Cowboys Are Totally Screwed if Jerry Jones Gets His Way in Dak Prescott Negotiations

The Dallas Cowboys aren't exactly known for making the savviest decisions when working on contract extensions for their star players. It always seems to end up in an ugly, unnecessarily public mess before a deal is worked out (if one gets done at all). The Dak Prescott negotiations are no different.

Jerry Jones never seems to have any concern with the long-term future of the franchise — he waits until the last minute and seems determined to keep the Cowboys strapped for cash. But the latest update on the Dak Prescott negotiations are especially egregious.

You'd think that if Jones and the Cowboys get what they want, that would put the team in the best position possible for the future. But it's actually the opposite. Jones is going to completely doom the Cowboys if he gets his way

The Athletic's Dianna Russini gave us an update on the negotiations. This revealed some key details: "The holdup at this point from what I understand is about the years the Dallas Cowboys are willing to commit to." She added that the Cowboys aren't sure if they want Dak in Dallas "longer than two, three, four years," while Prescott wants a long-term deal.

This is absurd. Even the most generous interpretation is that Jerry Jones just can't keep up with the modern NFL. And that's not exactly something you want from someone calling shots for one of the biggest franchises in the league.

Dak is 31 years old. What does Jones think happens if he signs a two or three year deal? This isn't 1985. Quarterbacks' primes last well into their late 30s, and at 33 or 34 years old, Dak's new contract would once again need to be a super-deal. And at that point the quarterback market will have been reset more than once, and the contract will need to be bigger than ever.

So is the plan with a short-term deal to just kick the can down the road a little bit only to replay this entire situation over again? Is the plan to just slightly delay being forced to rebuild? Is there a plan at all?

If anything, you'd think Dak might be the one who would want the short-term deal. It would let him cash in again in the near future, and it would insulate him from potentially being stuck in a sinking ship if Jones keeps making poor decisions for the Cowboys.

Admittedly, I've glossed over the "maybe he doesn't know if Dak is a real franchise quarterback" point. But that's for good reason. The guy is 31 years old, and he was No. 2 in the MVP race last year. If you're still not sure that he's your franchise quarterback, then he's not the guy. It's not like he's a youngster still developing — he's shown you who he is for eight years. If "who he is" doesn't do it for you, then signing him to a monster contract for an additional two seasons isn't the move anyway.

Of course, Dak is a franchise quarterback. He's not the problem that has been holding the Cowboys back from contending for a Super Bowl despite being one of the most talented teams in the NFL.

The best-case scenario for Cowboys fans is if Prescott signs an extension long enough that he's still under contract by the time Jerry Jones is done making decisions for the Cowboys.

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