Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys have reached a stalemate in contract negotiations, and now, the Cowboys seem prepared to head into 2024 knowing Prescott is on the last year of his deal.
Prescott is reportedly seeking $60 million annually, and Dallas does not seem comfortable paying him that much, which is why the Cowboys may opt to allow him to test free agency next offseason.
The hope is likely that Prescott will not receive any $60 million-per-year offers from any other teams and will then have to settle for somewhere around $50-55 million from Dallas.
However, Fox Sports analyst David Helman actually thinks Prescott has all of the leverage here.
Helman thinks that all Prescott needs to do is play at the level he has played at most of his career, which Helman says is “above average to really good.”
This past season, Prescott had the best year of his career, leading the NFL with 36 touchdown passes to go along with 4,516 yards and just nine interceptions. He finished second in MVP voting as a result.
Helman does not think Prescott needs to achieve that level of performance again in order to get paid like he wants to.
He adds that if the Cowboys don’t pay Prescott, some other club will.
But will someone really be willing to pay him $60 million annually? That’s the real question here.
Everyone knows Prescott is a very capable quarterback and is probably top 10 in the league at his position. That doesn’t mean is worth his asking price, and Dallas may have the right idea in allowing him to test the market to see if anyone is willing to go there.
If Prescott receives that type of offer from another team, then the Cowboys can choose whether or not they want to match it. If not, they can potentially re-sign him on a more economical deal.
It seems kind of disingenuous to say that “all” of the leverage is in Dak Prescott’s court at this point, but we’ll find out more as the offseason progresses.
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