While the Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott are at a standstill in their contract negotiations, fellow signal-caller Jared Goff recently inked a four-year, $212 million contract with the Detroit Lions.
That’s $53 million a year for Goff, which is likely close to what the Cowboys were hoping to give Prescott.
Key phrase: desired, in the past tense. Prescott’s deal has simply given him more negotiating power. We’ve been hearing rumors for a while now that Prescott wants to sign a long-term contract that will bring him $60 million a year. This claim was met with laughter by many. Dak Prescott—sixty million dollars a year? Who is this guy? Brady Tom? Joe Montana? Johnny Unitas?
No, but he does play in the NFL nowadays, where quarterbacks virtually always reset the market. Before the previous season, would anyone have guessed that Goff was worth $53 million? No worries, but he did have a good season and led the Lions to the NFC Championship Game, so presto! He receives $53 million annually.
Prescott is about to reach the last year of his current contract, thus the Cowboys have been attempting to play hardball with him. There have even been rumors that Dallas may let Prescott play out 2024 on a one-year deal before letting him explore his options as a free agent in March of the following year. The plan the Cowboys were going to use is evident. Allow Prescott to go unsigned, observe that no one is willing to give him what he wants, and then re-sign him to a more affordable contract.
However, given that Detroit just increased the stakes with Goff, that plan might be abandoned. Prescott led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes and just placed second in the MVP voting, so it’s clear that he believes he is deserving of a large salary. And who was to blame for him? Prescott is a talented quarterback despite his 2-5 postseason record and all of his faults. In fact, a really nice one. He is most likely in the league’s top ten, and that’s being generous.
In addition, he will turn 31 in July and is only 30 years old. Although he is not young, you have to assume that he still has at least five healthy years ahead of him. Not that he’s requesting an extension at thirty-four or thirty-five. Though it probably won’t matter all that much, the Cowboys may try to leverage the fact that he is two years older than Goff in negotiations.
But here’s the thing: How much of a pass should we give Jerry Jones and the Dallas front management for passing on Prescott when they had the opportunity?
