Dak Prescott contract: How Patrick Mahomes deal affects Cowboys talks

Dak Prescott and the Cowboys will have the Mahomes contract on their minds.

Amid the myriad of reasons as to why the Dallas Cowboys should’ve signed quarterback Dak Prescott to a contract prior to the 2020 offseason was the looming extension for Patrick Mahomes from the Kansas City Chiefs. After winning MVP in his second season (and even before his Super Bowl win), he was always going to reset the market.

And now the market has been set. On Monday, Mahomes signed a monster 10-year extension that, with the remaining two years on his rookie contract, could paying him over $500 million over the next 12 seasons. Every quarterback in the league took notice, including Dak Prescott and the Cowboys.

Of course, Mahomes is only 24 years old and is already the best quarterback in the NFL. Even if quarterbacks moving forward will use his contract as a point of reference in negotiations, it’s highly unlikely that any player in the immediate future is going to earn the amount that Mahomes is going to.

More from NFL Spin Zone

• Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
• Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
• Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
• Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
• Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens

But the question for Cowboys fans and for Prescott himself is how the Patrick Mahomes deal affects their negotiations. And though it may be obvious that the quarterback can benefit from that, Dallas also has something that they can use in negotiations after the new deal.

Both the Cowboys and Dak Prescott gain something from the Mahomes deal.

The ways that Dak Prescott could benefit from Mahomes’ extension are obvious and, of course, they come down to money. The former fourth-round pick can likely name a price that the Cowboys will have a difficult time arguing with.

As much as Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones would love to play hardball, the approximately $37 million franchise tag value for 2021 in comparison to the $39.55 million average annual value over the first five years of new money (2022-26) on Mahomes’ deal with Kansas City gives Prescott an assumed range to look towards in terms of average annual value.

Subsequently, while the quarterback won’t be making as much as the reigning Super Bowl MVP, Prescott will likely get north of $37 million per year on a new contract. Having said that, Dallas garners something from the length of the contract that Mahomes signed.

The biggest hangup in negotiations between Dak Prescott and the Cowboys has been the years on the deal. Most recently, the quarterback has insisted on signing a four-year contract while Jones and the Dallas front office have stayed adamant that they want five years. That Mahomes signed for 10 years could work in favor of the ‘Boys.

With the reception of the Mahomes deal and the built-in guarantees and incentives, the Cowboys could potentially find some leverage to convey to Prescott and his agent that a longer-term deal is better for both parties, thus giving the organization what they desire.

As of right now, Prescott will be on the franchise tag — at minimum — for the 2020 season. Having said that, Dallas has until July 15 to sign their quarterback to a long-term deal, something that both the team and player clearly want. Now that Mahomes has left little gray area, the biggest effect of that record-setting contract might be ensuring that Dak Prescott and the Cowboys lock something down before the deadline.