Patrick Mahomes' New Deal is Almost All Good News For Dak Prescott
By Liam McKeone
Patrick Mahomes set an entirely new bar for athletes across all sports when he became the first person to ever cross the half-billion-dollar mark. Mahomes' 10-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs could pay him up to $503 million over its lifespan and gives the star quarterback a $45 million annual salary.
This is obviously great news for quarterbacks looking to sign new deals in the next two years, namely the trio of Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson, and Lamar Jackson. None will get $45 million just because Mahomes did, of course, but it's a better price point to base a new salary off of than Russell Wilson's $35 million. Prescott is most pressed of the three to get a deal done sooner rather than later; he's currently slated to make $31 million on the franchise tag next year, but is still embroiled in negotiations with the Dallas Cowboys to secure a long-term deal.
Mahomes getting $45 million means Prescott and his agent asking for around $40 million a year (as they were reportedly doing a few months ago) isn't a laughable concept. Getting above $35 million a year would have been a win when weighing Prescott's talent and resume against other quarterbacks with big contracts across the league, but now that will likely be the starting point. Prescott will probably be thanking Mahomes before it's all said and done.
However, there is one part of Mahomes' monster deal that will not work in Prescott's favor: the length. Mahomes committed to 10 years in Kansas City, 12 in total when taking into account the remaining years of his contract. The big hangup between Prescott and the Cowboys was reportedly not a matter of dollars and cents, but rather the length of the contract. Dallas wanted Prescott for the next five years, while Prescott wants a four-year deal. A shorter deal would allow Prescott to maximize his earning potential by inking a new contract when the cap presumably gets bigger after the new NFL TV deals kick in.
His thoughts might've changed after the COVID-19 pandemic has made the future cap anything but a sure bet. But if he hasn't, Mahomes agreeing to a decade-long deal won't help his negotiations with the Jones clan. If Prescott is going to point to Mahomes' salary and use it as a reference point for what he should be worth, the Cowboys will do the same when arguing why he should commit to more years and why they're reticent to offer him a shorter one. If the best quarterback in football can give his team a long-term commitment, why can't Prescott?
Comparing Prescott's situation with the Cowboys to Mahomes' situation with the Chiefs is an apples-to-oranges scenario. But these kind of things matter when it comes to contract negotiations. If Dallas is willing to pay enough, Prescott will likely be willing to agree to a longer deal-- but one side has to bend a little bit if a deal is to get done before the deadline next week.