The Cowboys’ deal with Dak Prescott is done, a record-breaking $240 million contract over four years in which $231 million is guaranteed. Those are the headline aspects of the deal, but the details have begun to come out as well. Some of those became public thanks to Cowboys VP Stephen Jones himself, who appeared on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas to talk about getting Prescott signed.
And two aspects of Prescott’s last contract—a clause guaranteeing the team won’t use the franchise tag and a no-trade clause—are in the new contract, too, Jones said.
The franchise tag aspect of the deal is no surprise. In fact, the way franchise tags are structured, they’re almost useless when you have quarterback salaries skyrocketing the way they have in recent years. Jones explains that, but also had an interesting take on the possibility of some future Prescott trade—he did not rule it out, and pointed to other situations in which a quarterback was dealt despite having a no-trade clause.
Cowboys’ VP Stephen Jones: ‘Both Sides Understand When It’s Time’
Here’s how Jones explained the decision to take a franchise tag off the table, via the Dallas Morning News:
“This day and time the dynamics of the franchise (tag), if you’re into a quarterback that’s in a big, big deal, the fact is that to franchise (tag) somebody you have to give them a quarter or more of their cap number. It’s unrealistic to even think that you can franchise somebody because of how big the cap number is. In a franchise (tag), you’ve got to carry to whole thing, you can’t spread it out over the years. So it’s really a non-issue. Once you get into these quarterbacks that are — I think there’s almost 20 of them now making $40 or more million in this league. It’s a non-issue, the franchise part of it.”
Now, the trade aspect is of greater interest, because the fact is, one reason the Cowboys were hesitant to pony up a new contract for Prescott quickly was because of his lack of success in the playoffs. Prescott, as any Cowboys fan knows, is 74-41 as a regular season starter, a three-time Pro Bowl pick—including last season, when he was the MVP runner-up.
But any Cowboys fan also knows that Prescott is but 2-5 in his playoff career, including a devastating home loss to the Packers to end last year’s 12-5 season.
As Jones explained: “The trade deals, I think those things work themselves out. Once players understand, whether it’s Matthew Stafford going to a different place, Aaron Rodgers going to a different place, both sides understand when it’s time.”
Dak Prescott Wanted to Stay in Dallas
Even with the no-trade clause, it is entirely possible that Prescott could continue to put forth impressive regular-season numbers and still come up short in the playoffs. If that were to happen, say, for the next two seasons in Dallas, perhaps the Cowboys and Prescott would feel the relationship had run its course.
Jones left that door open, citing Rodgers and Stafford as examples of that no-trade quarterbacks being traded elsewhere. It’s entirely possible, that the Cowboys and Prescott could find a team to facilitate a trade down the road.
For now, though, the Cowboys are 1-0, and Prescott says his focus is on a Super Bowl. In Dallas.
“I just wanted that behind me,” Prescott said. “If it meant me not being here, which I didn’t want to think about. I said that over and over again, I just wanted to be at peace with whatever the decision was. Wanted to be a Cowboy, wanted to stay a Cowboy. Glad it got done for all of us. For me personally, good to just finish these questions, and I hope after today we’re done talking about it and my pockets.”
