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Although the deal is now the books for defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, the Dallas Cowboys got no respite regarding additional contract negotiations. In a bit of a from-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire scenario, they went from working vehemently to secure their best pass rusher since DeMarcus Ware to locking horns with their three best players on offense, simultaneously. As it stands, the club is in active negotiations with quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver Amari Cooper and running back Ezekiel Elliott -- with the two-time rushing champ currently holding out of training camp to push talks on his extension forward.
For Prescott, whom the team is prepared to make the highest-paid player in franchise history only months after granting the honor to Lawrence, things are a bit more complicated than dialogue with the others. Because his looming extension will be the largest, it requires that much more conversation from both sides of the table, and Prescott is also in no rush to get his deal done.
The longer he waits, the more he'll get paid, because that's how market value tends to work.
To that point, carrot-chasing the average annual salary mark is mostly moot unless it's contextually linked to length of extension and guaranteed money, so reports that the Cowboys offered Prescott a deal worth $30 million per year that doesn't provide the additional details fail to paint the complete picture. Assuming that is true, along with the rumored $40 million counteroffer from Prescott, the magic number should and does realistically rest between $32 million and $35 million annually -- the green zone between the deal awarded to Carson Wentz in June and the one given to Russell Wilson in April.
Don't bet on Prescott surpassing Wilson by $5 million per year, if at all, unless you enjoy losing your own money. That report has also now been disputed, which furthers my point on avoiding the proverbial carrot chase, because even leaked information is part of the negotiation process. Teams routinely time leaks and frame them in a way that applies pressure to players, knowing players will be made to look selfish if they reply via the media in combative form. The retaliation usually comes from an upset agent,
Length of contract and guaranteed money on such a deal?
Nobody yet knows, and that's why all of the leaked intel can be viewed as nothing more than a "framing" by one side or both. Lawrence experienced this same thing in April, but the nature of recency bias might make the Lawrence talks feel like they were years ago when, in fact, things were exceedingly contentious between the veteran pass rusher and the Cowboys only four short months ago. It took Lawrence being subject two franchise tags -- the second he refused to sign -- and having to weaponize a torn labrum in order to force the hand of the front office into finally caving.
The situation with Prescott is still currently positive on both sides, but never forget how unforgiving the process can be.
To that point, team exec Stephen Jones started trying to anchor Prescott's contract request months ago. While he has continually praised Prescott, the master tactician also began the predictable move of negotiating through the media, as he's done with Lawrence and as NFL teams routinely do -- the goal being to tilt leverage in their favor via fan pressure and news headlines. That's why you'll hear Jones project Prescott as the waiting king of the financial roster throne in Dallas, but in the same breath remind you why he shouldn't be paid like Wilson.
"You're talking about two guys there — between [Aaron] Rodgers and between Russell Wilson — that have won Super Bowls and that have had success, year-in and year-out," team exec Stephen Jones told 105.3FM the Fan this offseason. "That have taken their teams to the playoffs. Both of them have been to a couple of Super Bowls. Well, at least I know Russell has been.
"Those are guys who are going to make those types of jumps, but I'm not concerned. I think that, at the end of the day, if there's any position that has to keep an eye out not only for themselves but they also have to keep an eye out on their team — in terms of how much cap space they take up — these quarterbacks are those guys. At the end of the day, they're going to make a lot of money. The bigger thing for them in terms of their career, and what they're all about is how much did they win?
"How many Super Bowl rings do they have on their fingers? Those are all huge deals and they know at some point if they take up too much cap space at the end of the day it could hurt their chances of winning."
Make no mistake about it, these are fair stances to take, but so is Prescott wanting to maximize the earnings on his second contract after being paid 10x less to do much more than Wentz -- as one example. Comparing those two reveals just how compelling Prescott's argument is, statistically speaking.
Here are their career numbers, side-by-side.
Although the deal is now the books for defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, the Dallas Cowboys got no respite regarding additional contract negotiations. In a bit of a from-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire scenario, they went from working vehemently to secure their best pass rusher since DeMarcus Ware to locking horns with their three best players on offense, simultaneously. As it stands, the club is in active negotiations with quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver Amari Cooper and running back Ezekiel Elliott -- with the two-time rushing champ currently holding out of training camp to push talks on his extension forward.
For Prescott, whom the team is prepared to make the highest-paid player in franchise history only months after granting the honor to Lawrence, things are a bit more complicated than dialogue with the others. Because his looming extension will be the largest, it requires that much more conversation from both sides of the table, and Prescott is also in no rush to get his deal done.
The longer he waits, the more he'll get paid, because that's how market value tends to work.
To that point, carrot-chasing the average annual salary mark is mostly moot unless it's contextually linked to length of extension and guaranteed money, so reports that the Cowboys offered Prescott a deal worth $30 million per year that doesn't provide the additional details fail to paint the complete picture. Assuming that is true, along with the rumored $40 million counteroffer from Prescott, the magic number should and does realistically rest between $32 million and $35 million annually -- the green zone between the deal awarded to Carson Wentz in June and the one given to Russell Wilson in April.
Don't bet on Prescott surpassing Wilson by $5 million per year, if at all, unless you enjoy losing your own money. That report has also now been disputed, which furthers my point on avoiding the proverbial carrot chase, because even leaked information is part of the negotiation process. Teams routinely time leaks and frame them in a way that applies pressure to players, knowing players will be made to look selfish if they reply via the media in combative form. The retaliation usually comes from an upset agent,
Length of contract and guaranteed money on such a deal?
Nobody yet knows, and that's why all of the leaked intel can be viewed as nothing more than a "framing" by one side or both. Lawrence experienced this same thing in April, but the nature of recency bias might make the Lawrence talks feel like they were years ago when, in fact, things were exceedingly contentious between the veteran pass rusher and the Cowboys only four short months ago. It took Lawrence being subject two franchise tags -- the second he refused to sign -- and having to weaponize a torn labrum in order to force the hand of the front office into finally caving.
The situation with Prescott is still currently positive on both sides, but never forget how unforgiving the process can be.
To that point, team exec Stephen Jones started trying to anchor Prescott's contract request months ago. While he has continually praised Prescott, the master tactician also began the predictable move of negotiating through the media, as he's done with Lawrence and as NFL teams routinely do -- the goal being to tilt leverage in their favor via fan pressure and news headlines. That's why you'll hear Jones project Prescott as the waiting king of the financial roster throne in Dallas, but in the same breath remind you why he shouldn't be paid like Wilson.
"You're talking about two guys there — between [Aaron] Rodgers and between Russell Wilson — that have won Super Bowls and that have had success, year-in and year-out," team exec Stephen Jones told 105.3FM the Fan this offseason. "That have taken their teams to the playoffs. Both of them have been to a couple of Super Bowls. Well, at least I know Russell has been.
"Those are guys who are going to make those types of jumps, but I'm not concerned. I think that, at the end of the day, if there's any position that has to keep an eye out not only for themselves but they also have to keep an eye out on their team — in terms of how much cap space they take up — these quarterbacks are those guys. At the end of the day, they're going to make a lot of money. The bigger thing for them in terms of their career, and what they're all about is how much did they win?
"How many Super Bowl rings do they have on their fingers? Those are all huge deals and they know at some point if they take up too much cap space at the end of the day it could hurt their chances of winning."
Make no mistake about it, these are fair stances to take, but so is Prescott wanting to maximize the earnings on his second contract after being paid 10x less to do much more than Wentz -- as one example. Comparing those two reveals just how compelling Prescott's argument is, statistically speaking.
Here are their career numbers, side-by-side.