Great News! Dallas Cowboys can sign Dak Prescott long-term in 5 days

In just five days the Dallas Cowboys will be allowed to sign Dak Prescott long-term

Dak Prescott wants to sign a long-term deal. The Dallas Cowboys want to sign Dak Prescott to a long-term deal. The only problem is the NFL won’t allow that to happen. That’s because players playing under the franchise tag are forbidden from signing new deals between July 15 and Week 17 of the regular season.

For the Dallas Cowboys the regular season ends on Sunday, meaning they can sign Dak Prescott long-term immediately thereafter. This is great news to anyone who recognizes the importance of finalizing a deal like this as quickly as humanly possible.

Why such urgency?

The Dallas Cowboys are well positioned to slap Dak Prescott with the franchise tag once again in 2021. That will afford them the opportunity to negotiate into the summer without fear of another team swooping in and stealing their franchise arm.

But at a cost over $37 million, the franchise tag would leave little to work with in free agency. And with a metric crapton of holes to fill on defense this offseason, the Dallas Cowboys need all the cap space they can get when free agency opens.

To say there’s urgency to get a deal done ASAP, is an understatement. The Cowboys may not be saying it, but they know the score. They know they can’t let this drag out into the 11th hour.

They know they need a frontline starting veteran defensive tackle. That won’t be cheap. They know they probably need two new safeties. They might need free agency AND the Draft for that. They need a starting cornerback to replace Chidobe Awuzie. They either need a high-priced veteran or a top-50 pick to realistically address that spot. And have you seen the Dallas linebackers play?

Reasons for optimism?

The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Precsott were extremely close to an agreement before before the moratorium was imposed. The biggest obstacle is in length. Dak has always wanted a deal in the 3-4 year range and the Joneses have been insisting on something in the 5-6 year range.

Dak, who’s basically been going year-to-year for the past two seasons has the upper hand. If he plays the 2021 season on the tag it will be financially impossible for Dallas to tag him again next offseason. This would put Dak on the open market and result in a bidding war of a magnitude the NFL has never seen before.

As such, the Cowboys will be much more likely to concede regarding their 5-year minimum requirement.

Also working in the favor of a new deal is Dak Prescott’s injury status. Dak saw firsthand how quickly a career can end in the NFL, and that personal perspective is sure to put added weight on financial security – even if it’s at the cost of maximizing total earning potential.

As Brian Broaddus recently stated, “Dak Prescott [has to be] the one…to drive the deal.”

It’s safe to say both sides regret not having a deal in place when the season began this season. With Dak on track for a full recovery, and the Cowboys having seen what life is like without him, No one expects Dak to be anywhere but Dallas in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season.

But given the circumstances on both sides, everyone should be motivated to get something done as quickly as possible. Will it be next week? Highly unlikely, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be and there’s no reason to to wait for anymore artificial deadlines.

The Dallas Cowboys are free to sign Dak Prescott in less than a week. Will they jump on the chance or will they let this drag out like they did before? Only time will tell, but the longer it drags, the worse it is for the Cowboys

• Published on 12/30/2020 at 12:01 PM
• Last updated at 12/30/2020 at 08:41 AM