In the months leading up to the deadline for players placed under the franchise tag to sign an extension, the talk centered around Dak Prescott’s long-term future with the Dallas Cowboys. There hadn’t been any significant headway toward a new deal being hammered out. That all came to an expected conclusion, with the two sides remaining on the same path to the end. All of that rings louder that Prescott is willing to take a significant financial risk to prove Jerry Jones wrong.

Dak Prescott’s contract situation issues

Since last offseason, the Cowboys focus has shifted over to getting Dak Prescott under a new contract.

There had been much hope to secure a new long-term deal, but the talks around a contract stopped in September and didn’t pick back up until February around the scouting combine. The hope was that it could translate into a new deal being worked out before free agency, but that wound up leading to the franchise tag being placed on him.

In the time that followed that decision, there hadn’t been any significant movement toward a new extension. That all came to fruition as Wednesday’s deadline has come and gone.

Dak Prescott is banking on himself to make Jerry Jones pay

There was some late talks between the #Cowboys and Dak Prescott’s camp. It didn’t seem to gain much traction. And so, Dak plays on the tag and will go another season on a 1-year deal. https://t.co/TCdssoRL00

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 15, 2020

There hadn’t been much chatter around a new contract worked out between the Cowboys and Dak Prescott.

That became crystal clear on Wednesday afternoon as Prescott moved past the deadline without a new contract. Much has the process unveiled as there hadn’t been any consistent chatter between both sides since March, which could date back to the franchise tag placed on him.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys also placed a last-second offer that could have made him the second-highest-paid quarterback annually behind Patrick Mahomes with around $110 million guaranteed. Prescott decided to bypass on that offer and bet on himself like he did last season to garner the lucrative deal he wants.

It’s no secret that Jerry Jones and the Cowboys would have loved to get the deal done, but the two sides couldn’t agree on the contract’s length. Prescott had a lucrative deal on the table, which will now be on his shoulders to prove he’s worth much more than what Jones is willing to pay him.

Will it be the right move to make for Dak Prescott?

Dak Prescott has reached a stage of no looking back on his decision to pass up the massive contract offer he received from the Cowboys.

There is no doubt in his mind that he’s worth much more than that figure, which places significant importance on his performance in the 2020 season. Prescott will have to showcase that he’s the franchise quarterback that can lead the team to possible Super Bowl contention. The Cowboys have the pieces to make a surge back into the playoffs, but it will have to be much more than that to likely convince Jerry Jones to commit an even more considerable financial amount to the 26-year-old.

In many ways, Prescott controls his future as he’s working with more talent offensively with rookie wideout CeeDee Lamb and another proven head coach in Mike McCarthy. There is a clear sense of direction that presents an opportunity for him to show he’s worthy of a franchise-setting contract.

Ultimately, only time will tell if Prescott decided to pass up a deal from the Cowboys that may or may not be there next offseason.