With new contract, Dak Prescott wins his standoff with the Cowboys
By Geoff Schwartz
FOX Sports NFL Analyst
The Dallas Cowboys and their franchise quarterback have agreed to a four-year deal worth up to $164 million, with a record guarantee of $126 million.
This is a deal that has long been expected to happen, but until this moment, it didn’t appear close. And now that it’s done, the winner is easily Dak Prescott.
The Cowboys had two opportunities to sign Prescott to a team-friendly deal. After three seasons in the NFL, Prescott had led the Cowboys to the playoffs twice and earned a playoff win against the Seattle Seahawks. He had proven to be the leader of the organization and the future franchise quarterback of the team.
The Cowboys could have taken that moment to reward him with a contract extension. Prescott was a fourth-round draft pick and hadn’t gotten his big-money deal. He (and his representatives) would have jumped at a long-term contract after the 2018 season — a deal that likely would have saved the Cowboys at least $10 million per season for Prescott’s services.
But OK, fine. The Cowboys didn’t have to sign Prescott after that third season. They instead chose to take one more season to evaluate him.
The Cowboys went just 8-8 in 2019, but it wasn’t because of Prescott, who was fifth in expected points added and ninth at his position for the season, according to Pro Football Focus. Although not in that upper-elite tier of quarterbacks, Prescott was right in the next group and deserving of a long-term extension after the season.
At that point, even after a coaching move from Jason Garrett to Mike McCarthy, the Cowboys had to make Prescott their guy.
But they didn’t. And something seemed fishy.
When McCarthy was hired, he did not talk to Prescott for a week. That was extremely odd.
McCarthy, who presumably took the gig to elevate Prescott, didn’t even bother to reach out to his new quarterback — the player he would be coaching closely and whom he would rely upon for winning and losing during his tenure in Dallas.
On top of that, the Cowboys refused to budge on the number of years for a long-term deal. Reports were that the Cowboys and Prescott were close on money, but the QB wanted a four-year deal, and the Cowboys wanted five years.
Why the separation? I theorized (and I believe I was correct) that the Cowboys weren’t all-in on Prescott. Every team that loves its quarterback signs him. We see it each offseason. But for whatever reason, the Cowboys couldn’t finish the deal, so they franchised Prescott heading into the 2020 season, forcing him to play under a one-year deal.
The Cowboys didn’t win early in 2020, but once again, it wasn’t because of Prescott. Plus, when the QB fractured his ankle and missed the rest of the season, his value was clearly shown to the Cowboys, who struggled on offense without him.
Dallas was stuck. It could have franchised Prescott again, but that doesn’t help anyone. The Cowboys want their salary cap set up and their quarterback on the roster for years to come. In addition, I think the Cowboys felt pity and remorse for not signing Prescott to a long-term contract before he got injured.
Now that Prescott is under contract moving forward, the Cowboys have to think they wasted plenty of opportunities to get their star QB for much cheaper.
Yes, they technically got him for five years (including the tag), which is what they wanted after the 2019 season. But Prescott got nearly $40 million per season over those five years, which is way more than the Cowboys should have paid him.
Good for Dak.
Geoff Schwartz played eight seasons in the NFL for five different teams. He started at right tackle for the University of Oregon for three seasons and was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection his senior year. He is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @GeoffSchwartz.
