Getty Dak Prescott
Being a former NFL agent and current CBS Sports salary cap expert, Joel Corry is qualified to address the on-again, off-again negotiations between Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
So when Corry predicts the Cowboys will “cave” to the franchise-tagged quarterback, in the form of his preferred four-year deal, it’s worth understanding the rationale behind the prognostication.
“Here’s how you know. As much as some people will say [the Cowboys] don’t really want Dak, if there was ever a year for you to roll the dice on a quarterback, it was this year because you had several quarterbacks available in free agency,” Corry told the Athletic. “If Dallas was lukewarm on Dak, they could have stuck a transition tag on him where they had the right to match, let the market dictate what that deal would have been, and then gone yay or nay. They didn’t even put the non-exclusive franchise tag on him, where they would have gotten two first-round picks for an offer sheet. They obviously like him enough to put the exclusive franchise tag on him to make sure it’s a closed market. I think the deal gets done.”
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It’s Been Said Before
Corry is the latest to project the Cowboys’ financial concession, but he’s not the first. Back in March, after the team applied the $31.4 million franchise tender, plugged-in beat reporter Mike Fisher shared his belief — using the same C-word — that Prescott would eventually win the contractual standoff.
“You can debate how good Dak Prescott is, but we know what the Cowboys think,” Fisher said, prefacing the club’s offer at the time. “We know they’ve gotten to $106 million guaranteed. [Owner] Jerry’s [Jones] point, and I’ll paraphrase is, ‘I wouldn’t commit $106 million to somebody if I wasn’t sure.’ So, the Cowboys’ commitment to him is very real.”
“I think, in the end, the Cowboys cave, for lack of a better word, and this ends up being a four-year deal, and Dak Prescott is a long-term, face-of-the-franchise quarterback in Dallas,” he added.
Tick, Tock …
The sides, who have held discussions for nearly a calendar year, are running out of time to prove Corry and Fisher correct. If no agreement is reached by July 15, Prescott’s options would be reduced to signing the tag or staging a holdout.
The Cowboys’ most recent proposal reportedly exceeds $34 million annually and includes guaranteed money on par with Rams QB Jared Goff’s record-setting $110 million. The biggest roadblock is length; Dallas wants a five-year commitment while 26-year-old Prescott seeks to hit the market again at 30.
ESPN NFL insider Dianna Russini reported last week that “at this point, both sides aren’t really doing a lot of talking,” though “those that are close to the situation will consistently say this will probably get done before that July 15 deadline.”
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