As Jerry Jones continues to wait, Dak Prescott gains more leverage. After being taken to the woodshed during their first round of negotiations with Prescott in 2020 and 2021, the Dallas Cowboys proved they learned nothing.
They're again dragging their feet and allowing the market to get out of control.
The latest contract to give Jones heartburn comes courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars. News broke on Thursday that they agreed to terms on a five-year, $275 million extension with Trevor Lawrence. The former No. 1 overall pick will earn an average of $55 million per season, which means Prescott will likely command $60 million.
Such a command will undoubtedly be met with the claim he doesn't deserve that much, but the numbers tell a different story. Don't just take that statement as proof though; let's dive into the statistics and see which signal-caller is the superior player.
Dak Prescott vs. Trevor Lawrence statistical comparison
Prescott has 29,459 yards with 202 touchdowns against 74 picks. He's completed 67 percent of his attempts and for good measure, has another 1,884 yards and 28 touchdowns on the ground. He's been in the NFL for eight years, so it's not fair to compare those numbers to Lawrence's career.
So, let's look at his first three years compared to the former Clemson product.
In 50 games, Lawrence has 11,770 yards with 58 touchdowns and 39 picks. His completion percentage is 63.8 and he has 964 yards and 11 touchdowns as a runner.
Prescott's first three years saw him throw for 10,876 yards, 67 touchdowns, and 25 picks. He completed 66 percent of his attempts and ran for 944 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The edge goes to Dak there, as does the average per season for their career. Prescott has the advantage in completion percentage (67 to 63.8), average touchdowns per season (25.25 to 19.33), and is better at protecting the ball (9.25 interceptions per year compared to 13 for Lawrence). The lone area Lawrence is superior is in yards per season, with 3,923 compared to 3,682 for Prescott.
If we're being honest, Lawrence compares more favorably to Daniel Jones, not Dak. The 33rd Team proved as much when they shared the numbers from Lawrence's career and the beginning of Jones'.
Of course, playoffs will always be the knock on Prescott, but Lawrence doesn't have an advantage there either. He has less experience with two games compared to Dak's seven, but he's 1-1 with five touchdowns and five picks.
Prescott might be just 2-5, but his completion percentage (64.5 to 60.5), average yards per game (280.28 compared to 252.5), and 14-to-7 touchdown-to-interception are all superior to Lawrence.
The Cowboys' front office better be prepared to write a huge check because the numbers prove Prescott deserves not as much as Lawrence just pulled in, but more than the $55 million per season.
