Dallas Cowboys’ analyst chimes in on Dak Prescott’s looming extension

If I had thirty-million US dollars at my disposal, I don’t think I’d spend it on Dak Prescott. Then again, I’m not the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. Even then, would that be a price I’d be comfortable paying the young quarterback to lead my franchise for the foreseeable future? That’s the question facing Jones and the rest of the Cowboys’ front office brass as they continue ongoing negotiations with Prescott.

The exactness of that $34M comes from a recent report regarding the aforementioned negotiations. That report came from Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

“While that deal could impact his negotiations with the Cowboys, as the team is analyzing all 60 pages of Wentz’s new contract, per source, know that Todd France and CAA have broached a deal in the range of $34 million annually, according to someone with knowledge of the talks.”

Based on that report, I conducted a poll on Twitter asking about the potential payday for Prescott.

As you can see, only 34% of respondents agreed that Prescott was worth $34M per year. Full disclosure: the initial wave of voters were likely Philadelphia Eagles’ fans (who may have answered “yes” sarcastically), but the poll received a significant signal boost from those that cover the Cowboys. Twitter polls are highly unreliable but it’s notable that the result wasn’t close.

One analyst who covers the Cowboys for 105.3 The Fan and The Athletic DFW, Jeff Cavanaugh, agreed to come on BGN to discuss the looming extension for Prescott. These were some of the key takeaways from that conversation with Cavanaugh...

On where Prescott ranks among quarterbacks...

“... I’ll call him somewhere between the 11th to 15th best quarterback in football. That’s about where I think Dak is and all of these guys are kind of in a weird spot because year four is kind of the jump year, and so we’ll see if there’s going to be a jump. But it sounds like the Cowboys aren’t going to wait to see if there’s a jump, they’re just going to give him the dollars.”

On the eventuality of an extension...

“One NFL truth is if you have a quarterback that’s giving you quality quarterback play and you think you have a shot to win a Super Bowl, you’re never going to move on from that quarterback. No one will, you’re going to keep him...

So you have to fight over the numbers and it’s like ‘do I want to move on from Dak Prescott? No, I want to win the Super Bowl. Do I want to have Dak Prescott with a thirty-something-million dollar cap hit? No, I want to win the Super Bowl.

... there’s so many different truths that are intersecting that makes this decision and this contract and this contract so hard that you’re not going to feel great no matter what the end result is...”

On building around a big quarterback contract...

“There’s just going to be even more pressure on the organization to nail so many draft picks. Because I think if you’re going to have a highly paid quarterback and he’s not the elite of the elite, well, our new challenge is - and this is every team’s challenge if you don’t have one of the best quarterbacks on the planet - your challenge is how many starters that don’t suck can you get that make no money or very little money?”

On paying the playmakers around Prescott...

The Cowboys will also have decisions to make regarding who else to pay on the offense to ensure the cupboard is fully stocked. One looming decision is star wide receiver Amari Cooper, who wants to be paid among the top receivers in the league. Another is running back Ezekiel Elliott, and Cavanaugh had strong thoughts on that matter.

“If you’re telling me that your quarterback carries your offense and he’s worth thirty-something-million dollars a year you can’t turn around and tell me that the quarterback needs a running back. You can’t do it. It makes zero logical sense. Like ‘oh Zeke’s the engine that makes it go,’ then why pay your quarterback thirty-something million dollars? He better be the engine that makes it go or he doesn’t deserve that check.

... no, don’t pay Ezekiel Elliott to somebody who’s crazy enough to think that running backs matter and run with their pick... So no, I’m not okay with it and yes I think they’ll do it.”

You can hear all of that and much more during my chat with Jeff Cavanaugh by listening to Eye On the Enemy Extra! Stream it on the media player below or click here if the player doesn’t load. New to podcasts? Check out our guide on how to listen to BGN! FLY EAGLES FLY!