Cowboys News: Dak Prescott Will Defeat Jerry Jones in Contract Battle, Says Dave Helman, Blasts Billionaire Owner’s Penny-Pinching Approach

Jerry Jones’ approach to spending money for the Dallas Cowboys has been stingy since this off-season. While he still waits for the “leaves to fall,” time is running out and he might have to cough up more money in the future than he’s trying to save right now. Amid all the pending extensions, one name, Dak Prescott, is making the loudest noise.

When the Dallas QB signs a new extension, his contract is predicted to soar higher than anything that the NFL has seen in the past. David Helman, a decade-long Cowboys journalist gave his thoughts about whether Dak Prescott should take a hometown discount. Unsurprisingly, it’s a hard no for Helman and he gave his reasoning on a segment of SPEAK.

“If Dak Prescott wants to make $60 million, he’s going to do it. That is a certainty,” said Helman and added, “This is a man who doesn’t have a franchise tag, they can’t tag him, they can’t keep him in Dallas if he doesn’t want to be there. If he hits the open market, it’s going to be $60 million.”

Pointing out the examples of Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence, Helman doesn’t see why Prescott can’t achieve the same milestone. Out of the two, Lawrence’s new deal has everyone scratching their heads. He took the Jaguars to the playoffs just once in 2022 and has a 1-1 record. Still, the Jacksonville team decided to give him an extension. So why can’t Jerry Jones, especially after his QB had a 4,516-yard season and scored 36 passing touchdowns, leading the league last year?

“If he has another season like last year, and he knows that they can’t do anything about him hitting the market, you think he’s going to sign something in January knowing that someone will play him $62 million a year in March? Absolutely not. So the deadline is August and I bet you the Cowboys will do it because at the end of the day, they’re going to blink,” said Helman in support of Prescott.

The Cowboys have been very frugal in their approach towards Prescott. The team franchise tagged him for two consecutive years, and while playing on a franchise tag, Prescott broke his leg, it was then that the Cowboys finally decided to give him an extension. So much for Prescott trying to prove himself. Helman pointed out an interesting trend in the Dallas franchise, a trend that may lead to the Cowboys fans questioning Jerry Jones’ approach. Per Helman, it wouldn’t come to that because sooner or later, the Cowboys might budge.

“This is the team that is regularly at the bottom of cash spending in the NFL,” pointed the Cowboys analyst and added, “Basically when they’re not paying Dak Prescott, they’re down in the second half towards the bottom of the league. They are last in the league this year in cash spending because we know they haven’t signed Dak, we know CeeDee Lamb is sitting out there unsigned, we know Micah Parsons hasn’t signed. This team doesn’t spend money when they aren’t paying Dak. Why would he take any less of that money?

Helman hit the nail while describing the Cowboys’ spending situation and people are still questioning the Cowboys’ owner’s “all in” approach. To add to the Dak dilemma, the Cowboys fans seemingly grow distant with Prescott’s presence in the team.

Despite all the hate, Dak Prescott still has a leverage over the Cowboys

Forget about the Dallas team for a second. Let’s talk about the team’s fandom. Despite Prescott leading the team with passing touchdowns in the least season (36), his being an All-Pro, his 3 Pro Bowl appearances, and his 73-41 record with the Cowboys, the majority of fans don’t want him to lead the Cowboys. Sure his 2-5 playoff record has a role behind the slander, but the particular narrative is getting stale now.

Despite all the hate he is getting, the QB is still showing up to the OTAs and keeps a diplomatic persona. That diplomatic approach has earned Prescott leverage over the Cowboys in the sense that he has a no-tag, no-trade clause in his contract. Hence, the Cowboys can’t really trade him if he doesn’t agree. Despite fans’ and analysts’ preferences, one thing that people can’t deny is the fact that Dak Prescott keeps the Dallas Cowboys relevant in the NFL. Cooper Rush and Trey Lance don’t have the required experience to match Prescott’s 4,516 yards and 36 touchdown season. But at the same time, we can’t forget about the Packers-Cowboys game that America’s team lost by a mile.

In a 32-48 loss, Prescott put up 403 yards and 3 touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough, and some of it is on Prescott. However, per Helman, this is not about the playoffs picture anymore, it’s about taking the Dallas Cowboys to the Super Bowl. The last time the Cowboys won a championship was back in the 1995 season.

Perhaps, Troy Aikman and Tony Romo’s shoes are too big to fill. However, Romo had a 2-4 playoff record in his career in Prescott right now is 2-5. Hence, playoff-wise, he’s doing better than Romo on paper at least. But again, it’s about the Super Bowl for the Cowboys, a championship that they haven’t been to a Super Bowl, let alone win in 3 decades.

But one thing is for sure, there isn’t a shortage of teams that will pay him $60 million if he does decide to leave the Cowboys in the next season. But the hope is that the Cowboys and Prescott will solve by August.