Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott doesn’t know whether he’ll get a long-term deal this offseason. But, at least he knows how much he’ll make if an extension doesn’t come together. Upon recalculation, the league has set the exclusive franchise tender salary for quarterbacks at $31.4019MM (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). 
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The franchise tag amounts are based off of the NFL’s top five salaries at the position. Last year, that figure was $26.824MM. When Prescott was tagged in mid-March, Jared Goff ($36MM/year), Ben Roethlisberger ($33MM), Kirk Cousins ($31MM), Russell Wilson ($31MM), and Jimmy Garoppolo ($26.6MM) topped the list. Afterwards, Cousins and Big Ben agreed to restructure their contracts, lowering their cap hits for 2020 and bringing Philip Rivers ($25MM), and Tom Brady ($25MM) into the top five.
With that change, Prescott’s projected tag amount wasn’t clear and some wondered if he’d wind up at odds with the league office over it. Ultimately, Prescott’s salary was calculated based on the previous Top 5. That’ll cost the Cowboys a few extra million this year and, potentially, many millions over the course of future seasons. Prescott now has extra leverage in talks thanks to the higher data point, and that will serve him well as he looks to reset the market.
The Cowboys have the option to tag Prescott in 2021 and again in 2022, but the numbers would be absolute cap busters. Next year, the tag would cost the Cowboys $37.7MM, a 20% raise over the 2020 salary. A third consecutive tag for 2022 would see a 44% increase, in excess of $54MM. Needless to say, the Cowboys want to get their star QB under contract at a more reasonable sum.
pay that meean hees mahney
Damn I wish I could make $31M for being mediocre at my job!
I would rather have Brady for that kind of coin…. Damn
Insane amount for a game manager type QB.
Was about to comment that, that is exactly what he is. His overthrows are terrible
Honestly he needs the money more than the cowboys need him. They brought Dalton in for a big reason to pin Dak down. I don’t for a minute believe something wasn’t mentioned that if Dak doesn’t sign his tag your the guy. He has a tryout deal if Dak sits. Win win for his camp.