much progress towards a new contract. If the two sides can’t agree, the Cowboys will pay Prescott $31 million on the franchise tag, which the 26-year-old quarterback has already signed.
Because Prescott has signed, he can’t hold out for a single day in training camp or he would lose an accrued year towards free agency. In other words, don’t expect any holdout drama.
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Still, if Prescott plays out 2020 on the tag, it will be the main topic of conversation around JerryWorld. If he stars once more and has another season of 4,900 passing yards and 30 touchdowns, the groans coming out of Dallas will only grow louder.
Dak Prescott is one of the rare quarterbacks who is on the right side of 30 and with talent, and yet is struggling to get paid. For sure, $31 million this season is a great payday, but it obviously comes with long-term questions and a lack of security.
Should Prescott play out 2020 on the tag, he would be scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency in March 2021. Dallas could prevent that one more by giving him a second tag — a la what the Washington team did with Kirk Cousins — but it would come at an enormous cost of $38 million. If the league salary cap holds flat at $198 million next year due to COVID-19 ramifications, Dallas may struggle to pay such a price.
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In short, Prescott and the Cowboys are staring down their best chance to make a deal. Perhaps Prescott needs to be willing to take a bit less in either term or guarantees, or maybe owner/general manager Jerry Jones has to bring up the annual rate a bit. This is speculation, to be clear, but it’s to a broader point.
More often than not, the best deals hurt a bit for both sides.
In this case, each party is looking at safety moving forward with a deal. The Cowboys know they have a top-10 quarterback, and Prescott has generational wealth and a good team around him.
With less than two days remaining until the July 15 deadline of 4 p.m. ET is here, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s movement, or more silence.
