News: BTB: Dak Prescott contract prediction: New deal with Cowboys will pay him more than both

• Prescott’s extension will be for five years, not four. Unlike Wentz and Goff, Dak doesn’t have a fifth-year option exercised, so adding that extra year puts Prescott under contract through the year 2024 just like these other two guys.
• Dak’s getting more money. You can attribute it to the “highest paid” theory as one of the advantages of being last, or you can justify it by the fact that he’s just performed better than the other two so far at this point in their careers. Wentz and Goff went first and second overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, versus Prescott who went 135th overall, but none of that matters now. People see Wentz and Goff as having more potential to be great because of their draft pedigree, but let’s not forget that they’re not the only young quarterback that’s allowed to improve. Prescott is already showing what he can do under the tutelage or new QB coach Jon Kitna and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
• Prescott’s getting a bigger signing bonus. Call it a good gesture from the Joneses for a little retroactive compensation. Because of when he was drafted, Dak’s earnings have been incredibly low compared to these other guys, so a little more money up front is a nice way to show their gratitude for patiently going to work each day and being a consummate professional.

NewsBot said:

Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images
Dak Prescott’s big payday is coming, but how much will he end up getting?

The Dallas Cowboys are going to pay Dak Prescott a lot of money. The only questions are when is it going to happen, and how much will it ultimately cost the team? It’s hard to know the “when” as Jerry and Stephen Jones are really good at holding their breath as long as they can in order to keep that asking price down as much as possible. A penny saved is a penny they can use to help retain another key player from this talented football team.

It’s a little easier trying to figure out the “how much” part as we have somewhat of a idea with recent contract extensions of Carson Wentz and Jared Goff. Back in June, Wentz signed a four-year, $128 million extension, worth $108 million in total guarantees. He received a $16 M signing bonus, with $66 M guaranteed at signing.

A couple weeks ago, Goff signed a four-year, $134 million extension, worth $110 million of total guarantees. He received a $25 M signing bonus, with $57 M guaranteed at signing, and an average annual salary of $33.5 million.

While Dak’s contract ultimately will be different, these numbers do provide a baseline as to what Prescott’s new contract may look like. To make the prediction at Prescott’s new deal, I’m considering the following:

• Prescott’s extension will be for five years, not four. Unlike Wentz and Goff, Dak doesn’t have a fifth-year option exercised, so adding that extra year puts Prescott under contract through the year 2024 just like these other two guys.
• Dak’s getting more money. You can attribute it to the “highest paid” theory as one of the advantages of being last, or you can justify it by the fact that he’s just performed better than the other two so far at this point in their careers. Wentz and Goff went first and second overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, versus Prescott who went 135th overall, but none of that matters now. People see Wentz and Goff as having more potential to be great because of their draft pedigree, but let’s not forget that they’re not the only young quarterback that’s allowed to improve. Prescott is already showing what he can do under the tutelage or new QB coach Jon Kitna and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
• Prescott’s getting a bigger signing bonus. Call it a good gesture from the Joneses for a little retroactive compensation. Because of when he was drafted, Dak’s earnings have been incredibly low compared to these other guys, so a little more money up front is a nice way to show their gratitude for patiently going to work each day and being a consummate professional.

With those things taken into consideration, let’s give Dak Prescott a five-year, $169 million extension, worth $117 million in total guarantees. He should get around $30 million in signing bonus, with $64 million guaranteed at signing and an annual average salary of $33.8 million. A side by side comparison of these three is as follows:

Prescott comes out ahead in almost every category. Is it wrong to believe he should be paid more than these other two? When you consider the improvement he’s shown, the potential of this offense with better play-calling, and the strength of the Cowboys new receiving group - Prescott may end up being one of the top quarterbacks in the league.

.@dak + @AmariCooper9 = pic.twitter.com/B2bNUck8Yp

— GMFB (@gmfb) September 14, 2019​

Breaking down Dak’s potential new deal should look something like this:

Prescott should get close to $64 million guaranteed at signing which will include his $30 M signing bonus, his 2019 and 2020 base salary, plus his $21 M roster bonus that should be paid in March of 2020.

Prescott’s guarantees will continue to accrue on the third day of each new season. If he’s still on the roster in March of next year, his 2021 salary will be fully guaranteed. And subsequently, his 2022 salary becomes fully guaranteed in March of 2021, racking up his total guarantees near $117 million.

The biggest cap hit for the Cowboys would come next season which is great considering they are one the teams with the most cap space in 2020, with over $80 million available. This keeps Dak’s cap number a little more reasonable down the line. And considering how the salary cap continues to grow, this cost won’t be so constraining. This affords them the luxury of keeping other players under contract as well. That’s good business.

The Cowboys escape hatch for this deal comes after the 2022 season as they could get out of the final two years of his deal with just a $6 million dead money hit.

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Chuck 54 said:

I love Dak as our QB. I know he’s not the most talented passer, and I’m fine with that. I just like him as the leader of our team.

That said, I can’t help but laugh at all these posts raving about his improvement and how he deserves more money than Wentz or Goff. That may be, BUT ....

All we need is one bad game this week or next week, one bad game plan that isn’t as successful, and any Cowboys realist knows this forum will be inundated with threads about Dak’s limitations, “told you it was just one game,” “I wouldn’t pay him until the off-season....yada yadda yadda.

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LandryFan said:

I believe JJ should sign him for an amount in the neighborhood of what Wentz and Goff got for two reasons:
1. His play is on par with theirs (over three seasons).
2. Like it or not, the price is only going to go up with time. That's the way of the NFL world these days.

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Chuck 54 said:

I don't care if they pay him twice what those guys got or half.....I don't concern myself with the money. I just want him signed. Dak did say openly recently that he doesn't expect to be at the top of the QB pay scale because he hasn't won a SB yet. On the one hand, I'm sure his agent winced at that, but on the other hand, it tells me that the signing issue has nothing to do with the amount of money or what Wentz and Goff got. I think the whole thing is about Jerry wanting a long term deal, and Dak's team wanting only a 4 year deal.

If I was Jerry, I'd sign him to the 4 year deal they want. Then you've locked him up for 4 years, and so what if it costs a ton to resign 4 years from now. That just means he was extremely successful for 4 years and you now know he's worth the cost. Besides, even if you somehow make him sign a longer deal, thinking it will all work out as a great deal later, we all know that's crap. Jerry will still have to pay him fair market money if he does well, no matter what that longer contract says because the QB can just hold out and demand it.

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LandryFan said:

Well thought out and stated (particularly your point of length of contract being the major sticking point)! Don't disagree with you one bit. I understand why you say you're not concerned with money on his deal. I'm really not either since it's not my money in question. That said, what every player makes affects the salary cap and, consequently, the makeup of the roster. I would love to see a happy medium in the deal that will keep Dak here for a minimum of five years, while providing him honest and fair compensation based on the current market. Dak deserves that!

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Chuck 54 said:

I agree 100% on both. I love it when the Cowboys make a good deal. Clearly I was exaggerating about not caring if he was paid double....lol. I just don't worry about money like I did back when they kept restructuring Romo's deal because we were in Cap hell and getting worse. Now, I trust that they've finally learned their lesson. We are in terrific cap situation, and I don't think the front office will ever let us go down that road again.

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Chuck 54 said:

I love Dak as our QB. I know he’s not the most talented passer, and I’m fine with that. I just like him as the leader of our team.

That said, I can’t help but laugh at all these posts raving about his improvement and how he deserves more money than Wentz or Goff. That may be, BUT ....

All we need is one bad game this week or next week, one bad game plan that isn’t as successful, and any Cowboys realist knows this forum will be inundated with threads about Dak’s limitations, “told you it was just one game,” “I wouldn’t pay him until the off-season....yada yadda yadda.

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