Trevor Lawrence’s new contract matches Joe Burrow’s deal in average new money. It will have a ripple effect for other quarterbacks who are approaching new deals.
There’s a quarterback he doesn’t impact. Dak Prescott.
Prescott’s influence is not driven by the question of whether anyone matches or beats Burrow’s annual average of new money. What matters for Prescott is the fact that he has a direct shot at free agency, unrestricted or hindered by the Cowboys’ ability to prevent him from hitting the open market.
That is the direct consequence of the four-year, $160 million contract Prescott signed after the 2020 season. The contract was designed to avoid the franchise tag or transition tag. It was also designed to get the Cowboys to extend the deal with one year left.
One factor toward that end was the massive 2024 salary cap, which the Cowboys restructured slightly to $55.455 million. And if Dak leaves next year, the Cowboys will take on another $54.465 million cap hit.
The only way to reduce those numbers will be to sign him a new contract. The only way to prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent will be to sign him to a new contract.
Extending Dak is also a potential key to extending receiver CeeDee Lamb (who wants his next deal now) and linebacker Micah Parsons (who claims to be patient but definitely shouldn’t be).
Dak’s value in his next deal comes from his influence in the final year of the current one. They need to reduce his cap number for 2024. They need to avoid having his contract void and dumping a $54.465 million cap charge on his name on the 2025 books, regardless of whether they re-sign him.
Dak possesses exactly the type of business clout that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has routinely capitalized on throughout his career. Dak just needs to ask himself, “WWJD?”
The “J” in that formulation would not turn cheeks; I would squeeze balls. By not accepting everything the Cowboys have offered him, that’s what he’s doing Dak.
That’s why no one else’s contract matters. Dak already had the power to get a long-term contract that starts at a 6, thanks to the contract he signed three years ago. And that’s why we said from the beginning that, of all the quarterback contracts signed around the same time, Dak’s was the best. Better than the deal with Patrick Mahomes. Better than the deal with Josh Allen.
The beauty of Dak’s contract is that it forced the Cowboys to redo the contract after three years or face chaos. That chaos is already unfolding, due to the inability to even consider fulfilling Jerry’s empty promise to go “all in.”
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.