Dallas Cowboys are on a spending spree this summer. After handing out a new contract to defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence in March, Cowboys said that they intend to do the same with quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper. The time for that has obviously come since team’s executive vice president Stephen Jones told reporters on Wednesday that contract talks with Prescott and Cooper are “off and running.”
While Cowboys are not hiding their will to pay Prescott and Cooper big money, the team’s goal according to Jones is to convince the duo to take a bit less than the max in order to keep a competitive team.
“As I told DeMarcus Lawrence, and I’ll tell all three of these guys: I’d love for you to max out and give you exactly what you want, because y’all have worked hard and you deserve to have a big contract. But if we want to put together the type of team we want to have with the Cowboys …” – Jones told reporters on Wednesday.
“That’s not their job.” – he added. “It’s not their job to manage the cap; I understand that. But it is my job and [owner Jerry Jones’] job, so they will understand why we’re negotiating hard to make the very best deal we can. Because the money, if we can talk them into not maxing out — doing well, but not maxed — then that allows us to have other good football players around them.”
Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper both have deals that run out after 2019, and are believed to be looking top money for their position. For Prescott, that would be in the range of $30 million per year, which would make him among the top five highest paid QBs in the league. Cooper, on the other hands, is believed to be demanding $16 million to $18 million.
