The Dallas Cowboys should not expect quarterback Dak Prescott to accept any kind of discount as they negotiate his next deal.
Prescott is entering the final year of the four-year, $160 million extension he signed with the Cowboys in 2021. If Dallas doesn’t reach an extension with him, he’ll be a free agent next offseason.
The Cowboys are negotiating a few significant contract extensions with Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and defensive star Micah Parsons. Prescott understands the situation but isn’t willing to take a discount to make things easier on the Cowboys. He feels like he has an obligation not only to himself but also to other quarterbacks around the league to seek a contract that will likely make him the highest-paid passer in NFL history.
“I’m a guy that grew up with two older brothers,” Prescott said on Friday, August 2. “You understand what a brotherhood means, not only for just this team but the fraternity of the NFL and the players. The money is out there and the money can happen. It can be done. There’s ways to make everything work for both ways. That’s in that sense it’s always about pushing the envelope for the next man.”
Cowboys Legend Troy Aikman Backs Dak Prescott
New quarterback contracts around the league have set the bar for what Prescott is looking for in free agency. Less accomplished quarterbacks like Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa and Jordan Love have cashed in with lucrative extensions over the last few months. Love, Lawrence and Joe Burrow — who signed an extention last offseason — all make $55 million annually.
Prescott will be 31 next season and is coming off a Pro Bowl year. Last season, he passed for 4,516 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. Cowboys legend Troy Aikman knows Prescott gets dinged for his 2-5 playoff record but also believes it’s not entirely the quarterback’s fault.
“When you look at the numbers, and you didn’t have the names, you just looked at stats — again, I don’t care about stats, I just want to see wins — but wins included, you would put Dak Prescott’s numbers over the last couple of years along with Patrick Mahomes’ (stats),” Aikman said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday, August 2. “It’s what has happened in the postseason that has separated those two. That’s where the whole organization needs to be better. This isn’t just on Dak Prescott. This goes back for the last 25 to 30 years that the Cowboys have just failed to play their best football when the games have mattered most in January.”
Dak Prescott Open to Idea of Leaving Cowboys
Prescott understands that he’s in a position of power in negotiations. If he doesn’t land an extension with the Cowboys, another team will be willing to pay him in free agency. Prescott has been open about wanting to play in Dallas but isn’t scared of the idea of playing elsewhere.
“Having a kid, your perspective changes a little bit in life,” said Prescott, who had his first child this year. “A lot of quarterbacks have [played for other teams]. That’s just the business and nature of this game. That’s just me not being naive to that,” Prescott told Jeff Kolb of Fox 4 on August 1. “It’s not something I look for, or prepare — even plan — for, but if something like that happens, I’ll certainly be ready for it.”
Aikman believes the Cowboys are playing a dangerous game with Prescott and sees a situation where he moves on.
“The longer this goes, the more I think he will be playing somewhere else,” Aikman said. “If it continues to drag on and he plays great and then the Cowboys come in late to say, ‘Hey, now we want to pay you,’ I don’t know where his head will be at that point.”
Prescott and the Cowboys open the seasons on September 8 against the Cleveland Browns.
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Cowboys QB Dak Prescott Sends Firm Message to Front Office on Taking Discount