Adam Schefter perfectly explains just how powerful Dak Prescott's position is right now
The Dallas Cowboys have characterized themselves from doing things a certain way when it comes to extending some of their very top players: Waiting things out until the last possible moment.The problem is, right now, the waiting is hurting them each passing day as Dak Prescott's leverage continues to increase each time a leaf falls […]
The Dallas Cowboys have characterized themselves from doing things a certain way when it comes to extending some of their very top players: Waiting things out until the last possible moment.
The problem is, right now, the waiting is hurting them each passing day as Dak Prescott's leverage continues to increase each time a leaf falls in the quarterback market, including Trevor Lawrence's new deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It's true that in today's NFL, starting caliber quarterbacks naturally hold leverage over their respective teams because you can't consistently win without a quality signal caller. Period. That's why quarterbacks keep raising the bar every year in the market. It's not that one is always better than the last guy to get paid, it's because teams either pay up or reach QB limbo, which never works out.
But Prescott's leverage goes beyond that, as ESPN insider Adam Schefter explained on the God Bless Football podcast, describing the Cowboys quarterback's position in perfect fashion:
"Dak has the most leverage of any player in the NFL," Schefter said with conviction. "Dak is in a situation where he is the 2024 version plus of Kirk Cousins. Because he's got a clause in his contract. We can't be traded. He's got a clause in his contract where he can't be tagged (…) If you're (31 years old this season), and you're that talented and you have the ability to get to market, a true, true free agent, your leverage is off the charts."
Schefter went on to illustrate his point by outlining scenarios of potential suitors for Dak next offseason, naming the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants.
"So by the way, there's just three teams just off the top of my head, randomly, without thinking, and Dak is an unrestricted, UNRESTRICTED free agent," Schefter added. "Remember the feeding frenzy there was for Derek Carr, when he became a free agent? Remember the feeding frenzy there was for Kirk Cousins? You're Dak Prescott, you're coming off a good year. Not to mention I would think that Dallas is going to want to keep him, not to mention that. Dak in my mind is going to reset the quarterback market when he gets a new deal. Whether you like it or not. He's just he's in the right spot at the right time. He's played his cards right and he's a good quarterback."
Cowboys fans like to spend countless hours debating how good Prescott is exactly. It's something that's been going on since 2016 when no one really knew if he had Drew Bledsoe'd Tony Romo. Amid all the arguing, some fans have ignored the high-caliber play they've gotten from the former fourth-round draft pick. They've ignored the winning and even last year's season in which he was a legit MVP candidate and ended second in voting behind Lamar Jackson.
The argument against is usually the lack of playoff success, which is an understandable feeling for a fan base that's been waiting for a Lombardi Trophy for almost three decades now.
But this is Adam Schefter, arguably the most well-connected insider in the NFL world, telling fans that many teams would be lining up with huge bags of money to throw Dak's way if he ends up becoming a free agent. This is how he's viewed by many front offices around the league.
But the Cowboys, who have admitted they got beaten the last time the two sides negotiated a contract, refused to be proactive and get his second deal done early, which has led to a position where they hold zero leverage.
"The Cowboys just allowed themselves to get into a spot where they ran into that deal further along than they should have, in my mind," Schefter said. "And now they're in that spot again. And this is a deal that could have been done last year to avoid this. This is a deal that could have been reworked before the offseason began to give them more cap space. There are any number of spots and junctures in which they could have gotten a deal done with him and didn't. And now Dak is sitting there in a spot where he's got more leverage than anybody."
