Cowboys Contracts: The 3 NFL 'Franchise Tag' Options With Dak Prescott
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys say "things are fixin' to heat up'' in their negotiations with free-agent QB Dak Prescott, and part of that "heat'' is the "deadline'' of March 10. A contract doesn't have to be done by then - but if it's not, Dallas will certainly "tag'' Prescott in order to retain his contractual rights.
Dak wishes to avoid the tag, apparently viewing it as a punishment, based on his "Report That!'' remarks about sitting out spring workouts if he's tagged.
"In my brain,'' Prescott said, "it only says that (a new contract) gets done ... Without the tag.''
Dallas is on-record as wishing the same, COO Stephen Jones saying the goal is avoiding its implementation when it comes to Prescott.
This can all go away if at some point in the next 30 days, a contract is agreed to that is almost certain to make Prescott the highest-paid player in franchise history. But if we get to March 10 with no deal?
The Dallas Cowboys are left using the "tool'' of the tag - and one of three choices. Guidance below with the help of valued colleague Joey Ickes:
There are two kinds of "franchise tags,'' "exclusive'' and "non-exclusive,'' which carry different monetary values.
The main difference between the exclusive and the non-exclusive is that on the non-exclusive the player can technically sign with another team, but the tagging team has the right to either 1) match and retain, or 2) receive two first-round picks.
Since 2015 (the last five off-seasons) the tag has been used 28 times across the league, and 25 of them have been “non-exclusive”. So we can assume that Dak will be tagged non-exclusive.
The non-exclusive tag is calculated using five years worth of the top-five salaries for the position, and applying those as a percentage of the salary cap to the current cap, which means the non-exclusive tag for a QB in 2020 - and the dollar figure we should be focused on for Dak - is $26.9 million.
Again, there is also the "exclusive'' tag, which keeps the player from negotiating elsewhere but in the case of a 2020 quarterback, guarantees him $33 mil. That's not in play here. Nor is the transition tag, which is all about match-and-retain.
So this is all about the non-exclusive tag, and the Cowboys' bet that no other team will give up two first-round picks and the money to steal Dak ... and that even if such a bid were to happen, Dallas simply matches and retains.
The Tom Brady-to-Dallas talk, by the way, is in part about Michael Irvin-sourced speculation that some NFL team would indeed give up that much to take Dak ... and that Dallas would allow him to leave and take the bounty of picks and cap space to move on.
None of that is likely. But the non-exclusive tag absolutely is.
“We want to get this done,” Stephen said. “Things are fixin' to heat up. We want to put every foot forward and try to grind this out and get a deal done. ... He deserves everything that he has coming.''
What does Dak "have coming''? Soon, either a long-term contract to sign or a $26.9-million tender to sign, at which point that becomes his salary for 2020 while the parties continue to negotiate until the mid-July deadline to do so.
By the way, he could decline to sign that tender ... in which case he's not free to go elsewhere and not eligible to get paid until he changes his mind. And then we've got a real standoff.
