There seems to be a disconnect.
The Cowboys continued their posturing on Monday with quarterback Dak Prescott and the extension talks that are hanging over their offseason.
“At the same time, and I know Dak wants this, you want a supporting cast,” Executive Vice President Stephen Jones said told ESPN Radio in Dallas. “That’s the way to go down as being one of the great quarterbacks to ever play the game: win championships.
“There’s been a lot of good players who won a lot of games and have good stats, but if you don’t have championships, certainly there’s an empty feeling there. I know Dak. His No. 1 goal here is to win Super Bowl championships. He’s a winner; he’s a leader.”
Prescott, 25 and eligible for an extension for the first time this offseason, may not have received that memo. Prescott has been outspoken about maximizing his value after getting paid an average of $680,000 in his first three seasons, which has included two NFC East titles. During Super Bowl week, Prescott was asked about Tom Brady’s team-friendly contracts with the Patriots.
“Nobody’s wife makes as much money as his wife does, either,” Prescott told USA Today. “When Tom Brady isn’t the breadwinner in the home, then that’s a great problem to have. So in that case, he can do that. He can do his contract however you want to do it.”
The Cowboys’ dilemma is that Prescott is not alone. They have already lavished star defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence with a five-year, $105 million extension, while Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper are also likely to get long-term extensions this offseason. As they did with the Lawrence extension, the Cowboys could use Cooper’s deal — he’s already due $13.9 million this season — to free up short-term dollars for Prescott and Elliott.
Still, it’s a tricky balancing act the Cowboys cannot afford to mess up, both for their present and future.
“I just feel good that we’ll find our way to a place that the contract enables us to surround him with a great supporting cast which a lot of it’s in place. If you look at our offensive line, look at our receiving core, you look at Zeke: a lot of it’s there. Obviously with [Jason] Witten coming back and some young tight ends, certainly that’s a nice spot for us, too. So we’ve just gotta keep building on that and be able to fit Dak in,” Jones said.
“He certainly deserves to be paid fairly. He’s a fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State, as we all know. He’s never made a lot of money, per se, with his contract. Certainly deserves to be paid and be paid fairly.”
If the sides cannot agree on what “fairly” is — currently 11 quarterbacks are making over $20 million per season — then Prescott would have to play out his rookie contract with the Cowboys having the franchise tag as an option going forward.