Did Dak Prescott sign the best contract in NFL history?
Nick Wright didn't mince words Tuesday morning.
"This is the best contract [for] any player in any American sport in relation to his peers since [Alex Rodriguez] signed with the [Texas] Rangers," Wright said on "First Things First." "Kevin Garnett broke the NBA model in 1997. A-Rod remade the Major League Baseball model in 2000. And Dak Prescott just remade the NFL model."
The biggest question of the NFL offseason was answered Monday, when the Dallas Cowboys unloaded a truck full of money on their quarterback, signing Prescott to a four-year deal worth up to $164 million, with $126 million guaranteed.
Wright ranked Prescott's massive deal ahead of the 10-year contract Patrick Mahomes signed with the Chiefs before last season.
"You might say, 'Nick, didn't Mahomes get 10 [years] for $450 [million]?' He did, but this contract is better, and I can prove it to you. It's better for Dak by a country mile."
Prescott's contract indeed broke a number of NFL records, including richest signing bonus ($66 million), richest one-year payout ($75 million in Year 1) and most guaranteed money at signing ($95 million).
Prescott has a no-trade clause and a no-tag provision as part of the deal, with the Cowboys actually tagging him this season, which means he can never be tagged again and can be an unrestricted free agent after this deal expires.
"Dak Prescott essentially gets $126 million guaranteed, plus true free agency if he wants it four years from now," Wright said. "It's the best deal for a player anyone has ever signed in NFL history."
Is Wright on to something? Is this the best deal in NFL history?
It's hard to say, but Prescott's contract is definitely near the top of the list.
During the extended negotiations between Prescott and the Cowboys, the QB's camp was angling for a four-year deal, as opposed to a five-year agreement, so that Prescott could go back on the market and sign a second huge deal upon just reaching his early 30s.
The Cowboys, on the other hand, wanted to squeeze an extra year out of Prescott, and when the two sides couldn't reach a deal before last season, Dallas decided to put the exclusive franchise tag on the QB, paying him $31.4 million.
Prescott suffered a gruesome ankle injury in Week 5, but clearly, it didn't affect the negotiations between the Cowboys and Prescott, who essentially got everything he wanted, as Shannon Sharpe pointed out on Tuesday's "Undisputed."
"Dak got something that's very unique: Dak's gonna become a free agent when the new TV money kicks in. So he's gonna get another opportunity to get another big bite of the apple."
According to multiple reports Monday night, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might not be too stressed about breaking the bank for Prescott, considering the new television deals that will soon kick in.
The thinking is the money Dallas is shelling out for Prescott will come back to the team around the time of Prescott's potential free agency.
Arguably the greatest element of the deal is that the two sides are once again on the same page.
NFL Network reporter Jane Slater joined "Undisputed" on Tuesday to outline how the deal got done and what it means for the two sides moving forward, saying that what was once thought to be a contentious relationship is all but healed.
That said, Slater also pointed out that Prescott and his agent, Todd France, emerged victorious in the negotiations.
"Dak won, and so did Todd France. Todd France is not the easiest to deal with. A lot of teams that have dealt with his clients will tell you that, but let's put a little respect on his name. He got his client paid.
"I didn't get the sense [Dallas] was really gonna let this one fall through the cracks this time around, although they definitely overspent because they could have gotten this thing done two years ago at $30 million when we all scoffed at that."
While the consensus is that Prescott won the deal and won big, there remains one voice who is siding with Jones and the Cowboys: Skip Bayless.
On Monday night, Bayless seemed to be a little concerned that Prescott's deal was too rich.
But Tuesday, after sleeping on the news, Bayless said he believes Jones and the Cowboys actually came out on top.
"It felt like last night that the heavens opened and out of heaven fell a deal that I am very comfortable with for both sides. ... It was up to Jerry to make Dak feel like he got the deal that he wanted. ... He made Dak happy by giving him the biggest signing bonus ever, but only $1 million over what Russell Wilson got. He gave him the most guaranteed money ever, slightly more over the four years that Deshaun [Watson] got. And he barely gave him $40 million a year. I was afraid it was gonna take $43-44 million a year."
While most would agree that Prescott won the negotiations, huge contracts are always open for interpretation, and it's difficult to say whether this is the best deal in NFL history.
But what is certain is Prescott got the deal he wanted — and Jones retained the quarterback he wanted.
Now, we'll wait to see what Prescott and the Cowboys can accomplish the next four years – and if this saga is set restart come 2025.
