First, Dak Prescott has had a tremendous camp, and he dazzled during the Monday practice session. The Cowboys have been impressed by the quarterback’s ability to block out the business side when it comes to his own performance.
But now to the business side. Prescott is playing in the final season of his four-year, $160 million contract, and there’s a unique challenge with his extension talks. Due to void years and a prior restructure, Prescott is set to earn $29 million in cash this season while incurring a cap hit of about $55 million.
Because an extension would continue to push that dead money into future years, it’s a far greater hurdle to cross from a cap perspective. It’s also unique. Prescott is among 19 quarterbacks who make north of $30 million annually, and none have signed a second big-money extension with their team. That’s important to note because of the dead-money factor.
And among the 16 quarterbacks averaging at least $40 million annually, the 31-year-old Prescott, is one of only four on the other side of 30. While the standard number for a franchise quarterback has ballooned to $50 million over the past year — if not even higher — none of the eight QBs at that number have celebrated a 30th birthday.
That’s not to say that rule won’t be broken in short order. It’s simply an expected negotiating point from the team side.
For Prescott, he’s seen quarterbacks with lesser statistical resumes soar past his contractual value, and the new standard is now $55 million annually. Because Prescott’s timing is so advantageous, he’s been asking for north of that number, which is his well-earned negotiating right.
From a cap perspective, it would actually make more financial sense for the Cowboys to allow Prescott’s contract to expire after the season, eliminating the $26 million in dead money from future books. From a logical perspective, however, such a strategy could backfire because the temptation of the open market and the QB-desperate teams lurking would pounce with offers that could shatter historical benchmarks.
Prescott knows that. So, while he’d surely appreciate something closer to market value in cash this season, he recognizes the bank account will be just fine with a little patience. Remember, he’s been through all of this before.
The Cowboys badly want to keep Prescott through the duration of another long-term contract. It’s why they’ve been trying to execute an extension before free agency becomes more of a temptation.
Also, the idea of starting over at the position doesn’t appeal to an organization that has won 36 regular-season games over the past three seasons, second to the Kansas City Chiefs (37). It hasn’t translated to playoff success, but the Cowboys are contenders due to their overall talent. Prescott only aids that stance.
At this point, it doesn’t appear the Cowboys and Prescott are close on an extension, and the cap dynamics and leverage points explain why that’s been the case.
Read more here.
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