Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys were unable to come to terms on a longterm contract before Wednesday's 4 p.m. deadline. With no extension in hand, the Cowboys' quarterback will have to play the 2020 season under the exclusive franchise tag that will pay him $31.4 million. However, the Cowboys did make a last-minute offer to extend Prescott's contract beyond the 2020 season, according to NFL Network's Jane Slater. Prescott wanted to get the deal done, but the two sides could not complete the transition before the deadline. The new contract would have paid Prescott between $33-35 million annually with $110 million guaranteed. The contract also would have included a $50 million signing bonus and $70 million over the first two years.
Last month, CBS Sports' Patrik Walker reported that there had not been any traction in talks since mid-spring, and there were several reasons for that. One, the passing of Prescott's brother caused both sides to take a pause, and the quarterback had also turned his focus to social injustice -- offering up half of his 2019 salary to promote equality. It was assumed that Prescott and the Cowboys would enter talks again in July, but that apparently did not happen until it was too late.
Instead of inking his longterm contract, Prescott will now have to wait another year before receiving his coveted contract. The situation is similar to the one that took place between Le'Veon Bell and the Steelers. In consecutive summers, the two sides frantically tried to come to terms on an extension before the deadline, only to come up short on both occasions. In 2017, Bell (who didn't sign his franchise tag until training camp had ended) sat out the entire preseason before rejoining the team just before Pittsburgh's season-opener. The following year, instead of playing under the tag again, Bell sat out the entire season before finally getting a longterm deal with the New York Jets.
While Bell ultimately ended up getting his contract, it didn't happen in Pittsburgh, who were hoping to keep him for the foreseeable future. Time will tell if the same situation unfolds as it relates to Prescott's future in Dallas.
