NEWSLETTER
Since 2017, Derek Carr, Matthew Stafford, Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson have each spent time as the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback in one way or another. So to write about how quarterbacks have been getting paid at a dizzying rate since we started the BN Bears thing in January 2017 really doesn’t do it justice. And soon, a new wave of well-compensated signal callers will take the baton and run with it into the future.
One of those quarterbacks figures to be Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys, who apparently has his sights set high for his next deal:
I can confirm reports that QB Dak Prescott has, in fact, turned down 30M a year offer and is instead seeking 40M a year per source informed. #Cowboys
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) August 12, 2019
Prescott has reportedly turned down a contract extension that would pay him $30 million per year, according to Jane Slater of NFL Media. Why? Because Prescott apparently has dreams of signing a deal that nets him $40 million per season. If there is one thing I know about negotiations, it’s that you can’t get what you don’t ask for, so credit Prescott for having the nerve to push that envelope to see what he can get. But still … that feels like a pretty big ask.
What makes Prescott’s reported demands stand out is that every quarterback who comes looking for a new contract would benefit from Prescott getting a boat-load of cash. Because while Prescott is an acceptably cromulent starting quarterback in this era of professional football, he has shown to be more of the type of quarterback your team can win with and not one your team wins because of (and there is a distinct difference between the two). Should Prescott remain on this current path, he would be raising the bar for the pay scale of middle-tier quarterbacks where he resides, as well as what the top tier of signal callers will ask for in the future.
In the end, every quarterback contract moving forward will be worth scrutinizing from a Bears fans perspective. Remember, Mitch Trubisky is eligible to sign an extension as soon as next season, and we very well could be having the same conversations about him as we are regarding Prescott. So let’s continue to keep tabs on what is happening in Dallas, if only to further inform us on what the market could look like when the time comes to pay Trubisky.
