Dallas Cowboys VP Stephen Jones says Dak Prescott contract talks ‘fixing to heat up’
The start of the NFL season is still seven months away but the clock is already ticking on the Dallas Cowboys. Any hope of them getting off to a good start is incumbent on signing quarterback Dak Prescott to a long-term contract extension as soon as possible.
There is no way the Cowboys want Prescott missing any time learning the new offense in Mike McCarthy’s first year, which makes getting such a new deal done urgent, according to vice president Stephen Jones.
“We want to get this done,” Jones said Thursday. “Things are fixing to heat up. We want to put every foot forward and try to grind this out and get a deal done.”
If the Cowboys do place the tag on Prescott, there is a chance he will not show for the off-season program in hopes of building leverage for a long-term deal.
That means there are two key dates that will play in these negotiations: February 25, the first day teams can put the franchise tag on a player and April 6, the start of the off-season program.
Jones said he fully understands the complications that could arise if the Cowboys don’t get a deal done and have to put the franchise tag on Prescott. That includes the possibility of him missing time in the off-season program in McCarthy’s first year.
He said that is something no one wants.
Prescott made it known during several interviews at the Super Bowl last week that he is confident a deal will get done. But he also raised the possibility of not showing up if he was tagged.
“I know he wants to get his contract in the rear view mirror and we want it too,” Jones said. “We want him to be treated well, financially and respectfully. We are going to have a real urgency to get this done.”
Jones said the Cowboys are not currently involved in contract talks with any of their free agents, and Prescott remains the top priority.
He said the Cowboys have been trying to get a deal done with Prescott since last off season. The two sides came close to deal in September on a contract that would have paid him roughly $33 million annually, sources said, before talks broke down when Prescott upped his asking price.
“I don’t want to get into the details, but we have offered him significant money,” Jones said. “The money we have offered Dak no matter how you look at it would put him as a top five quarterback in the NFL. That is the way we feel about him. He is one of the best.”
According to sources, Prescott is looking for a deal that would pay him as much or more than Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who is the league’s highest-paid player at $35 million annually. The rest of the top five consists of four other quarterbacks — Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger at $34 million, Los Angeles Rams’ Jared Goff and Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers at $33.5 million and Philadelphia Eagles’ Carson Wentz at $32 million.
And Jones said the Cowboys do not feel any extra pressure to get a deal done because the looming extension for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the reigning Super Bowl MVP who is rumored to be angling for a deal of $40 million or more annually, could drive up the market even more.
“Certainly, at the end of the day, we want him to get what he’s got coming,” Jones said. “At the same time and he understands we want to keep as many guys as we can and do what gives us the best opportunity to win a Super Bowl. So that’s the line you walk there ... We want to get him signed. We think the world of him.”
One thing is certain: The clock is ticking.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
