Dak Prescott's New Mega Deal Shows That Players Hold The Power Now
(Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports) via bloggingtheboys
Four score and seven years ago, Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys began their contract negotiations. On Tuesday, March 9, the saga finally came to an end, and Dak got PAID. The contract is 4 years worth up to $160 million including a $66 million signing bonus.
The main takeaway from this is that Dak had the upper hand all along. Everyone thought he was crazy for turning down 30 mil a year, and instead wanting a contract that would give him 40. Pardon My Take host Daniel “Big Cat” Katz said Dak was Panama City Drunk, now it’s time for Dak to celebrate.
This long and arduous contract negotiations had everything. The Cowboys tagged him, he got hurt, he got paid. Most importantly Dak reached a deal where he was happy with both the salary and length.
Perhaps the biggest roadblock during the negotiation process was the length of the contract. Jerry Jones wanted to lock up Dak for six years or more, but the 2x Pro Bowler wanted to sign a shorter deal so he can sign another massive contract when the NFL cap space gets bigger in the near future.
The Cowboys understandably avoided that for multiple reasons. One, he didn’t want Dak being a bigger cap hit in the future, and two, he didn’t want to give Dak another opportunity to leave the building. The former 4th round pick didn’t even flinch.
He bet on himself and it worked -- would you like to know why? Because players have all the power now. Dak knows how much he’s worth as franchise quarterback, and teams are now powerless to do anything but oblige to athletes demands.
The days of teams dictating how much a player is worth are long gone. Players know what they’re worth, and they are going to get paid like it. I truly believe if the Cowboys didn’t pony up then Dak would have left, and another team would have begun writing his checks.
This may not be the last time we see contract negotiations string on like this. It will be interesting to see what happens with Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Kyler Murray now after Dak Prescott seemingly set the new standard.