Dallas Cowboys quarterback and reigning MVP runner-up set to play out the final year of his current contract…
Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you know that Prescott and the ‘Boys were unable to come to terms on an extension this past offseason.
It potentially has the franchise cornerstone set to hit free agency next March. Dallas can’t place the franchise tag on Prescott, complicating things further in this regard.
Several signal callers received extensions this past season, including both Trevor Lawrence and Jordan Love resetting the market. In a vacuum, this might create even more complications. But it doesn’t seem like the Cowboys’ brass believes so.
“It seems like it’s hit a peak,” Cowboys COO Stephen Jones told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. “It used to be everybody was jumping each other.
Lawrence got 55, which was the high-water mark that [Joe] Burrow set. [Years ago], it didn’t matter if you were the best or you were [Patrick] Mahomes, you just leapfrogged the next guy. You’re not seeing that now. It’s kind of hit that ceiling.”
Love, Burow and Lawrence are all making $55 million per season. That is the high-water mark right now. The expectation is that Prescott will surpass that figure given the advantage his side has in contract talks with Dallas.
“If I’m Prescott and I’m reading that, my baseline is $55 million per year, with stronger structure and guarantees that the aforementioned four guys got this offseason,” Breer noted.
“And I think that creates a real pathway to a deal getting done. I’m not saying it absolutely will happen. But I’d feel better about it if I were a Cowboys fan than I did a month ago.”
It’s important for Dallas to get something done on this front before Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. Star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is currently a holdout from training camp.
Edge rusher Micah Parsons is also angling for a new deal. Both want to become the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
The backdrop here includes Dallas bombing out in the playoffs each of the past three seasons. The team’s brass has said all of the right things about Prescott as a franchise quarterback.
But if something is not agreed to ahead of the season starting, more pressure will be on the signal caller to prove his worth.