Sportsbooks Say A Long-Term Dak Prescott Contract Extension Will Not Happen

• Dak Prescott’s new contract with the Cowboys has +160 odds of being over 1.5-years.
• The Dallas Cowboys and Prescott have until 4 p.m. on Wednesday to agree to terms on a long-term contract extension.
• Dak Prescott has the third shortest odds at +1200 to win the 2020 NFL MVP award.

DALLAS – The Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott have until 4 p.m. ET Wednesday to sign the former fourth-round pick to a long-term deal.

The Cowboys not locking Dak up to a long-term deal will cost the franchise more money in the long run as paying a quarterback will only become more expensive especially when considering that next year’s franchise tag for Dak Prescott will make him somewhere around $37 million minimum.

The franchise tag he signed in late June comes with a $31.4 million hit against the cap and will make Prescott the second-highest-paid quarterback in the NFL for the 2020 season.

Assuming the #Cowboys fail to sign QB Dak Prescott before the deadline tomorrow, as is the current expectation, Prescott’s salary cap hit of $31.4M in 2020 will be the 2nd-highest in a season, behind only Jimmy Garoppolo in 2018 ($37M).

— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) July 14, 2020

The Cowboys have made some big money offers to Dak but he has yet to accept an offer, as he eyes a bigger payday with the NFL’s new CBA and TV deals set to send the salary cap even higher soon.

By playing the waiting game and banking on himself Dak has still put himself in position to still become one of the highest-paid players in the NFL today.

Quick tweet on Dak Prescott, from vacation ... Absent a deal, there are 3 outcomes.

1) $31.4M in 2020, UFA in 2021.

2) $69.1M over 2, UFA in 2022.

3) $123.3M over 3, UFA in 2023.

All get him a ton of guaranteed 💰 AND to FA before he turns 30. That’s what Dallas has to beat.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) July 15, 2020

Prescott and his agent hold most of the leverage as the Cowboys don’t want to move on from Dak but don’t want to pay him top of the market money.

Prescott is already an NFL MVP finalist at sportsbooks with the third shortest odds at +1200.

He’s coming off a season where he set career highs in touchdowns (30) and passing yards (4,902) but the Cowboys are still hesitant to pay him what he wants. However, by continually tagging Prescott, the minimum price for his services will only go up thus making Dak’s pockets fat either way.

Like I was saying last night.... why on earth would Dak sign for 5 years at $35m when he can play the next 3 years at $41m per and then probably sign in FA for $45m per https://t.co/IjdkC8ry0A

— Joey Ickes (@JoeyIckes) July 15, 2020

For Dak, it makes sense to wait because the franchise tag over the next three years will pay him over $100+ million in guaranteed money whereas him signing a long term deal this offseason wouldn’t pay him nearly as much in that time frame. Playing on the tag will allow him to sign for even more money as a free agent in 2021 or 2022.

The worst case scenario at this point from a cash standpoint for Dak is to make somewhere around $123m over the next 3 seasons on 3 franchise tags... in other words, without a long term deal he will average $41m over 3 seasons...

— Joey Ickes (@JoeyIckes) July 15, 2020

With Dak expected to play on the franchise tag this season BetOnline has posted a prop on how long the quarterback’s next contract with the Cowboys will be.

The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott’s contract situation could drag out for a few seasons as the franchise tag will be a double-edged sword for the team.

They will get to retain Prescott, but the team’s salary cap will suffer until a long-term agreement is reached.

If Prescott agreed to the Cowboys latest offer which was a 4- or 5-year deal that would pay him $35 million per year and over $100 million guaranteed he’d still make more money playing on the franchise tag for the next three years.

For Prescott to sign long-term the least the Cowboys could do is make sure he’ll be paid higher than the franchise tag.

The franchise tag and Dak Prescott will likely by synonymous moving forward but this is likely the best possible situation for both the team and Dak.

The Cowboys get to see if Dak can win with a better coaching staff and new weapons while Prescott will still get to be one of the highest-paid players in the NFL with the potential to make even more money.

The stalemate between the two comes down to money/contract length and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been on the record saying his hand has never cramped writing a check. As time goes on Prescott’s price will only go up and whether the Cowboys want to or not they’ll be paying top of the market money for his services by way of contract or franchise tag.

Money talks and all the power is in Prescott’s hands since he doesn’t have to sign a long-term deal to get the payday that he deserves which for Dak is probably the best position to be in as a young player looking to sign his first big contract extension.