Jared Goff’s contract is now well in the rearview mirror for Dak Prescott’s negotiations

What little doubt that may have remained was finally removed on Saturday night; Dak Prescott is the best quarterback from the 2016 NFL Draft Class. We have known for some time that Dak is superior to Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles, but for whatever reason, some continued to believe that Jared Goff of the Los Angeles Rams was a better signal-caller.

On Saturday night, the Rams outright waved the white flag for the small camp of Goff supporters. Los Angeles traded away the quarterback that they traded up to draft number one overall just five years ago. Incidentally, the last two number one overall picks to be traded away by the team that drafted them were both quarterbacks that played five seasons for the Rams (Sam Bradford and Jared Goff).

L.A. won’t be empty-handed at quarterback as they traded Goff for longtime Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. Of course, the Rams also sent two first-round picks and a third-rounder, which had a lot of people thinking that Stafford himself commanded the haul, but the thing about this whole deal was really a massive salary dump.

Jared Goff’s contract is now well in the rearview mirror for Dak Prescott’s negotiations

In the early days of September 2019, the Rams signed Jared Goff to a four-year extension and made him the first player in NFL history to get over $110M guaranteed.

While it’s possible that Goff will be a fine player for the Lions, the reality is that he was deemed so invaluable by the team that is led by one of the league’s brightest offensive visionaries in Sean McVay that the Rams were willing to package two first-round picks and a third just to deal him away, and land Stafford.

Consider Goff’s deal that he signed a year and a half ago:

• four-year extension
• Worth $134M
• $33.5M per year
• $110M guaranteed

Given their on-field prowess it already made sense for Dak Prescott to command more than this in contract negotiations with the Cowboys (and theoretically anyone else), but the fact that Goff has now been discarded by the Rams highlights how ridiculously low these numbers are going to be for him. He should easily surpass them.

Consider if you represented Dak Prescott and were being offered anything that was remotely “worse” than Goff’s extension as it pertains to Dak’s. It would be laughable before Saturday night, but given the events that have happened since it would be downright insulting.

The precedent more than exists for Dak to surpass Goff (and others) as far as the quarterback market is concerned, but with this particular extension now being determined to be of the not-so-great variety, Prescott has that extra little bit of leverage against the Cowboys (on top of what he already had).

This is going to be an interesting spring.