What do the Dallas Cowboys have with Dak Prescott? Despite being a former fourth-round pick, Prescott has developed into a franchise quarterback.
He can certainly lead one of the NFL’s highest-powered offenses and help embark on a playoff run. Yet, Prescott, in his eighth season as the Cowboys’ starting QB, has just two playoff wins to his name. That doesn’t exactly compare well to Patrick Mahomes, who has 11 career playoff wins, including two Super Bowls in just his sixth season as a starter.
But Mahomes is also one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL, yet not even the Kansas City Chiefs’ MVP is the top earner at his position. That honor actually goes to Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, who inked a five-year, $275 million contract back in September.
Yet, now there’s a belief that Prescott will take Burrow’s crown as the highest-paid NFL QB today.
According to Jordan Schultz, the strong season Prescott’s having could help him command a salary in the $55 million to $60 million range, but he believes $55M is the “floor.”
Prescott could reset the market depending on how the final numbers come out. Burrow’s contract averages $55 million per season, but Prescott also has a lot of leverage in negotiations thanks to the presence of a no-trade and no-tag clause.
It’s hard to envision a scenario where either Prescott or the Cowboys don’t want to continue their partnership with where things stand right now. Will that change over the next month or two, depending on their playoff success? Probably not, because finding good or great quarterbacks isn’t easy. In other words, yes, the Cowboys may be set to hand Prescott a record-setting contract, but what other choice do they have?
Related: Is he worth the cash? See where Dak Prescott lands in Sportsnaut’s NFL QB Rankings