Blogging The Boys
The path that the Cowboys took to paying Dak Prescott was interesting to say the least.
The Dallas Cowboys are always in the news for the drama surrounding signing their star players. There’s this whole song and dance that seems to accompany each new deal, and it drags on for what seems like forever.
Recently, Brian Murphy, the founder and CEO of Athletes First, sat down with Dak Prescott’s agents, Todd France and A.J. Stephens, and gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the negotiations that went on with Jerry and Stephen in Prescott’s contract extensions. Some of the things they said were things we already knew, but other things were quite interesting. Here are some of the nuggets from this insightful, in-depth look at Prescott’s contract ordeal.
The Cowboys engaged in conversations about getting a deal done after Prescott’s third season, which is the earliest a team can offer a veteran contract to a player on a rookie deal. It’s been stated repeatedly over the years that the big holdup with his first deal is the length. The Joneses wanted longer terms, which lowers his overall cost, while his agents wanted a four-year deal, allowing Dak to hit the market sooner and capitalize on a market that would then be much higher. There’s really not much to say about this issue as both sides had good reasons for wanting what they wanted. It’s not surprising that things ended with a standoff.
With neither side willing to budge on the length, the front office enticed Prescott with very high guarantees. The hope was that a player who had made less than $3 million over his first three seasons would jump at the opportunity to secure so much money. But France was not having it. He and Prescott had great conversations where they brainstormed every scenario and developed contingency plans. They felt good enough about their options that they were okay letting things play out without a deal. It was tough to turn down that much money, but in the overall grand scheme, more money could be made by holding strong.
We all know what happened after the two sides failed to reach a deal. The Cowboys placed the franchise tag on him in March of 2020. Negotiations continued in the summer leading up to the July 15th deadline, but once again, the obstacle was the length. And once again, no deal got done. Prescott plays on the tag for $31.4 million that year, and sadly, tragedy strikes. Dak suffers a catastrophic foot injury in Week 5 and misses the remainder of the season. The critics came out in full force on how negligent it was for Prescott to not take the deal, but his side never looked back. All the focus was put on the healing process. Fortunately, surgery and recovery go well and Prescott heals up fine without any concerns about his future.
**The best contract of all...
