Agent’s Take: Why Dak Prescott is a not-so-obvious candidate to help resurrect NFL’s fully guaranteed contract

Agent’s Take: Why Dak Prescott is a not-so-obvious candidate to help resurrect NFL’s fully guaranteed contract



rewrite this content material with complete period and stay HTML tags Nobody anticipated Deshaun Watson to get a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract averaging $46 million in step with 12 months as a a part of his commerce from the Texans to the Browns in March 2022 bearing in mind the quarterback had 4 years value $136 million last at the four-year extension he up to now signed in September 2020. Watson set the degree for different quarterbacks to push for fully guaranteed contracts. Any momentum there can have been for added fully guaranteed contracts stopped after Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson signed extensions within the following months. Murray and Wilson’s respective five-year extensions with the Cardinals and Broncos averaging $46.1 million and $49 million in step with 12 months are not fully guaranteed.Lamar Jackson made a valiant try, however Jalen Hurts signing a five-year extension averaging $51 million in step with 12 months that is not totally protected with the Eagles in April used to be the general nail within the coffin. A few weeks later, Jackson signed a typical five-year, $260 million contract with the Ravens averaging $52 million in step with 12 months. His $135 million fully guaranteed at signing is the second-most ever in an NFL contract. Jackson used to be the league’s highest-paid participant till the Chargers signed Justin Herbert to a five-year extension averaging $52.5 million in step with 12 months originally of coaching camp in overdue July. There is a sudden candidate with doable instances who would possibly resurrect the fully guaranteed contract: Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. He is within the 1/3 12 months of the four-year, $160 million deal averaging $40 million in step with 12 months he signed in March 2021. How Prescott can earn NFL’s subsequent fully guaranteed contractPrescott is not an glaring candidate since he is coming off a down 12 months via his requirements. He uncharacteristically led the NFL with a career-high 15 interceptions in 2022 in spite of lacking 5 video games early within the season with a fractured proper thumb. Prescott has to have a bounce-back 12 months the place he returns to his 2021 shape, which used to be arguably the most efficient season of his NFL profession, for a fully guaranteed contract to change into a risk. He posted profession highs in of completion share (68.8%) and landing passes (37). His 104.2 passer score and four,449 passing yards had been the second-best marks of his profession. There’s every other essential aspect but even so Prescott returning to his earlier shape. Prescott and/or his agent, Todd France, want to take exception to the Cowboys lately buying and selling a 2024 fourth-round select to the 49ers for 2020 1/3 total select Trey Lance with out informing the quarterback prior to making the deal. Prescott has mentioned the entire proper issues publicly in regards to the Lance acquisition. Potential affect of Trey Lance acquisitionNot giving advance understand about transferring up within the 2020 NFL Draft to make a choice Jordan Love used to be the start of the tip with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. How the placement used to be treated created a rift that finally led to Rodgers being traded to the Jets a couple days prior to the 2023 NFL Draft. Rodgers taking issues individually apparently produced arguably the most efficient two-year run of his illustrious profession during which he used to be named NFL MVP in 2020 and 2021. Cowboys proprietor Jerry Jones attempted to diffuse the idea that obtaining Lance may just affect Prescott’s tenure in Dallas all the way through a native radio interview with 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. He mentioned he expects Prescott to be with the Cowboys for a very long time. Jones did not rule out a contract extension all the way through the season.History does not imply there will probably be an extension all the way through the season as Prescott’s contract dealings with the Cowboys had been tricky. Prescott had to play out his rookie contract and the 2020 season below a $31.409 million franchise tag prior to getting his present deal. He is the uncommon quarterback to play below a franchise tag for the reason that 2011 lockout ended. The handiest different quarterback has been Kirk Cousins with the Commanders in each 2016 and 2017. The prospect of a fully guaranteed deal is a moot level with out each a bounce-back 12 months and there being frustrations in regards to the Lance commerce or earlier negotiations that are not essentially for public intake. Prescott should jump again after down yearProving that 2022 is an anomaly will give Prescott strange leverage in contract negotiations. Prescott has the NFL’s second-largest 2024 wage cap quantity at $59.455 million, which will probably be untenable, thank you to Dallas restructuring his contract for cap functions on 3 other events since he signed. There’s a clause prohibiting Dallas from designating Prescott as a franchise or transition participant in 2025 will have to he play out his contract. Prescott additionally has a no-trade clause. The Cowboys could be contending with $61.915 million of useless cash, a wage cap fee for a participant not on a staff’s roster, will have to he waive his no-trade clause or within the not going match of being freeing as a result of regressing badly. The useless cash will be the similar quantity below each situations.With a bounce-back 12 months and a willingness to play hardball, it could be nice to prolong any substantive contract discussions till after subsequent May 2. That’s the time limit for the Cowboys to select up Lance’s fifth-year choice for 2025, which might be upwards to $22.5 million in accordance with his present profession trajectory. It could be harking back to Drew Brees’ negotiating ways with the Saints in 2016 when he had a league-high $30 million cap quantity. Brees drove such a exhausting discount that he did not signal his extension till a number of days prior to the regular-season opener when a new deal at an previous date would have given the Saints much-needed cap reduction to higher cope with a traditionally unhealthy protection in 2015.Waiting may supply readability about Lance. Making the monetary dedication to Lance would doubtless be offensive to Prescott and France. Passing at the 5th 12 months would create much more favorable negotiating stipulations for Prescott’s camp.Under this method, Prescott would make a fully guaranteed contract a non-negotiable merchandise for an extension irrespective of the verdict with Lance. The onus could be on Dallas to meet the calls for the place a fully guaranteed contract is a necessity or face the possibility of dropping Prescott for a 2026 third-round compensatory select, at superb, as a result of the no-trade clause. Possible suitors in 2025 loose company would know smartly advance of Prescott’s contract expectancies if Dallas balked. There is the opportunity of Prescott to overplay his hand via going this path. He would possibly want to observe up a sturdy 2023 season with a just right 2024 marketing campaign during which he used to be reasonably damage loose to get Dallas to give him a fully guaranteed contract at the cusp of 2025 loose company or from somebody else at the open marketplace. Since Prescott has accomplished lifetime monetary safety along with his present contract, the danger would not be as nice as when he performed out his rookie contract whilst making $2.025 million as an alternative of taking the most efficient be offering Dallas had at the desk. His profession NFL participant contract profits to that time had been $2,003,392.Prescott would necessarily be a higher model of Cousins when he used to be an unrestricted loose agent in 2018. Cousins were given $84 million (value up to $90 million via incentives) over 3 years from the Vikings to change into the NFL’s highest-paid participant at $28 million in step with 12 months at the league’s first profitable fully guaranteed veteran contract. Prescott’s most-likely scenarioNone of this will likely come to fruition irrespective of how a lot leverage Prescott would possibly have in 2024 if he is like maximum gamers. Quarterbacks specifically have not been keen to push the envelope contractually. Typically, an extension is signed with one or two years last on a deal. Prescott will have to be extra inexpensive via getting an extension accomplished faster moderately later as a result of his asymmetric 2022 efficiency. Nonetheless, it would not be sudden if Prescott were given in the similar group because the $48.75 million in step with 12 months most price of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones’ four-year maintain a well timed extension given the adjustments to the quarterback marketplace this 12 months. The most-likely state of affairs is Prescott chopping down on his interceptions in a bounce-back 12 months and getting a deal accomplished the place he supplies the Cowboys with vital 2024 cap reduction prior to the 2024 league 12 months begins subsequent March 13. His present contract made him the league’s second-highest participant at the back of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ $45 million in step with 12 months. Doing the similar factor once more would slot Prescott between Jackson and Herbert’s respective $52 million and $52.5 million in step with 12 months. Herbert’s $193,738,375 million of general promises would doubtless be…