Ugh! The dreaded highlight reel.
Anyone who says "pay Dak a ton of money" please sit down. Or, please define "a ton". In literal terms a dollar bill weighs 1 gram so a ton of money in dollar bills is about $908,000. I would pay Dak that much money, probably more. In $100 bills that would be $90 million and I think we all agree that is too much. $50 bills would be about $45 million a year. Should we pay him in $50 bills? I don't think so. Anyone think Dak is worth $45 million a year?
To me, $35 million over 5 years is tons, plural, of money. That's what Dallas supposedly offered already. Dak turned down tons of money apparently for the possibility of making tons more in the future.
I like Dak. He is a good QB, maybe top 10, but for every dollar he is overpaid, that is $1 that someone else cannot get. There is a budget and it is not the depth of Jerry's pockets. It's the salary CAP. I want to pay Dak too. But I do not want to overpay Dak by a "ton of money". People think Jerry is unwilling to cough up a ton of money but fail to acknowledge Dak may be turning down a ton of money already. Perhaps the amount you have in your head has been offered and Dak rejected it? So then the question is, if Jerry offers Dak a ton as you define it and Dak says "no", what do you do? Do you keep adding $50s to the top of the pile until Dak says yes? Is there no limit to what you would pay him?
Saying, "just pay him" is not an answer. If you know precisely what Dak wants, then let us know and we can argue whether it is a fair price for his performance. For me, I would not exceed $35 million unless Dak is willing to sign a 6 year deal. Then I would offer him $37 million or a little more. But for 3 or 4 years knowing we are back at this again in 2024, I think I offer him what I think he is worth now and that is no more than $35 million. If he wants to go at this again in 2024 then he has 3 years to prove he is worth more by showing he is better than some of the QBs in front of him now. And in the meantime, he will still be making tons of money.