Last week, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made Dak Prescott a very rich man. Prescott became the highest-paid NFL player of all time with a $240 million deal that entitles him to an average annual payout of $60 million.
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The deal came about after a brutal to and fro all offseason, which would be enough to cause friction between Jones and Prescott, but former Cowboys star Michael Irvin claimed that everything is good in Dallas.
The NFL Hall of Famer gave his take on the situation in Dallas on Fox’s Speak show. He claimed that despite delays in the deal and a grueling negotiation, Prescott got “a quarter of $1 billion” deal and had nothing to complain about as he was ‘in tune with this whole process’. He said:
“It comes with all smiles, man. There is no way you have any hard feelings…Jerry didn’t say, I’m not giving him a dime…The reason I’m saying he’s not mad is he’s been in tune with this whole process.”
Irving added that in the past, even $3-5 million/year salaries for players were considered a lot and Prescott would get that amount a month so there is no reason for him to ‘stay mad’:
“I’m not talking about making $5 million a year. He getting it January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. You can’t be mad.”
The former wide receiver spent 12 years in Dallas working under Jones and was regularly involved in salary negotiations with him. He made over $22 million during his time with the Cowboys, which was one of the highest of his time.
Fellow Cowboys WR Keyshawn Johnson had a different take on the deal and claimed that Prescott wasn’t ‘happy’ during the negotiations.
Johnson on Prescott-Cowboys deal: ‘Dak was angry’
The former WR was once the highest paid in the NFL and gave insights from his experience. He assumed that Prescott, like most other players, took the negotiation personally and “was mad till he got his money.”
Irving agreed to his comments but countered that all the anger went away as soon as they signed the terms of the deal.
Prescott was coming off of a phenomenal season with 4500+ yards and 36 touchdowns. His coordination with the offense made him the ideal candidate to lead the Cowboys and the extension was inevitable.
Jones played it slow to the frustration of Prescott and Cowboys fans. However, after a long delay, the deal was announced hours before the team’s opening game in Cleveland and Prescott enforced the trust put in him with a 33-17 victory over the Browns.
