Extending Dak Prescott Could Ruin Cowboys Even Though He's Earned It

It's a shame, really.

Dak Prescott has done everything right in Dallas. He's been the model face of arguably the most popular sports franchise in the United States. Prescott has never been in trouble, never missed a practice or meeting and always makes the right statements to the media. His play on the field reached new heights in 2019-20, as he threw for nearly 5,000 yards in an 8-8 season. Dallas missed the playoffs, but not due to Dak.

Yet, despite all of that, the Cowboys are right to take contract talks with Prescott year-to-year.

Dallas extended many of the pieces around Prescott before giving him the money he feels he deserves for a reason -- the Cowboys (and Dak for that matter) need all of those supporting parts to be successful. If they sign Prescott before they have all those parts in place, this team will fall apart like a Jenga tower. In this case, the 'brick by brick' standard rings true.

Prescott's contract is projected to make him one of, if not the richest player at his position and by default the NFL. That limits what Dallas can do moving forward and Jerry Jones knows it. The best chance the Cowboys, or most teams in the NFL for that matter, have at winning a Super Bowl is to do so before their starting quarterback is due an extension. Look no further than the Eagles with Carson Wentz and Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes. Both of those rosters were stacked with talent in part because they didn't have to invest an exorbitant amount of money in the quarterback position.

While tagging Prescott won't save the Cowboys much, it does free up several million dollars they can use elsewhere on a roster which, despite the previously mentioned spare parts, went just 8-8 last season. They need all the help they can get.