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We are in the middle of the second week of NFL free agency, and to date, the Dallas Cowboys have certainly been busy. Dallas has re-signed prominent offensive weapons Amari Cooper and Blake Jarwin, plus they have brought in interesting new names like Gerald McCoy and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
There is one major thing the Cowboys have yet to do, though. While they placed the franchise tag on quarterback Dak Prescott, they have not yet landed a long-term extension with the face of their organization.
The Cowboys and Dak Prescott have reportedly begun talking again
It’s always interesting to hear when negotiations re-open between a player and an organization because the immediate question is - when did conversations stop?
Wednesday brought with it the news that the Cowboys and their signal-caller have apparently opened the door of conversation again. A report from Yahoo initially noted that things were of a four-year, $35M per season variety, but throughout the day more information (not really) became available.
I’m hearing whispers that Dax Prescott is close to closing a 4-year deal with DAL rumored to be $35m per year.
— Liz Loza (@LizLoza_FF) March 25, 2020
ALERT: Source: #Cowboys have re-engaged QB Dak Prescott agent Todd France in contract talks. 4 vs. 5 years at center; New offers likely to be proposed. pic.twitter.com/qfycQFtTNJ
— mike fisher ✭ (@fishsports) March 25, 2020
When you start seeing Dak Prescott connected to a 4-year deal for $35 per, @LizLoza_FF was the first on that. I’ve also been told by a source that the #Cowboys are still pushing five years. Question is who wants this deal done worse (and the answer to that question is Dallas). https://t.co/4193s55DJ7
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) March 25, 2020
Source: The #Cowboys have resumed contract negotiations with Dak Prescott for the first time since using the exclusive franchise tag on him. A team source said the #NFL currently shows a $26.8M charge to the cap for Prescott even though he has not signed the franchise tender.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) March 25, 2020
Obviously this is news in the sense that it is newly being discussed, but we have known for a long time now that the Cowboys and Dak Prescott’s team are seemingly both of a particular belief. Each side wants something different. That’s how negotiations work.
It has been reported before that Prescott would prefer a shorter deal and that the Cowboys want a longer one. Yahoo’s Charles Robinson, who was one of those part of the conversation on Wednesday, has discussed this before. From him back in December:
Prescott’s contract situation is often framed inside the negotiation of those two quarterbacks, but the devil in the details is both of those extensions were “tack-on” deals, giving their respective franchises six total years of control (including the 2019 season). Dallas would like to get similar long-term control with Prescott, which has created an argument over the number of years in the deal. It has created this problematic sliding scale: The more years Dallas wants, the more it will have to pay in terms of overall money, guarantees and average salary per year. Conversely, Prescott’s camp would like a shorter deal — similar to the four-year extensions of Wentz and Goff — that would allow Prescott to continue rotating into free agency and keeping his salary commensurate with where the NFL is heading with elite-level quarterback pay.
Robinson also notes that this is going to come down to who wants to make a deal more and that it is very likely going to be the Cowboys. It seems that the stare down could be nearing a point where somebody blinks.