Troy Aikman isn’t worried about the lingering contract negotiations between the Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott.
“I’ve been surprised that there has been so much discussion about his contract,” Aikman told 105.3 The Fan on Monday. “It’s not like he’s not going to be playing for the Cowboys in 2020. Whether he is franchised or he has a deal, he’s going to be here playing, and eventually a deal gets done. So it’s not high on my list of things I look at the league and what’s happening with the other 31 teams.”
The Cowboys used an exclusive franchise tag on Prescott in March, which he has yet to sign, but a deadline of July 15 looms for both sides to reach a long-term deal.
“I love Dak Prescott, I love everything about him,” Aikman proclaimed. “Dak truly doesn’t care about his stats. He just wants to win, he’s a leader, his teammates love him. … So, I would pay him. He’s going to get paid.
“I’m not saying anything the Cowboys don’t already know. They will pay him, he’s going to make a lot of money, and I think he’s going to be the quarterback for the Cowboys for a long long time, and continue to have a great career.
“I’ve maintained that I strongly believe that they’ll reach a deal, and he’ll have a long-term contract as opposed to playing under the franchise tag this year.”
The iconic Cowboys QB also revealed a recent meeting with Cowboys linebacker and team captain Sean Lee, who gave him a gauge of what the Cowboys’ locker room thinks of Prescott.
“I saw Lee out here the other day in Santa Barbara, and we got to talking about Dak, and I said, ‘Is there something I’m missing about this guy? Because I love him?’
“And Sean said he a huge fan as well, and that everybody in that (Cowboys) locker room is.”
Speaking with NFL Network’s Colleen Wolfe on NFL Total Access Monday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport gave his latest assessment of the contract negotiations with Aikman’s recent thoughts in mind.
“I have a hard time imagining this deal getting done before the July 15th deadline,” Rapoport said. “That is when so often we see players who are franchise tagged, of course, Dak Prescott got the exclusive tag of more than $30 million per year, that’s when these deals end up happening — right against the deadline.
“But Aikman is right: the Cowboys want to pay Dak Prescott. They would pay him among the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. Prescott wants a deal. Everything could happen in a positive way, the only problem is the Cowboys want a five-year deal and Prescott wants a four-year deal. That’s a big gap. We will see if they can bridge it closer to July.”
Prescott, who turns 27 in July, enjoyed a career-high totals in completions (388), yards (4,902) and touchdowns (30) in 2019, but there have been a few hoops for the Cowboys to jump through in terms of re-signing star players. Most notably was Prescott’s favorite wide receiver, Amari Cooper, who earned a 5-year, $100M deal from the Cowboys this past March, and Ezekiel Elliott, who became the highest-paid running back in the NFL just before the 2019 season kicked-off. Not to mention, the Cowboys hired a new head coach in Mike McCarthy this offseason.
Prescott’s contract will remain a topic of conversation until pen hits paper, but it seems as though all parties involved — franchise legends included — want a deal to get done.