DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones joined Shan and RJ for the final time this season on Tuesday morning.
Near the top of the list of things to address this offseason, some would say right behind Dak Prescott's potential contract extension, is the status of Mike Nolan's future with the organization. Unfortunately for Cowboys fans, Jones dodged multiple questions about Nolan, despite Shan Shariff's valiant effort.
As for Prescott, Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Monday that the quarterback's contract is "at the top" of the team's offseason to-do list.
Jerry Jones agreed with that sentiment Tuesday, saying that Prescott's leverage has gone up after he went down with a season-ending ankle injury in Week 5.
"I don't know how you can have any more leverage. ... His evolving into a quarterback has been nothing short of a perfect picture. He has great ability in my mind to win games. He has all the things. You would not be offering Dak what we offered in the past if he wasn't very special."
The Cowboys finally got their chance to evaluate the team (albeit without several key players) without Prescott. And they, surely, got the clarity they needed.
By league rule, the Cowboys are now able to negotiate a contract with Prescott after their season came to an end on Sunday. But there are hurdles still in place.
According to 105.3 The Fan's Mike Fisher, Dallas offered their star quarterback a five-year deal with an average of $35 million per year with $106 million in virtual guarantees. However, his agent Todd France held firm in his ask of a four-year contract to allow his client to re-enter the market after the NFL's next television deal kicks in.
Complicating matters further is the fact that the league suffered large financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will likely result in a flat or even a lower salary cap for teams next season.
"One of the things that we're going to have to really see where we are, and it will affect everybody, all 32 (teams), and it will affect our team, is what the consequences of the virus have had on our cap situation going forward and where is that salary cap going to be and what kind of cap are we going to manage into," Stephen Jones said Monday on the K&C Masterpiece.
"So all those things will play a role into players that we keep that are under contract, where we can sign -- obviously Dak being at the top of that list -- and then going from there."
Should the Cowboys and Prescott fail to come to an agreement on an extension this offseason, Prescott would be due to make around $38 million on the franchise tag.