Latest Dak Prescott report has everyone asking the wrong question about Cowboys QB

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is back in everyone's minds after NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported once again on the figures Dak's going to be seeking ahead of a crucial offseason for him.

We've known for a while things are trending toward another contract extension for Prescott as his cap hit for 2023 is $59 million. With the clock ticking ahead of free agency, let's dive into the controversy sparked by the latest report.

Yaaaaah. Here we gooo! 

Is $60 million per year a fair request from Dak Prescott?

Financially speaking and leaving sports aside for a little bit (we'll get into that later), the answer is a resounding yes. Sixty million dollars per year might sound like an insane figure for one single player but you know what also sounded insane?

$55 million for Joe Burrow last year. $46 million for Kyler Murray before him. Derek Carr for $37.5 million. Jimmy Garoppolo back in 2018 when he became the highest-paid quarterback ever at $27 million. Rising quarterback contracts should surprise absolutely nobody.

And it's not exactly that they're getting greedy. Early reports indicate the 2024 salary cap is expected to be in the ballpark of $243 million the upcoming season, which represents an 8.1% increase over last year. Prescott demanding $60 million per year would represent 9.1% increase over Burrow's average of $55M. Per CBS' Joel Corry, the top of the market grew 9.41% between 2022 and 2023.

These are market rates and Prescott's camp will do nothing but follow suit. Sure, negotiating will take place to fine-tune everything. But at the end of the day, the Cowboys have only one question to answer. 

The one question that matters in Cowboys' decision on Dak

People usually argue that a quarterback doesn't deserve top money because he's not elite. Or, even worse, they'll bang the table and explain how somebody can't earn more money than Patrick Mahomes if they're not as good (in today's NFL, no one is). That's the wrong answer to the wrong question. 

But contract rankings are different than player rankings. Here it's all about: Do you prefer to keep the franchise QB you have than than going to look for a new one? 

That's all that matters. Prescott won't request $60 million per year because he thinks he's the best QB in the league, he'll ask for them because if he goes to market in 2025, he'll have teams lining up to sign him to such a deal or even better. It's about supply and demand. 

Most times, NFL teams keep players from hitting free agency. Sometimes they do it by force through the franchise tag like the Cowboys did with Dak in 2020. But in this case, Prescott's no-tag, no-trade clause gives him all the leverage. He can stare down Dallas knowing that free agency awaits on the other side of the 2024 NFL season, understanding that his value could skyrocket.

Therefore, it's up to the Cowboys to convince him otherwise. And following market standards isn't a crazy thing to do when you're talking about a second-place MVP quarterback.