The Dallas Cowboys have been at a standstill in contract negotiations with quarterback Dak Prescott, while the Detroit Lions recently signed fellow signal-caller Jared Goff to a four-year, $212 million contract.
That’s $53 million per year for Goff, which is likely in the ballpark of what the Cowboys sought to pay Prescott.
Key word: wanted (past tense).
Goff’s agreement only increased Prescott’s bargaining power
Prescott has been said to be pursuing a long-term contract worth $60 million per year for quite some time. Many people scoffed at this assertion. Dak Prescott makes $60 million a year? Who is he? What about Tom Brady? Joe Montana? Johnny Unitas?
Well, no, but he does play in the current NFL, where quarterbacks reset the market practically year. Would anyone have predicted that Goff was worth $53 million entering into last season? No, but he had a good season, led the Lions to the NFC Championship Game, and voila! He receives $53 million every year.
The Cowboys have tried to play hardball with Prescott, who is about to reach the final year of his current contract. There has even been speculation that Dallas may let Prescott play out 2024 on a one-year contract and then test the free-agent waters in March. You can see the strategy the Cowboys intended to utilize. Allow Prescott to go free agent, see that no one will give him what he wants, and then sign him to a more affordable contract.
But that strategy may be out the window now that Detroit has increased the ante with Goff.
Prescott just placed second in MVP voting after leading the NFL with 36 touchdown passes, so he clearly believes he is worth a lot of money. Who could blame him? Prescott is a talented quarterback, despite his flaws and 2-5 postseason record. Actually, it’s a very good one. He is probably in the top ten in the league, and that is a conservative estimate.
Plus, he is only 30 years old and will turn 31 in July. No, he isn’t young, but you have to believe he has at least five more years in the tank. It’s not like he’s looking for an extension at 34 or 35. He is two years older than Goff, and the Cowboys may try to leverage that in negotiations, but it is unlikely to matter much.
But here’s the question: how much blame should we place on Jerry Jones and the Dallas front staff for failing to extend Prescott when they had the opportunity?
Let’s be honest: most people did not believe Prescott was worth $60 million per year before Goff signed his new contract, so there will be a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking now that Goff has been paid.
It’s an easy task. Wait till something happens, then either alter your position and pretend nothing happened, or present your opinion for the first time as if you had always believed it when, in reality, you didn’t.And you know what? There is still an argument that Prescott should not receive $60 million. Is he worth $7 million per year more than Goff, who has quietly had back-to-back excellent seasons in Detroit and far more postseason success than Prescott?
Goff led the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl in 2018-19, and this year he led the Lions to their first division title in three decades and first playoff victory since January 1992. That is something.
Meanwhile, Dallas has not advanced past the Divisional Round since January 1996, with only four postseason victories in total since then. Clearly, Prescott is not entirely to blame. He made his debut in 2016, and many Cowboys signal-callers had failed before him.
But it matters in this case because it raises the question of whether Goff could have taken Dallas where Prescott has not.
Personally, I don’t think Goff is a better quarterback than Prescott, but when are we going to stop making excuses? Prescott has had plenty of talent surrounding him. Yes, Goff has Amon-Ra St. Brown, but Prescott has CeeDee Lamb. Prescott also has the advantage of having an elite defense behind him, which Goff does not have in Detroit.
In addition, you can grasp what the Cowboys are attempting to do financially.
For all of the criticism Dallas has received this offseason, many forget that the team had almost no cap space entering free agency. That’s why linebacker Eric Kendricks was the Cowboys’ sole true free agent signing. Jones and company are also trying to conserve money for the future in order to extend guys like Prescott, Lamb, and Micah Parsons.
This is not Monopoly money. It is real. Dallas cannot just throw money around without consequences. Jones is a businessman. He knows what he is doing. He has repeatedly maintained that Prescott is his quarterback of the future. He simply wants to make sure he receives the best possible bargain.
In the end, the Cowboys and Prescott are likely to settle on a long-term contract. It’s unclear whether this will happen during the offseason or next spring. While Goff’s signing may appear to be a horrible deal for Dallas, it does not contradict the Cowboys’ long-term plan.
