How does Patrick Mahomes' huge contract extension with Kansas City impact former Bulldogs Dak Prescott and Chris Jones?
The news came a bit from out of nowhere on Monday. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes agreed to a 10-year contract extension that when added on to the two years he already had left, will pay him $450 million and is set to be the largest-ever contract in professional sports history.
That's obviously good news for Chiefs fans who want Mahomes to be in Kansas City a long, long time. It's even better news for Mahomes of course.
But how does this mega deal impact a pair of Mississippi State's former stars looking for extensions of their own – Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Mahomes' teammate and defensive lineman Chris Jones? Let's give it a quick look.
Dak Prescott
Prescott recently signed his one-year franchise tender from the Cowboys that'll pay him $31.409 million in 2020 if nothing changes. Prescott would obviously prefer that things do change.
The MSU legend is reportedly seeking a four-year contract worth $35 million per year. That'd set him up to be a free agent in four years where he could potentially cash in on another big deal. Dallas has reportedly wanted to ink Prescott for five years though.
Sports Illustrated's Mike Fisher has predicted, based on Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' former quote, 'Deadlines make deals', that Prescott and Dallas are likely to reach an agreement on or just ahead of July 15. If Prescott hasn't signed by then, he'll play out the 2020 season on the franchise tag.
So how does Mahomes' rich agreement maybe change things for Prescott? Well for one, perhaps Prescott's price goes up as he seeks his extension. That's one possible scenario. Fisher suggested another on Monday though (CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM FISHER).
Here's part of what Fisher said:
Prescott has asked Dallas for a four-year contract, a year shorter than Dallas' preference evidenced in its five-year proposal. The attraction to the shorter deal is Dak's quickened path to a second rich contract. But Mahomes and the Chiefs - with everyone in KC seemingly happy - have just demonstrated another way. If the dollars can get right, there is now heightened sense to signing not for four, not for five ... but for ... ever - as Mahomes has just done.
So could Mahomes' gigantic, long-term deal actually spark the Cowboys and Prescott to do something similar? Instead of seeking a four-year deal so he could hit free agency quicker, could Prescott get offered a huge amount now that satisfies him and locks him up in Dallas for the foreseeable future?
We'll see. And if deadlines indeed make deals, we'll know exactly what Prescott and the Cowboys have in mind at some point in the next nine days.
Chris Jones
For the second straight offseason, Jones is seeking a new deal in Kansas City. He, unlike Prescott, hasn't yet signed his one-year franchise tender for 2020 and he indicated on Twitter back on June 30 that he's not going to sign it either. He wants an extension with the Chiefs or else he says he's sitting out.
As with Prescott, Jones has until July 15 to reach an agreement on a long-term extension with his team. But did the Mahomes news help Jones' cause or hurt it?
There are two schools of thought. On one hand, it's easy to think the price of the Mahomes deal might eat up too much money and salary cap space for the Chiefs to hand Jones what he's wanting – something reportedly in the range of $21 million per year (CLICK HERE FOR MORE).
Then again though, there's the other side of the coin. Now that the Chiefs have locked up Mahomes for the long haul, they have cost certainty. That's something they didn't have previously. Until today, Kansas City could have understandably been hesitant to give Jones a large deal, not knowing how much it might take to keep Mahomes in the years to come. That's no longer an issue, so perhaps the Chiefs will now turn their attention to dealing with Jones.
Whatever ultimately happens, Mahomes' extension will almost assuredly have some type of trickle-down effect for both Prescott and Jones.
