Dak Prescott’s Latest Offer From Cowboys Reportedly A 5-Year, $175 Million Deal But Dak Wants More

Cowboys have offered Dak a five-year, $175M deal that would make him the highest-paid QB ever, per @CSimmsQB.

That’s $35M annually.⁣

Dak reportedly wants “north of $45M” in the last year. pic.twitter.com/0CmBafWjty

— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) May 21, 2020

Quarterback contracts remain as economically failproof as anything out there but this Dak Prescott offer of $175 million for five years is a massive one. As B/R points out, it would be the biggest QB deal ever. And it’s massive enough to the point that Andy Dalton actually trended on Twitter as my fellow Cowboys fans and some talking heads talk themselves into the Red Rifle as a cheaper option:

Cowboy fans: why we sign Andy dalton! He’s trash! Sign Dak!

Cowboy fans seeing Dak decline the biggest qb contract in history: ANDY DALTON MVP THIS YEAR LETS GO😂 pic.twitter.com/7wYULdXKYa

— k-ro 🌺 (@kro_141) May 21, 2020

"I was a much bigger fan of Dak until the money changed. He wants a Russell Wilson contract… I'll take Andy Dalton. He's 85% of Dak." — @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/oELccUDlDW

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) May 21, 2020

https://twitter.com/chrisedward4L/status/1263526475829035008

It seems a little crazy that Dak’s management has refused $35 million a year given that Patrick Mahomes just accepted a one-year extension for just shy of $25 million. But with a new CBA coming and some economic uncertainty with reports that NFL teams could lose $5.5 billion in a fanless season, it seems like this is the time for Dak to cash out isn’t it?

Jerry Jones is far from a shrewd negotiator these days, as his handling of Ezekiel Elliott last fall showed. Dak had a good year last year — when not blowing must-win games to teams like Buffalo, Chicago and Philadelphia — and it’s plausible the move from “The Clapper” Jason Garrett to Mike McCarthy takes him to the next level. But he’s not really there yet and, after Jones has shelled out monster deals to Amari Cooper and Zeke within the last year, the rest of the team may suffer if Dak gets paid like he feels like he deserves.

We’ve seen the departure of highly rated defenders in Byron Jones and Robert Quinn as well as a more replaceable adequate slot man Randall Cobb. The Cowboys already have to dig into depreciated assets like Gerald McCoy and Aldon Smith in the hopes of staying afloat. If Dak is paid what he wants, this team may be more hamstrung than any other over three players who haven’t won anything and also may not have more upside than we’ve already seen.

I tend to believe that a competent QB in an aggressive offense with weapons can be successful beyond his talent level. And I also don’t think Andy Dalton is fundamentally broken after mostly being given an offense full of short range throws and hideous protection from his offensive line. He’s not as mobile as Dak, certainly won’t come in with the same rapport after this broken offseason, and he comes with some real risk that he’s on the downside of his career.

But he also won’t break the team’s entire future down with a shockingly inflated sense of self-worth so … I guess this is how you talk yourself into Andy Fuckin Dalton:

Sick of Daks shit, let’s just start Andy Dalton and see what happens pic.twitter.com/MIuKzKIUyN

— Clay (@TheClayThompson) May 21, 2020