Dallas Cowboys: How much is too much for Dak Prescott?

The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott aren’t just divided in their negotiations, but Cowboys Nation is divided these days. Some fans want Dallas to sign Dak Prescott by any means necessary (within reason, of course). Others have hard and fast limits they are not willing to exceed. For them, the line is in the sand.

But what are we really arguing about? A couple million per season? Does it really matter in the grand scheme of things or do we just want it to matter since it’s more than many of us will make in a lifetime?

Fans are busy setting arbitrary thresholds like there’s some sort of science or logic behind them. $40 million per year can somehow be too much while an annual sum of say, $39 million/season is perfectly reasonable.

How much is too much for Dak Prescott’s next deal with the Dallas Cowboys

Never mind these max limits were set by many before the NFL salary cap was even realized. Never mind we don’t know the astronomical limits the cap will go to in 2022 and 2023 when the new TV money kicks in. Never mind we don’t know the long-term investment plans of the Dallas front office and what they’d do with extra money even if they had it (spoiler alert: nothing). $40M is too much because it feels like it’s too much, right?

Wrong.

What we’re really arguing about is the amount some cruddy free agent costs who probably wouldn’t even make the team anyways

What we’re really arguing about is the amount some cruddy free agent costs, who probably wouldn’t even make the team anyways. Every year the Dallas Cowboys takes a stab at a handful of has-beens, retreads, and long shots and every year they seem to bust.

Ha Ha Clinton Dix was signed for $2.2 million last season and he was cut before the season even began. Daryl Worley also cost $2.2, and was preemptively sent packing as well. That speed bump known as Dontari Poe cost a cool 3.2 million against the cap last season when signed. Can’t forget about him. They were all certified wastes of money and last season wasn’t unique either. Go back and look. Every offseason Dallas’ bargain hunting goes belly up and wastes funds that could have been used elsewhere.

This is money that could have gone to more solid investments. The money wasted last season could have easily been used on Byron Jones. It could have also bridged the gap between Dak and the Cowboys front office. Instead it was gambled away and here we stand, looking for a starting CB and still needing to re-sign the franchise QB. All so we could roll the dice on guys like Ha Ha, Daryl, and Dontari.

Why take so many long-shot investments when you have a proven commodity in Dak Prescott? Why not invest in the guy who’s playing the most important (and hardest to replace) position on the team.

Instead, the Dallas Cowboys and a certain segment of fans, insist on sticking hard and fast to arbitrarily set numbers.  It’s ridiculous to think an amount that equates to the value of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix could somehow stand in the way of a new deal.

This is about fans and media as much as it is about the Dallas Cowboys themselves. We don’t know how far apart the two sides are this winter. Last we heard, the impasse between the Cowboys and Dak was more about length of the deal than anything. But that was a season ago and much has changed between then and now.

And even if it’s still more about length than money, don’t you think an extra Clinton-Dix sized addition ($2.2M) or even an extra Poe sized addition ($3.2M) per season could sweeten the deal enough to make that extra year on the contract more palatable to Team Dak?

It’s understandable that some fans can’t get past the enormous sums of money thrown around. In the real world, it’s a crazy amount of money. And to pay a guy they may see as maybe a top-10 QB, top-3 money seems like bad business (even if it is the norm).

But at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter when you’re talking about the QB position. A QB is so important to the game these days, a solid argument can be made we’re actually underpaying QBs right now.

Looking at wins above replacement (WAR), a top-10 QB produces nearly 4x more WAR than the next highest position on the football field. That goes to show how hard it is to replace a franchise QB and how even with elite players all over the roster, how much of a disadvantage you’re at if you don’t have a top-10 signal-caller.

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For those who say Dak Prescott isn’t even in the top-10, I got news for ya: In his last full season, Dak Prescott was third in the entire NFL in wins above replacement (WAR). Last year he was on track to be even better. You basically need at least four extra elite players at high value positions (WR, SAF, CB) to make up for the loss of a top-10 QB.

I’m not going to pretend what the exact impasse is between Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys, and neither should any of you. We think we may know but we don’t really know since both sides have been playing this close to the vest.

But arguing over a few million per season is a crazy exercise for us and for them because we see what the Cowboys do with that extra few million each offseason and it ain’t good.

If giving into Dak’s demands means we can’t sign a couple cruddy free agents the next few years, then sign me up. I’d much rather invest in proven commodities who are playing at high levels than roll the dice on long-shots every year.

• Published on 02/10/2021 at 13:01 PM
• Last updated at 02/10/2021 at 12:49 PM