One facet of the negotiation process between Dak Prescott and Jerry Jones involved the way in which Prescott was able to build leverage over the team — an oddity in the NFL. Of the major professional sports, the NFL is the only one in which players do not get fully guaranteed contracts, a sign that the players’ union has proven weaker than its counterparts in the other leagues. The franchise tag is a feature unique to the NFL, and top players have had different responses to it. For example, Le’Veon Bell sat out rather than sign the tag with Pittsburgh, and he missed a season. That has led to mixed results, as he has not yet returned to stardom after seasons in New York and Kansas City. Prescott refused to sign an extension with Dallas, playing under the tag last year and waiting to see if he would get the deal he wanted this year, apparently prepared to play another season under the tag. The closer he got to unrestricted free agency, the more leverage he gained, and the Cowboys finally had to give him a four-year, $160 million deal with $126 million guaranteed, a better deal than they offered him last season.
Will other players follow Prescott’s lead? Check out the latest news from the NFL as you consider online betting implications for the 2021 season.
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Will Prescott bring a Super Bowl to Dallas?
In the salary cap era, no player eats up more of the pie than the quarterback, and that proportion often has little to do with comparative skill. In 2018, Case Keenum was the Denver quarterback and had as much impact on the cap as Pro Bowl defensive end J.J. Watt did in Houston. San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had a higher guaranteed salary in 2018 than the entire team salary cap amount for 1996. The top five quarterbacks in terms of average salary in 2018 (Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Kirk Cousins, Garoppolo and Matthew Stafford) all missed the playoffs that season.
While some highly paid quarterbacks pay off, like Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson, teams that can build around young starters still making small money on their rookie contracts have a better shot at putting together a complete roster under the cap. That’s how Dallas was able to win two division titles in Prescott’s first three seasons, after all. But with Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott bringing in so much money, Dallas won’t be able to add to a porous defense — and a lot of observers see Dallas maybe finishing 9-7.
Who will follow Drew Brees in New Orleans?
The long-time Saints signal-caller has entered retirement, and the team has brought back both Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill to compete for next season’s starting job. Winston signed a one-year deal for as much as $12 million, while Hill signed a bizarre four-year, $140 million contract extension that is “entirely voiding.” While the number is impressive, it’s not real. Instead, it’s a device to stretch the hit that Hill has on the salary cap. Next year’s salary cap has dropped to $182.5 million because of decreases in league revenues. However, Hill’s extension years will void after the 2021 season, so he’s really on a one-year deal, and his cap charge for 2021 dropped from $16.1 million to $8.4 million. If the Saints end up keeping both players, it will be interesting to see how Winston and Hill will work together in the sort of gadget plays that Hill pulled off so well working with Brees. Since Hill still counts over $8 million against the cap, he has to be the favorite as far as next year’s starting quarterback, and Winston’s deal features a number of big incentives that would elevate his earnings if he gets the starting job and hits certain statistical targets and leads the team to the playoffs.
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