'Dak Will Make The Cowboys Pay,' Johnston Predicts

QB Dak Prescott Next Year Will Make The Dallas Cowboys Pay,' Daryl Johnston Predicts

FRISCO - Does star quarterback Dak Prescott, who this offseason wasn't able to get the long-term contract he desired - harbor any bitterness at Dallas Cowboys?

"Absolutely,'' says former Dallas fullback Daryl Johnston, when asked by Colin Cowherd if "bitterness'' can be a factor after such negotiations. "I was a little bitter in my career. ... When you're competitive, in sports and business as well, when you're wired that way, you want to be validated in your belief in yourself.''

But, D.J. points out, that doesn't mean a negative picture is to be painted here.

“I see him embracing this,'' Johnston said with a chuckle, "and making the Cowboys pay for the fact that they franchise-tagged him this year.”

"I see Dak embracing this and making the Cowboys pay for the fact that they franchise tagged him this season." — @DarylJohnston pic.twitter.com/gsg5nfObg1

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 30, 2020

Johnston is one of the finest NFL broadcasters and just spent a season as the GM of the XFL's Dallas Renegades. He spent 11 seasons with Dallas while earning two Pro Bowl appearances (and, he said, twice experiencing contractual disappointment and "bitterness), and he explained how the 27-year-old Prescott will likely use any lingering disgruntlement as fuel for his future - first, on the field this year as he earns his $31.409 million salary, and next, at the negotiating table when he "makes the Cowboys pay'' in the 2021 NFL offseason.

"You better believe you're a little bit frustrated and a little bit bitter. ... It’s really how you handle it and how respond to it,” Johnston said on FS1. "Dak has a lot of those (high) qualities and character values, so I see him embracing this and making the Cowboys pay for the fact that they franchise tagged him this season.”

RELATED: '100-Percent Belief:' Stephen On Dak's Contractual Future

In other words, Dak Prescott wants the Cowboys to "pay'' in two different ways. He wants them to  figuratively "pay,'' in an emotionally-driven sense, for what he hopes to prove was a mistake in Dallas not bending more in negotiations.

And then, when he's a free agent again a year from now, he wants the Cowboys to "pay'' - in a literal sense.