Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has astoundingly bumbled the contract negotiations with quarterback Dak Prescott, and now Prescott is in the driver’s seat when it comes to negotiations for a new contract.
Despite missing most of the season when Prescott suffered a dislocation and compound fracture of his right ankle, Prescott has proven how vital he is to the Cowboys offense and his absence proved to be a major issue for the team this season.
“I don’t know how you could have any more leverage,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan (h/t ESPN’s Todd Archer) “His evolving into an NFL quarterback has been nothing short of a perfect picture. He has great ability, in my mind, to win games. He’s talented. He certainly has the experiences and he has all the things, which has been substantiated by what we’ve offered Dak. You wouldn’t offer Dak what we offered in the past if you’d not thought he was very special. The issue is, how do you come together? And that’s no stranger to me. I’ve been doing it all my life, putting things together. We’ve got to get it together.
The two sides can pick up negotiations again with the season officially over, and will likely revisit the offer Dallas made to Prescott that averaged $34.5 million a year, included a $50 million signing bonus and had $110 million in guarantees. However, the two sides weren’t on the same page when it came to the length of the deal.
“We have a certain amount, period, that can be paid to players every year. It’s a very competitive thing, and the longer the term, the more flexibility you’ve got in any numbers that you have in a contract,” Jones said. “The planning ahead, the looking at what you can spend, what you can give on any other free agents, that’s your overall planning.”
“He’s here every day going through rehab. He’s making progress, and just as you’d expect, he’s going after it full speed,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said Monday. “So as far as the timeline, I don’t have the specifics on when he’s going to be doing on-the-field work and dates and things like that. I don’t have that for you. But I do know based on the plan for his surgery and what he’s supposed to be doing and where he is, everything is right on course.”
“I can’t answer the contract question. From what I see and where I am, I am very confident we are going to get that worked out. My conversation with Dak is always very positive and always with the focus on what the future holds and what we are going to do on offense, the team and his leadership.”
