FRISCO - A new monster contract for an All-Pro quarterback just illustrated the advantage to being "proactive'' rather than "reactive.''
And it illustrates the difference between the way Jerry Jones runs his Dallas Cowboys' contractual work and the way the Buffalo Bills are doing it.
It seems so simple: Get ahead of the contract negotiation so you can stay ahead of the market. Make your quarterback among the highest-paid players, but also end up being able to claim you got the player on a very team-friendly deal.
That's exactly what the Buffalo Bills just did with newly-crowned league MVP Josh Allen.
And it's exactly what the Cowboys did not do with Dak Prescott.
In what we view as a very "apples-to-apples'' comparison - both QBs are accomplished and are ultimate leaders but neither has quite gotten his team over the postseason hump - a look at what Buffalo has done makes Dallas' approach a head-scratching one.
On Sunday, Buffalo signed the All-Pro signal-caller Allen to a six-year, $330 million deal with over $250 million fully guaranteed. The contract blows through the richest deal in football history and keeps Allen with the Bills through 2030.
The crazy part about the deal is that Allen had four years left on his current deal. Buffalo carved up the old contract to make their quarterback's deal better for both sides.
That's called "proactive.''
Compare that to Dallas' approach ... which we are seeing unfold once again as Micah Parsons' price tag keeps skyrocketing, almost by the day, with recent deals for Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett that now make a $40 million per year deal for Parsons an almost "must'' ...
Dallas last year waited until the Saturday before the first game to sign Dak to his extension. In fairness, yes, it takes two to tango. But in the end?
Prescott got a non-team-friendly $60 million per year deal that makes him the highest-paid player in NFL history.
So now Allen has a new contract ... so in terms of "per year'' money, he's topped Dak, right?
Nope.
The craziest part about the new deal is that Allen's per year contract evaluation is around $55 million - still almost $5 million less than the Da Cowboys are paying Dak Prescott at this current time.
So yes, rather incredibly, yes ... a $330 million contract can be both historic and team-friendly.
That's how the Bills did it with Josh Allen.
And it makes Jerry's Cowboys foolish for not doing the same thing with Dak Prescott. ... and for that matter, with Micah Parsons.
