Getty The Cowboys regret not signing Dak Prescott sooner.
Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones got candid about the team’s biggest regret personnel-wise in recent years. During an interview with NBC 5 DFW’s Pat Doney, Jones was asked about the team’s biggest mistake when it comes to roster construction.
“Probably would’ve signed Dak the first time around, and it would have been better for everybody,” Jones explained.
The cost of a starting NFL quarterback continues to go up as the Cowboys found out the hard way after signing Prescott to a four-year, $160 million contract extension this offseason. After more than a year of negotiating, Prescott received a record $66 million signing bonus, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. It is technically a six-year, $240 million deal with two voidable years at the end of the contract.
Jerry Jones Hinted at Overpaying for Dak Prescott
When asked about Prescott’s contract, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did not dispute the idea that the team “overpaid” for the quarterback. One of the big points of tension between Prescott and the Cowboys was the length of the contract as the team pushed for a longer deal.
“When I bought the Cowboys, apart from a lot of other things that were being said, it was very commonly said of how [much of] an idiot I was for paying what I paid for the Cowboys,” Jones said during a March 10th press conference. “And that’s not an exaggeration, that’s firmly there. Well, I really got screwed, I ended up with the Dallas Cowboys. The truth is most anything that I’ve ever been involved in that ended up being special I overpaid for every time to the end. Anytime I’ve tried to get a bargain, I got just that, it was a bargain in a lot of ways and not up to standard.”
The Cowboys had no qualms about signing Prescott to a long-term deal despite the quarterback coming off two ankle surgeries. Prescott returned to the field to participate in OTAs this offseason and admits to tiring of the constant discussion about his health.
“I’ve buried the injury,” Prescott said in June 2021, per ESPN. “Honestly, guys, you know me, from the point of practice, from the point of just moving forward and going about my life, I’ve buried it mentally. And I think you guys and a lot of people around have to help me in burying it as well as we move forward.”
Dak on the Cowboys Season: ‘It’s Going to Be Very, Very Special for Us’
Prescott is much happier to discuss the Cowboys upcoming season as a whole. The Cowboys quarterback predicts a “very, very special” year for the team.
“Improvement, a lot of improvement, obviously from last year to this year, but deeper than that from those first five games,” Prescott told NBC 5 DFW. “Take the first five games and just say we’re going to be better than that as a team. We’re going to play more complementary football from defense to offense to special teams, and then we’re going to have a healthy team. We’ve all approached the offseason, this season the right way that we’re just excited. We’re excited that hopefully, we can stay healthy, we can get good fortune on that end. And we can just put everything we’ve worked hard for together on all stages and all phases of the game. We’re excited for this year. It’s going to be very, very special for us and for Cowboys fans.”