Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman (right) gets the attention of current quarterback Dak Prescott during warmups before a Wild Card Playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, January 16, 2023.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)
Troy Aikman isn’t afraid to be bold when discussing Dak Prescott. That’s probably what led the Dallas Cowboys icon to his latest prediction on Prescott’s upcoming contract.
While breaking down a few topics on The Pat McAfee Show, Aikman repeated his belief in a Prescott postseason breakthrough. The three-time Super Bowl champion said Dallas’ lack of playoff success is what keeps Prescott from conversations including Patrick Mahomes and other elite quarterbacks.
According to Aikman, Prescott belongs among the league’s highest-paid signal callers.
“I do believe he’s going to be the first quarterback to $60 million,” Aikman said.
Will he get that money in Dallas? Aikman isn’t so sure.
“The longer this goes, the more I think he will be playing somewhere else,” Aikman said. “If it continues to drag on and he plays great, then the Cowboys come in late to say, ‘Hey, now we want to pay you,’ I don’t know where his head will be at that point.”
It appears Aikman, like many Cowboys followers, wants Prescott’s contract situation resolved sooner rather than later. Luckily, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones had an update on the matter in training camp Friday.
Well, it was sort of an update.
Here’s what Jones said about discussions with Prescott’s agent, according to The Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins: “Well I would say we’re talking. I would not have a legitimate progress point there at all and I really don’t have one for [CeeDee] Lamb either. And it’s not negative. I’m just not thinking that it will do any good to talk about progress.”
Aikman went on to compare Prescott’s recent numbers (statistics and wins) with those of Mahomes, emphasizing how the postseason performance separates the quarterbacks. The current ESPN Monday Night Football broadcaster added that Dallas’ playoff issues go back to the last 25-30 years.
Both McAfee and Prescott were in agreement that 2023 could have been the Cowboys’ moment to strike. After posting a 12-5 record in the regular season, Dallas stumbled to a 48-32 wild-card loss against Green Bay as the NFC’s No. 2 seed.
“With the offseason, the way that it has gone for Dallas, there just seems to be a lot of negativity about what they did or didn’t do this offseason,” Aikman said. “It’ll be interesting to see what this season looks like for them.”