‘Slap in the face’ to suggest Dak Prescott take less from Dallas Cowboys, ex-star says
Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith has shared his opinion on quarterback Dak Prescott’s contract negotiations with the Dallas Cowboys.
And now his former teammate on three-time Super Bowl championship teams of the 1990s, safety Darren Woodson, is chiming in with his.
And they are polar opposites.
Smith’s suggestion that Prescott should take less money from the Cowboys to help the team sign other players was deemed as a slap in the face by Woodson.
“It’s a slap in the face for people to say he should take less,” said Woodson, who was inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday. “That is a slap in that man’s face. They are not out here. I am watching every day. My office oversees the practice field. And there ain’t nobody on that team that works harder than Dak Prescott. He is putting the work in. The man deserves it. That is commitment.”
Woodson has an office at the Cowboys headquarters at The Star in Frisco with his commercial real estate company ESRP. He also owns a software company.
Beyond deserving to get paid because of his work ethic and commitment, Woodson says Prescott maximizing his earning potential is the American way.
“No, hell no,” Woodson responded when asked if Prescott should take less money. “This is a capitalistic society. This is America. Why does he have to take less money? We are not expecting others to take less money. We didn’t ask [Eagles quarterback] Carson Wentz to take less money. Why should Dak be the guy to take less money?”
Woodson also disagrees with the notion that because Prescott is the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys he should just expect to use off-the-field endorsements as a way to augment his salary and create his true market value.
“The off-the-field pay is not promised,” said Woodson, who added that Prescott should accept no less than what he is worth. “If he deserves $35-38 million, he should be paid $35-38 million. I think the man has earned it.”
Prescott, who is a free agent, has started every game over the last four years after the Cowboys drafted him as a fourth-round pick in 2016. He has made roughly $4 million in career earnings and is in line for a huge raise to put him in line with the other top quarterbacks in the NFL. Cowboys management has repeatedly insisted that signing Prescott to a long-term deal has been their top goal this offseason.
The Cowboys have offered him him a deal worth $33 million annually that would put him among the top five quarterbacks in the NFL. Prescott is looking for at least $35 million, possibly topping Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson as the league’s highest paid player.
What’s certain is the money is only going to go up. It’s not going down. And the Cowboys need to get a deal done by March 12 to avoid applying the franchise tag on Prescott. Doing so would be the team’s right, but the expectation is that Prescott would not report for the voluntary offseason program if the Cowboys were to go that route. Also, using the tag on Prescott could expose valued receiver Amari Cooper to free agency.
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 8:28 AM.
