Jones: Prescott holds the leverage in extension talks
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is one of the NFL's most experienced negotiators, but he knows quarterback Dak Prescott will hold most of the cards during offseason talks for a big-money extension.
The Cowboys won just four out of 11 games and missed the playoffs after Prescott suffered a right ankle dislocation and compound fracture in Week 5.
"I don't know how you could have any more leverage," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan Tuesday. "... His evolving into an NFL quarterback has been nothing short of a perfect picture. He has great ability, in my mind, to win games. He's talented. He certainly has the experience, and so he has all the things, as substantiated by what we've offered Dak.
"You wouldn't offer Dak what we offered in the past had you not thought he was very special. The issue is how do you come together? And that's no stranger to me. I've been doing it all my life, I've got here putting things together. And we've got to get it together."
Prescott played under a $31.4-million franchise tag this past season after failing to come to terms with Dallas on a new contract. The sticking point was reportedly the length of the deal, with the passer seeking a four-year pact and the Cowboys wanting five years.
While Jones knows Prescott's value to his team, he emphasized - as the owner did often during last year's talks - that Dallas needs to be able to build a competitive roster around the signal-caller.
"We have a certain amount, period, that can be paid to players every year. It's a very competitive thing. The longer the term, the more flexibility you've got in any number that you have in a contract," Jones said. "The planning ahead, the looking ahead at what you can spend, what you can give on any other free agent, that's your overall planning."
The Cowboys reportedly offered Prescott an extension worth $34.5 million last season. But even with the salary cap expected to decrease in 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFC East team could be forced to up its proposal.
If Dallas uses the franchise tag again on the 2016 fourth-round pick, it will cost the club $37.7 million.
Prescott was on pace to shatter Peyton Manning's NFL record of 5,477 passing yards through five games in 2020. His average of 371.2 yards through the air would have resulted in a 5,939-yard campaign over 16 games.