Nearly five years ago, the numbers swirling around a Dak Prescott contract extension seemed staggering. In the midst of uncomfortable negotiations between the Dallas Cowboys and their star quarterback, a very round and seemingly unbelievable number emerged in the summer of 2019:
$40 million. Per season.
The Cowboys had waited too long to get ahead of the contract market, painting themselves into a negotiating corner and watching Prescott bet on himself and a perpetually quarterback-starved league. And the predictable outcome was coming closer to fruition with each passing day: Dallas was going to pay a lot more than it or anyone else had imagined. By the spring of 2021, the salary target settled right into place via four-year, $160 million deal.
Now history appears to be repeating itself, with an even bigger number within reach for Prescott: $60 million per season.
A handful of agents and NFL executives with experience doing quarterback deals told Yahoo Sports they believe that’s a number Prescott could now command in his next extension, following the five-year, $275 million deal signed by Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence this week. While the $55 million per season average comes in a tack-on deal that doesn’t technically begin until 2026, the negotiating context is already set. The going rate for the top-shelf at the quarterback spot is $55 million per season. And the Jaguars ponied it up when they still had at least four years of control left, via the remaining two years of Lawrence’s rookie deal and then two franchise tag years.
It’s clear why this has such a dramatic impact on Prescott’s next deal, with enough juice to push into the $60 million range. Prescott has a no-tag clause as part of his existing deal. That means he’s a free agent after 2024 with no strings attached. That leverage, along with a very strong argument that he’s a more consistent and accomplished player than Lawrence, provides the necessary foundation for a $60…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/following-trevor-lawrence-deal-cowboys-qb-dak-prescott-could-command-60-million-per-year-230348115.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-06-14 23:03:48
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