Anytime Dak Prescott is brought up to either Jerry or Stephen Jones, the Dallas Cowboys decision-makers go out of their way to praise the quarterback. They have taken every chance given to them to let everyone know that Dak is in their long-term plans.
Despite that, the keys to the future seem to rest in the palm of the quarterback’s hands. And even though there are positive vibes surrounding the Joneses and their QB, some believe that a contract extension between the two parties is anything but a guarantee.
NFL Analyst Has Doubts About a New Dak Prescott Deal
While everyone looks at Prescott’s massive cap number that currently sits at just north of $59 million and assumes that is going to lead to a new contract to help the team with that inflated number, one NFL analyst doesn’t believe it’s necessarily a sure thing.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano, when discussing the topic, stated that he was “Not as convinced as a lot of people seem to be that a Dak Prescott extension in Dallas is a sure thing.”
Graziano’s reasoning for feeling that way has nothing to do with the team’s lack of belief in Prescott, but simply due to the amount of leverage he has over the Cowboys right now and how he can choose to play it with the ball in his court.
Graziano points to the fact that “Prescott has a large amount of leverage, here, too, with one year left on his deal and a clause in his contract that prohibits the team from franchising him.”
If Prescott chooses to not budge in negotiations, he forces the Cowboys’ brass to think of a world where they would need to work around his massive cap number as well as field a competitive team around him — or risk having another failed season.
If that’s the route this ends up going, Dallas could convert $18.5 million in cap space into a signing bonus for Prescott, giving them more room to operate in 2024. However, it hampers them with a $55 million cap charge in 2025 in a scenario where Dak could no longer be with the team.
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It’s not the most “team-friendly” approach, but in a business world, it makes a lot of sense for Prescott and his agent to do everything they can to maximize their leverage. It very well could force the Cowboys’ hand into a multi-year deal that works best for them and the player.
However, at least for the time being, Prescott has an unusual amount of contractual power that holds the Cowboys’ franchise — and their pursuit of success — in the palm of his hand, with at least one analyst thinking it’s a realistic possibility.
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