While there have been a handful of holdouts and hold-ins during this NFL offseason, entering Week 1 there were just two big contracts still left to get done: Ja’Marr Chase and Dak Prescott. Chase returned to practice this week and seemed like he was close to a deal, while Prescott has been a full participant in camp and seemingly fine if the Cowboys wanted to let him test the free agency waters next offseason.
Prescott has been firm in his asking price, and it’s been a matter of whether Jerry Jones and the Cowboys would finally meet him at that price. With CeeDee Lamb getting a massive new deal, it wouldn’t have made any sense to let Prescott walk next offseason, but Dallas cut it extremely close on getting a contract done with Prescott. Just hours before kickoff in Cleveland against the Browns, word broke from Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport that Prescott and the Cowboys had agreed to a new 4-year deal worth $240 million (and $231 million guaranteed) that will make Prescott the highest paid player in NFL history, as Dallas finally came up to his $60 million per year asking price.
The guarantee number, as always, is the most important one, and Prescott will get almost all of his deal guaranteed (or virtually guaranteed, NFL contract structure and terminology is ridiculous sometimes) as the $231 million is one million more guaranteed than Deshaun Watson got from the Browns. The Cowboys efforts at playing hardball in negotiations this year have not worked out, as both Lamb and Prescott waited them out and let Jerry Jones talk all he wants before ultimately getting the contract they were seeking from the beginning. That said, they now have one of the most productive quarterback-receiver tandems locked up for the future, and will hope they can finally find some success in January to pay it off.