QB Dak Prescott will be fourth Dallas Cowboys player to play season on the franchise tag
Quarterback Dak Prescott is the sixth player in team history to receive the franchise tag from the Dallas Cowboys, who have used it eight times, including twice the same player in back-to-back seasons.
However, Prescott will be just the fourth to play the season on the tag, joining tackle Flozell Adams in 2002, linebacker Anthony Spencer in 2012 and 2013 and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence in 2018. All but Spencer eventually received long term deals.
Here is a look at the Cowboys franchise tag history before Prescott:
2002 — T Flozell Adams
Adams was the first player the Cowboys ever tagged. He made $4.9 million in 2002 and then cashed in with a five-year, $25.5 million deal the following season. Adams was named to the Pro Bowl in five of the next six seasons, earning a six-year, $43.8 million extension.
2008 — S Ken Hamlin
After signing with the Cowboys on a one-year deal in 2007, Hamlin recorded five interceptions and had a Pro Bowl season. The Cowboys placed the $4.39 million franchise tag on him in 2008 before agreeing to terms on a six-year, $37.5 million deal just before the deadline. Hamlin had one interception in the next two seasons and was released as a cap casualty in 2010.
2012 — LB Anthony Spencer
The Dallas Cowboys placed the franchise tag on Spencer on March 5 after the team couldn’t determine his long-term worth. He signed the tag guaranteeing him a one-year salary of $8.856 million. Spencer had a breakout season, recording 11 sacks and being named to his first Pro Bowl. He was the only player in the NFL with 90+ tackles and 10+ sacks.
2013 — LB Anthony Spencer
For the second year in a row, the Cowboys put the franchise tag on Spencer. He signed the $9.6 million tender. It proved the beginning of the end after a bone bruise in training camp eventually resulted in season-ending microfracture surgery. He signed with the Cowboys on a modest one-year deal in 2014 but was never the same.
2015 — WR Dez Bryant
Coming off three straight seasons of more than 1,200 yards receiving, Bryant received the franchise tag $12.3 million in March of 2015. It resulted in Bryant holding out off the offseason program and mini camp before the two sides came to terms on a five-year, $70 million deal by the July 15th deadline. Things went south almost immediately. He missed seven games due to injury in 2015, starting three straight seasons in which he gained fewer than 900 yards. He was released for salary cap reasons in 2018.
2018 — DE DeMarcus Lawrence
After a breakout season in 2017 in which he had 14.5 sacks and a trip to his first Pro Bowl, the Cowboys placed the franchise on Lawrence. He signed it almost immediately vowing to prove himself again to earn a long-term deal.
2019 — DE DeMarcus Lawrence
Lawrence recorded 10.5 sacks in 2018, notching a double-digit tally in consecutive seasons. The Cowboys placed a second franchise tag on him to start the offseason, but about a month later the two sides agreed upon a five-year deal worth $105 million. He underwent surgery for a torn labrum in the offseason, and recorded just 5.5 sacks.
