"He's quickly become a bargain" - Mina Kimes claims Dak Prescott at $35m-a-year is a steal for Cowboys"
Back in 2021, the Dallas Cowboys appeared in no rush to offer Dak Prescott a new long-term contract. They applied a second franchise tag on Dak, which is a pretty rare occurrence, especially for a guy considered to be the franchise's QB. The only most-recent example involved Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins Commanders, and we know how that worked out.
There were rumors of a potential trade, but nothing materialized, and in truth, it never felt like a trade could happen. This was a lover’s tiff, not a potential breakdown of a marriage.
Of the 9 franchise tags applied, only Dak Prescott received the exclusive franchise tag — but Dak’s tag is moot.
That allows all other franchise tagged players the right to negotiate with other teams, but another team would have to trade 2 first rounders in such a deal.
Eventually, all interested parties put their differences aside, saw common sense and got a deal done. It felt like an acceptable deal for all sides, but most agreed that Prescott was the biggest winner, signing a massive $160 million, 4-year contract.
Dak Prescott got:
- $40M per year
- $126M guaranteed
- No trade clause
- No tag clause
Dak Prescott won.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was under no illusions about who got the better end of the Prescott deal, and he certainly believed it wasn't him.
"The truth is, most anything that I’ve ever been involved in that ended up being special, I overpaid for, every time, to the end. Anytime I’ve tried to get a bargain, I got just that. It was a bargain in a lot of ways and not up to standard. And so, the other thing, that our process of getting here from Dak’s rookie deal, I knew that Dak wanted to be here and really no place else."
That was then, a year is forever in the NFL, and the QB market has moved on at breakneck speed. Deshaun Watson and the Browns have completely reset the market. So much so that Jerry might need to reevaluate his opinion on Prescott's contract, and that's certainly the opinion of Mina Kimes.
Mina Kimes: Dak Prescott vs Cowboys? Cowboys won
NFL live and ESPN analyst Kimes took to her podcast to say she now believes that Dak Prescott's contract represents a bargain for the Cowboys.
The lesson for Baltimore and Buffalo in Dak’s contract saga: Don’t be like Dallas. https://t.co/KcYkPfHW8h
This is a dramatic change of heart for Kimes, who has previously been vocal in her belief that the Cowboys overpaid to secure Dak's long-term services.
Jerry Jones and the Cowboys now look like geniuses, and they do deserve credit for taking the risk to finally pay Prescott after such a gruesome injury. But it could also be said that they arrived at this situation by default. They tagged their QB in consecutive years, as they were not convinced enough to pay him, and then backed themselves into a corner. But it's better to be lucky than good.