Dallas bets big on Prescott with 160 million dollar deal
The Dak Prescott contract saga is over. After it looked like we were going to be forced to endure yet another Summer of listening to talking heads on television discuss the topic at length, we have been spared.
The deal is for 160 million dollars over four years with 126 million guaranteed. The deal also included a record 66 million dollar signing bonus. Prescott’s deal also comes with a no-trade clause and with a provision that Prescott cannot be franchise tagged. Prescott’s 40 million dollar a year average over the course of the deal will be the second highest in the NFL behind one Patrick Mahomes.
What does it mean? Well, as mentioned above we don’t have to hear about the “will they, won’t they” between Dak on the Cowboys anymore. It means a little more in football terms.
For starters, the Cowboys now currently sit as the only NFC East team with some stability at the quarterback position.
Is Daniel Jones the answer for the Giants? This is a make-or-break year for the third-year starter in New York who has dealt with inconsistency and fumbling of issues in his 26 starters as the Giant’s signal-caller.
In Washington, Dwayne Haskins has been traded, Alex Smith has been cut and although Taylor Heinicke’s lone start in the wild-card round was fun, he appears to be headed towards a nice, lengthy career as a backup.
Jalen Hurts showed flashes in his rookie year for the Eagles, but four starts are not nearly enough of a sample size to prove that he is “the guy,” especially after he completed just 52% of his passes.
Dallas’ divisional advantage at the most important position in the sport gives them a massive leg up entering the 2020 season. All Prescott has to do is find a way to stay healthy for all 16 games.
The Cowboys are also set to potentially have one of the most explosive offenses in team history in 2020. Before Prescott went down with a season-ending ankle injury in week five, he was on pace to shatter the NFL record for passing yards in a season.
Now with CeeDee Lamb entering his second year as an excellent young receiver, Amari Cooper returning as one of the game’s best route runners and Michael Gallup rounding out one of the game’s best wide receiver corps, Dallas has enough firepower to keep up with any offense in the league. Not to mention Ezekiel Elliot will enter the season as a prime candidate for a bounce-back campaign.
The big question remains is Dak Prescott good enough to warrant a 40 million dollar a year cap hit? This is to be determined. Prescott has played well since taking over in 2016, just not the second highest-paid player in the NFL well. The issue is that is what the quarterback market dictated. One guy gets paid, the next guy due up for a contract even more.
Did Jerry Jones want to pay Prescott what guys like Mahomes, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers are making? Probably not. However, the alternative for Jones was tagging Dak for the second straight year, and asking himself the same questions about Prescott being his franchise quarterback next offseason.
One of the strategies teams have tried in recent NFL history is to get a young stud quarterback on a rookie deal and build a Super Bowl-caliber roster around him using the extra money they’re saving by not having to pay their quarterback.
Seattle did it with Russell Wilson in 2013. Philadelphia did in 2017 with Carson Wentz, Nick Foles was just the guy that finished the job. A year later in 2018, the Rams made it to the Super Bowl with Jared Goff at the helm on his rookie deal. Then in 2019, the Chiefs did it with Patrick Mahomes.
This new philosophy has shown it is a suitable way to win a championship. Now with Prescott demanding a large chunk of the team’s cap space each season, will the front office be able to build a Super Bowl level team around him? We’ll see. Letting a franchise quarterback walk out the door is not something NFL teams do. And Dallas decided to keep theirs around for a few more years.