Dak Prescott contract update says QB 'well aware' value, leverage

Dak Prescott knows his worth and has all of the leverage, so Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys better be ready to pay.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Dak Prescott is in a position that most pending free agents can only dream of. The runner-up for the 2023 NFL MVP is entering his final season under contract with the Dallas Cowboys and he holds all the leverage.

Dallas mishandled his last contract to the point that his representation was able to get a no-trade clause as well as a no-franchise clause for 2025 and beyond. That means the front office has no way of keeping him around if his contract runs out.

In such a scenario, Prescott would then see teams enter a bidding war for his services which could put Kirk Cousins' four-year, $180 million deal to shame.

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According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Prescott is "well aware" of his value and doesn't plan on giving the Cowboys a discount. He did say both sides want a deal done but the front office in Dallas needs to be willing to get to work on crunching the numbers.

"Look, Prescott, and you talk to people in and around the situation, he's well aware of how well he can do in free agency if he were to just let this ride out, play well again and put up a huge QBR and then be there in March for $60 million a year, whatever it's going to cost. It's going to cost a lot. So, I don't think both sides want that. They want to try to shake this out with a deal but it's going to take a lot of legwork over the next two weeks."

Prescott signed a four-year deal worth $160 million in 2021 after playing on the franchise tag in 2020. His cap hit this year is more than $55 million. That number could seem like a savings if the estimations of $60 million annually are correct.

Not only will Jerry Jones have to find out how to get this deal done but they're also still trying to get CeeDee Lamb under contract. Jones might not have felt the urgency a few weeks ago but that's no longer the case with Week 1 of the regular season right around the corner.

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