Blockbuster NFL news reinforces obvious truth about Cowboys' negotiations with Dak Prescott
I'll be upfront with you on this one: I'm getting tired of writing these stories about other top players around the league getting big-time deals before the Dallas Cowboys pay their guys.On Thursday, more of that took place as the Jacksonville Jaguars reached a massive extension with Trevor Lawrence, who was under contract through 2025 […]
I'll be upfront with you on this one: I'm getting tired of writing these stories about other top players around the league getting big-time deals before the Dallas Cowboys pay their guys.
On Thursday, more of that took place as the Jacksonville Jaguars reached a massive extension with Trevor Lawrence, who was under contract through 2025 before the news.
Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Lawrence reached a deal worth $275 million over five years, an average of $55 million per year with $200M guaranteed ($142M guaranteed at signing). That ties him with QB Joe Burrow as the highest-paid in the entire NFL.
The unwritten rule in the NFL quarterback market these days is simple: Getting deals done early wins the game. Values go up on a yearly basis and the Cowboys are set to pay more and more if they intend to extend Dak Prescott, which according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, they're all in on doing at some point, with expectations remaining things will heat up during the summer. That would certainly fit with what the Cowboys usually do.
But seeing another QB market domino fall is likely bad news for the Cowboys for a simple, very obvious truth: The floor is firmly set at above $55M per year.
There's no way Dallas' front office can even begin negotiations with anything lower than that and fans shouldn't be surprised if Prescott's number ends up starting with the number 6.
As we analyzed in a recent article, the likely sticking point between the Cowboys and Prescott remains in which of two tier of highest-paid QBs does he belong? The bucket of the "new" highest-paid QBs that have raised the market an average of 10.6% or the other cluster has done so by an average of 1.3%?
Per the (Over the Cap) article, "superstar" quarterbacks averaged a 10.6% growth rate and the other cluster of top-paid QBs (in which Prescott's 2021 deal is included) averaged a 1.3% growth rate.
The question the Cowboys and Prescott might be arguing about all this time is in which bucket does he belong? The one that pushes the market up by over 10% or the one that just raises the bar by one or two points?
But mostly, this is what many don't realize is the big difference between the Cowboys quarterback and everyone else that's been getting paid: Prescott holds an immense amount of leverage thanks to the patience he's shown, which could facilitate a potential market reset from him. In little words, he's got a ticket to 2025 free agency that can't be ruined with a trade nor a franchise tag.
If he wants to get to the open market to be the prized jewel in a bidding war which would have no shortage of suitors, his value could skyrocket based on what we've learned in recent years. At this point, it's up to the Cowboys to deter him from wanting to explore such a scenario, specially with the lack of plans for a long-term project being in place.
The Cowboys keep waiting things out though. Their intention is, reportedly, to extend the quarterback. Now we wait to see if they can make it happen.
