Dak Prescott Wanted To Take Cowboys’ Final Offer?

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott will play out the 2020 season on his franchise tender, and reports from yesterday suggested that, despite some some 11th-hour communicating, player and team did not make much progress towards an extension. This was after weeks had gone by without any contract talks at all.

But Jane Slater of the NFL Network says Dallas’ final offer was very much to Prescott’s liking (Twitter link). That offer included an average annual value of $33MM-$35MM, though that is a pretty sizable gap in the context of these negotiations, given that the Cowboys’ best-known prior offer featured an AAV just north of $33MM while Prescott’s camp was pushing for a $35MM+ AAV. However, Dallas’ latest proposal reportedly featured $110MM in guarantees, with a $50MM signing bonus and $70MM over the first two years.

According to Slater, Prescott wanted to get that deal done, but it was simply too close to the 3pm CT deadline to make it happen. And that’s notable, because as Joel Corry of CBS Sports writes, the contract would have been for five years, and the team’s preferred five-year term versus Prescott’s hope for a four-year pact has long been a sticking point between the two sides.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, though, isn’t buying it. Robinson says Prescott and the Cowboys have never been closer to an extension than they were late last summer, and that multiple sources confirmed as much. There was never a middle ground on years, average salary, or guarantees, which means that the two sides will largely be starting from square one when they reconvene next offseason.

And assuming Prescott plays well in 2020, he will almost certainly be tagged again, as it would be surprising for his camp and Dallas to come to terms prior to the franchise tag deadline in March. That tag is projected to have a value just shy of $38MM, which would be a tough pill for Dallas to swallow.

View Comments (31)