Cowboys

NFL Notes: Dak Prescott, Reserve List, 2020 Salaries

July 16, 2020

Dak Prescott

The Cowboys and QB Dak Prescott attempted to execute a version of a contract Hail Mary on Wednesday before the deadline, getting the two negotiating parties together for one last talk. Dallas didn’t put a new written offer on the table, sticking with their five-year deal with $110 million guaranteed, and Prescott didn’t blink. As a result, he’ll become just the third quarterback ever to play out the season on the franchise tag.

“I’m a Cowboy and couldn’t be happier,” Prescott said via USA Today’s Jori Epstein. “I look forward to working along coach (Mike) McCarthy, the staff and my teammates to be the best team we can be in pursuit to our goal of a Super Bowl.”

Yahoo Sports Charles Robinson says multiple sources told him, the two sides never got as close as they did last August.
Then, Prescott would have taken a four-year extension on the last year of his rookie deal that would have matched Seahawks QB Russell Wilson‘s four-year, $140 million deal.
However, Robinson says Dallas didn’t want to come off a deal putting him between Rams QB Jared Goff and Eagles QB Carson Wentz and keeping six years of team control.
Robinson writes the Cowboys underestimated how motivated Prescott was to maximize his value and how willing he would be to bet on himself and play out contract years from 2019 potentially through 2022 on the franchise tag.
If Prescott plays out all three franchise tags, he’ll be due over $123 million, which translates to $41 million per year. Robinson reports Dallas and Prescott were never close on the length of the deal, money or guarantees, largely because Dallas didn’t want to come near that number to get Prescott to accept a longer deal.
As long as Prescott stays healthy or doesn’t take a massive step back, Robinson says Dallas will have no choice but to tag him, let him walk if the tag is too burdensome on a potentially-flat salary cap or make him the highest-paid player in football by 2022.

Reserve List

According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the NFL plans to add a COVID-19 designation to the current injured reserve policy in 2020.
Players who test positive will be placed on the list for three weeks, creating roster space for a team to fill that position. After three weeks, the player would either revert back to the active roster, go on injured reserve or end up released with a settlement.
Players on the COVID-19 list would receive their normal salaries.
Florio notes the procedures haven’t been finalized by the owners yet.

2020 Salaries

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk reports that multiple NFL owners pushed for revenue losses from next season to be absorbed in 2020-2021 by applying “salary givebacks” this year and a reduced salary cap for 2021.
According to Florio, some around the NFL view this strategy as “posturing,” given teams do not want a largely reduced cap in 2021 since it will force organizations to cut veteran backups and “key starters.”