Advertisement
This is member-exclusive content
icon/ui/info filled

sportsCowboys

Update: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott to play under franchise tag in 2020 after negotiating deadline passes

Wednesday's 3 p.m. deadline has passed, meaning Prescott officially is on the Cowboys' books for $31.4 million this season.

Update, 3:01 p.m. Wednesday: The time to negotiate is up.

Dak Prescott officially will play the 2020 season on the franchise tag, which carries a value of $31.4 million, after the Cowboys and their quarterback failed to agree on a long-term deal by Wednesday’s 3 p.m. deadline.

He’s only the third quarterback in NFL history to play under the tag.

Advertisement

The last known offer to Prescott averaged roughly $34.5 million with a guarantee slightly above $110 million for five years.

Cowboys

Be the smartest Cowboys fan. Get the latest news.

Or with:

Original story: A new contract for Dak Prescott would constitute the first successful Hail Mary of the Cowboys’ season.

Advertisement

The likelihood of a completion appears extremely remote.

The Cowboys have until 3 p.m. Wednesday to finalize a multi-year contract with Prescott in 2020. Early Tuesday evening, a person closely involved in the matter said that Prescott’s representatives and the club had not engaged in contract discussions all day.

The Dallas Morning News’ David Moore reported Wednesday that Prescott and the Cowboys had no plans to meet ahead of the deadline, according to sources.

Advertisement

This lack of breakthrough follows a months-long deadlock between the sides. They have been unable to agree on much regarding a potential contract’s parameters; length is one known sticking point with Prescott preferring a four-year deal to five years.

Barring a sudden, shocking turn, Prescott will enter the season under a one-year, $31.4 million franchise tag. Negotiations then would be tabled until next year, when he would earn about $37.7 million if he plays under the tag again.

Doing business during a pandemic that threatens the upcoming season is complicated.

There have been far fewer transactions across the league. In Dallas, none of the seven April draft picks have signed. One agent said Tuesday evening that the team hasn’t even begun negotiations with his rookie client. With in-facility tryouts on pause, the Cowboys haven’t signed a free agent since offensive tackle Cameron Erving on May 6.

But this bleak climate has not halted others.

Fresh off quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ mammoth extension, the Kansas City Chiefs signed defensive tackle Chris Jones to a four-year, $85 million contract Tuesday. Like Prescott, Jones received the franchise tag in March. Meanwhile on Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns reportedly were closing in on a five-year, $125 million deal with defensive end Myles Garrett.

Prescott could be executing Kirk Cousins’ playbook.

Cousins played the waiting game as the Washington quarterback in 2016 and 2017. He became the first quarterback in league history to receive the franchise tag in consecutive seasons, earning a combined $43.9 million. He then signed a three-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018, fully guaranteeing him $84 million, before a two-year, $66 million extension this March.

Advertisement

From 2016 through the 2020 season, no NFL player will have earned more than Cousins.

Before Prescott, Drew Brees and Cousins are the only other quarterbacks to play under the franchise tag. For Brees, that came in 2005 with the San Diego Chargers, who acquired Philip Rivers a year earlier. Brees injured his throwing shoulder in the 2005 season finale and jumped to the New Orleans Saints as a free agent months later.

Prescott, 26, is unlikely to follow one element of the Cousins and Brees pathway, and that is the departure from the team that tagged him.

Here, he has enjoyed all that comes with being the quarterback on “America’s Team.” He has garnered millions of dollars in endorsements. A natural leader in any NFL locker room, he has embraced guiding this specific organization. The absence of a state income tax is a cherry on top.

Advertisement

One day, Prescott and the Cowboys are expected to finalize a long-term extension.

That just probably won’t happen Wednesday.

DEALS, OR NO DEALS

Of the 14 players who received the franchise tag, only Kansas City’s Chris Jones and Tennessee’s Derrick Henry reached a long-term deal with their club. The negotiating deadline was 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Advertisement

Defensive line

Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs

Yannick Ngakoue, Jacksonville Jaguars

Leonard Williams, New York Giants

Advertisement

Linebacker

Shaquil Barrett, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bud Dupree, Pittsburgh Steelers

Matthew Judon, Baltimore Ravens

Advertisement

Offensive line

Brandon Scherff, Washington Redskins

Joe Thuney, New England Patriots

Quarterback

Advertisement

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

Running back

Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans

Safety

Advertisement

Anthony Harris, Minnesota Vikings

Justin Simmons, Denver Broncos

Tight end

Hunter Henry, Los Angeles Chargers

Advertisement

Wide receiver

A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

+++

Advertisement

Find more Cowboys stories from The Dallas Morning News here.