Could a savvy “Jerry Maguire” agent being holding things up in the Dak Prescott negotiations?

With free agency just a month away, the Dallas Cowboys still haven’t been able to sign their franchise quarterback, Dak Prescott, to a long-term contract extension. We all know it’s coming, and frustration continues to mount as we struggle to understand why the Cowboys front office can’t get it done. But as the saying goes, “it takes two to tango” and part of this ongoing saga is attributed to the high demands of Team Prescott.

A couple years ago, Prescott switched agents and attained the services of Todd France at Creative Artists Agency. France has a track record of playing hardball as he’s helped some of his clients become the highest paid players at their positions. Both Aaron Donald and Fletcher Cox are represented by France, and they just so happen to be the two top paid defensive tackles in the league despite their contracts being two and four years old respectively. Another client, DeAndre Hopkins, signed a five-year extension a few years ago making him the second-highest paid wide receiver behind Antonio Brown at the time, but Hopkins deal came with a record-high $49 million of guaranteed money.

France knows how to get the most for the players he represents. He even pushed so hard with new client Joey Bosa that it resulted in the unusual circumstance of a rookie hold out. David Moore of Dallas Morning News explains:

France is an aggressive advocate for his clients. Joey Bosa is an example.

The former Ohio State defensive end was the third player taken in the ’16 draft. There’s not much latitude when it comes to the rookie wage scale. But France had Bosa hold out of training camp until the Chargers responded with the largest signing bonus of any draft pick in a two-year span.

So, needless to say, this isn’t favorable news for the Cowboys front office. And when you consider that Stephen Jones is no stranger to holding his breath as well, it’s not all that surprising that these two sides continue to play chicken.

You have to give Prescott’s side credit. They’ve been patient while Dak has been grossly underpaid over the last four years, and now it’s time for him to cash in big time. France knows Prescott has all the leverage. The Cowboys are already pot committed to Dak because there is no way they’re going to attempt to go another direction at quarterback with a roster full of players that present a great window of opportunity to make a deep playoff run.

And as Bill Barnwell mentioned recently, the Cowboys haven’t been all that great at finding quarterbacks over the years as they’ve had some pretty dreadful options (Quincy Carter, Anthony Wright, Ryan Leaf, Clint Stoerner, Chad Hutchinson, Vinny Testaverde, and Drew Henson) combined with some well documented interests (Johnny Manziel, Paxton Lynch, and Connor Cook). Their two best quarterbacks since Troy Aikman left are an undrafted free agent (Tony Romo) and a fourth-round draft pick (Prescott), ergo another saying, “it’s better to be lucky than good.”

All that paints a pretty clear picture that the Cowboys are on the verge of handing out the richest contract in franchise history. With a savvy agent that knows how to squeeze out as much money as possible for his client, that deal is going to end up being higher than a lot of people expected. Prescott is a talented young quarterback, and in the NFL, that translates to a very large bank account. It’s only a matter of time before Jerry Jones shows him the money.