By Callum Brady
It is pretty easy to see that Jerry Jones and the Cowboys are in a pretty sticky situation when it comes to the future of their starting quarterback of the last four years Dak Prescott, who was drafted with the 135th pick of the 4th round out of Mississippi State. It is being reported by many reputable sources around the league that with Dak’s contract expiring this year and with the franchise tag being placed on the player, Dak and his team are asking for a whopping $185 million over five years which equates to an average annual value of $37 million a year and this is where Jerry’s problem lies.
Jerry Jones is desperate to save as much money as possible from any potential deal that is going to be made because of the damaged state the Dallas Cowboys salary cap is in with the big contact signings over the recent years, most notably was running back Ezekiel Elliott agreeing to a $90 million contract extension and becoming the highest-paid running back in the NFL.
In March of this year, Dak Prescott was offered a five-year $175 million contract which would amount to $35 million a year which was rejected and multiple sources including NFL insider Ian Rapoport are stating that the problem causing a hold up in negotiations is the fact the cowboys want Dak to sign a 5 year deal but Dak is reported to want a shorter deal so he can hit the market again soon and reap the benefits that will come with the rising salary cap and in turn increasingly lucrative contracts.
The key in my opinion in regards to this situation is all down to whether Jerry Jones views Dak as a quality franchise quarterback in the early years of his career with potential, and when paid he can bring a super bowl to Dallas with a roster which will be depleting over time due to the lack of space in the salary cap that his contract will take up or will he see Dak as a quarterback who is outside the top five in his positive at least according to many people in the media, and someone who is asking for money even the Kansas City chiefs will shy away from to pay for Patrick Mahomes who Max Kelliman (ESPN) states as ‘the best player who ever lived, and he is 24 years old coming off the back of a super bowl win.
In terms of whether Dak will get his money only time will tell and with Dak originally holding all the leverage it was looking very much likely he would be paid but now the Cowboys have acquired Andy Dalton as a backup or potentially a starter anything could happen leading up to the July 15th deadline.
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Callum Brady’s Website : https://www.cjbsportsblogs.com/ and my twitter: @CJBSportsBlog
