WEBVTT - Instant Reaction: Breaking Down The Dak Deal 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:10.320 The following he's a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:31.880 and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Well, if you're hearing 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:36.640 a sound of whoa, that's because the Cowboys Nation. There's 0:00:36.680 --> 0:00:39.680 a big sigh of relief going on here Monday night. 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:42.800 It's finally done, guys, this is a done deal. We're 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:45.880 here to talk about it. I got Rob Phillips, David Hellman, 0:00:45.960 --> 0:00:49.199 NICKI Ben, and guess what, Dak Prescott and this finally 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:54.560 has a new contract. It's not officially signed yet. Close enough, though, guys, 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:57.240 it doesn't matter what we knew. It wasn't gonna happen 0:00:57.280 --> 0:00:58.440 in the middle of the day. We knew it was 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:00.760 gonna be something. Time at night. Here we are, right 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:04.360 before the deadline. I'll start with you, Rob, I'll start 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:08.520 with you. You wrote the story, thoughts, thoughts on the deal. Finally, 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:12.080 Glad it's over. You said thank God earlier. Yes, this 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:15.240 is the thank God podcast. I think that's what said 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:19.240 before we went on. Everybody wins. Everybody wins tonight. The 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:25.520 Cowboys win, Dak Prescott obviously wins. The fans win, who 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:28.360 were on board with getting Dak resigned. I think we win. 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:30.959 We don't have to speculate about this anymore. I did 0:01:31.040 --> 0:01:34.080 the blitz hit on Friday, and I feel like I've 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:35.880 reached a point. I think we've all reached a point 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:39.440 with this conversation where you're just rehearsing what you know, 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:43.240 and there really wasn't anything left to talk about except 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:45.759 getting the deal done. And I think when it came 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:47.760 right down to it, it was time. It was the 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:51.559 right time for both sides to finish this out. You know, Dak, 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:54.960 clearly every player wants long term security. You can talk 0:01:54.960 --> 0:01:56.680 about what he could earn on the tag this year 0:01:56.720 --> 0:01:59.920 and then potentially next year, but he gets long term 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.720 security now. He's earned that without question the way he's 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:07.080 played for five years, and the Cowboys get precious cap 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:10.320 relief through this deal. To try to get something done 0:02:10.360 --> 0:02:13.000 when the new league gear begins next week and free 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:16.919 agency gets going. Yeah, Dave, let's talk a little bit 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:18.880 more about I mean, we get talk in a second 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:21.200 about all the numbers that we know that being reported, 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:23.800 but I'll get your overall thoughts on on the deal 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:27.200 being done as well. I don't even know where to start, 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.720 you guys. I mean, I mean, this isn't this isn't 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:33.920 the first big deal that we've covered over the years. 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:38.040 It won't be the last, but in my decade covering 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:41.640 the team, it's easily the one that's drawn on for 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:44.560 the longest. I mean you think you think back, Okay, 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:47.280 you know Amari Cooper got a big deal last year 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:50.680 that was that was maybe a year in the making. 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:53.720 Zeke's big deal came kind of came out of nowhere, 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:56.440 like nobody was really expecting him to hold out the 0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:59.880 way that he did. De Marcus Lawrence it came towards 0:02:59.880 --> 0:03:03.280 the end of his rookie deal. The point being is 0:03:03.320 --> 0:03:05.720 like this is typically like a I don't know, a 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:10.240 six to eight month or deal, and with Dak Prescott, man, 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:15.400 it's been it's been literally two years. I'm not exaggerating. 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:18.520 Like from the time all from the time he finished 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:23.239 the third year of his career until tonight, we've been 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:27.000 wondering if or when this might get done, and sometimes 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:31.720 you felt optimistic and sometimes you didn't. Honestly, I sure 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:33.560 as hell didn't think it was going to happen before 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:35.520 before the deadline, if you want me to be honest 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:38.880 about it, And and here we are, and it's great 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:41.680 for the Cowboys. It's great. It's obviously great for Dak 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:45.960 and his family, and holy cow, I'm just ay, I'm 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:48.360 happy it happened. B I'm happy we can stop talking 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:51.480 about it. I mean, it's yeah, it's a weight off 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:55.640 of everybody's shoulders. If I had to guess, alright, a 0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:57.920 lot of go ahead, go ahead. Well. And the other 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:01.600 thing too, is just how up uckly it happened, you know, 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:06.520 And like I can't recall a deal with the Cowboys 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:10.320 involved much less. When's the last time a deal of 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:13.720 this magnitude in terms of dollars happened in any major 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:18.040 American sport. And it really wasn't It didn't break early, 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:22.279 you know. And I asked, I was asking around earlier 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:25.200 just how quickly this came together? And was it the 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:28.479 last few days? Was it just today? And I was told, 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.320 you know, a little bit of both, and clearly today 0:04:31.480 --> 0:04:35.640 was they really picked up steam? And Stephen Jones has 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:37.920 said this before. You know, when you can build a 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:41.680 little bit of momentum in these talks, sometimes within a 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:45.000 few hours they're done. And I know, and the thing 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:48.839 about it is, like there's been so much skepticism over this. 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:50.520 Dave mentioned that, you know, you kind of reach a 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:53.000 point where, well, we got to see it to believe it. 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:56.839 I think we almost kind of forgot that they have 0:04:57.080 --> 0:05:00.640 made progress in two years off and on. Not enough 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:05.000 to get it done, but enough by the time they 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:08.200 got talking again this offseason. I never felt like, ultimately 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:10.200 would take that much time to get it done. The 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:12.720 bones of this thing probably have been in place at 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:15.760 least based on certain offers in the past, and they 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:18.200 finally just kind of figured it out. Obviously it's good 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:21.560 enough for both parties. All right, before, I'm gonna tell 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:24.760 a quick story about today. Before we do that, I 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:28.119 want you guys to kind of also be thinking about 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:30.719 this too. A lot of different numbers are being thrown around. 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:33.839 You can skin this cat so many ways, so I 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:36.279 want you guys to kind of think what number stands 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:38.840 out the most to you when you think about I mean, 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:41.240 there's a lot of ways to say it, so just 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:43.120 be thinking of that. If you already have it, that's fine. 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:46.559 But I'm gonna tell this quick story about today. So 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:49.200 we were told that Dak was going to be in 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:54.200 our studio downstairs to shoot a quick PSA. So I'm like, well, 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:56.640 I'm gonna go down there. I mean, like we I 0:05:56.760 --> 0:05:59.360 felt like there would be more blocking than Darryl Johnston 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:02.520 to make sure I didn't talk to He walked down 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:05.719 there by himself, shockingly, and he said happy to be 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:08.480 on two feet, excited about it. When he came out, 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:10.320 I said, hey, I'm not doing my job if I 0:06:10.320 --> 0:06:12.880 don't at least try to talk to you, ask you 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:15.960 to interview something. How's the rehab contract whatever? He said, no, 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:18.200 I can't really do that right now. But he talked 0:06:18.200 --> 0:06:20.280 a little bit and he said, I ain't going anywhere. 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:22.680 I'm gonna be a cowboy for life. And I was like, 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:24.560 he's feeling good, doing good, and kind of did a 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.280 little dance and all that. So he was he was 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:30.000 good and he just got the sense. I told Rob, 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:33.360 you just get the sense something's happening here, you know, 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:36.280 and just and lo and behold you know here we are. 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:38.240 I didn't think it was gonna happen today. And what 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:44.640 did I say? I was like, yeah, okay, yeah, you've 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:46.840 been I'll see it. You know, I'll believe it when 0:06:46.839 --> 0:06:48.839 I see it. Type approach for two years and why 0:06:48.880 --> 0:06:51.760 not it's been two years. So all right, I'm gonna 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:55.880 start with you. Rob, give me a number and we'll 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:57.480 break this thing down just a second. Give me a 0:06:57.560 --> 0:07:00.400 number that you that you liked the most or it's 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:05.080 interesting the most about this deal. Oh well, I mean 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.599 the reports and then again, the Cowboys haven't released the 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:11.040 numbers on this but but they're leaking out in the 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:13.440 media and we'll learn more about it as we go. 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:18.000 But the reports are sixty six million dollars signing bonus. 0:07:18.320 --> 0:07:22.760 That is a league record apparently, and it just speaks 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:28.880 to it speaks to the magnitude of a of a quarterback, 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:31.440 a star quarterback contract in this league, and it does 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:35.480 remind you of how difficult these negotiations can get when 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:38.800 you're talking about this much money, when you know, because 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:42.440 the length of the deal has been considered long considered 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:45.720 to hold up. But I'm sure guaranteed money has been 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:48.880 a big part of this thing too. So right off 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:53.160 the top, that one stood out to me the most day. 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:56.520 What numbers when you're when you're looking at what's being reported, 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:59.960 what numbers do do you kind of think, kind of standing, Oh, absolutely, 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:03.000 it's easy to me and you can call it a 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:05.320 win for Dak. It seems like a win for Dak 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:08.480 to me because he's gonna get free agency again when 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:10.160 he's thirty one years old, and he'll be able to 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:13.320 do all this all over again. But in my experience, 0:08:13.320 --> 0:08:15.920 again you know, I've been here since twenty thirteen. When 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:21.200 the Cowboys do these types of deals, we're talking five, six, seven, eight. 0:08:21.640 --> 0:08:24.520 In some cases, you know, like you know, with Tyrn Smith, 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:26.680 he signs an eight year extension while he's still got 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:29.800 two years on his deal, you're talking ten years. This 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:32.760 is not the case with Dak. He's gonna be free 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:35.240 to go again in four and I know, you know, 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:39.199 maybe the Cowboys probably wouldn't prefer that, but I think 0:08:39.240 --> 0:08:42.200 it creates some flexibility that the stat I saw is that, 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:45.720 you know, his deal averages forty two million per year 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:48.640 over the first three years of the deal, which is 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:53.199 understandably a lot of money, but it also means you're 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:56.320 gonna be out from under this thing really quickly. Yeah, 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:58.600 and you know, we all think it's gonna be great. 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:01.840 I obviously think the world of Dak, but even if 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:06.280 he's not as amazing as you think, one way or another, 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:08.319 you're going to be able to get away from this quickly. 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:10.839 You know. I just wrote about Ezekie Lelly, it's a 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:15.640 deal earlier late last week. Excuse me, it's you know, 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:19.480 your two seasons removed away from being able to get 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:22.040 done with that deal because of the length of it. 0:09:22.200 --> 0:09:26.920 With Dak, that's clearly not the case, and I honestly 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:30.160 think it's refreshing that you have that flexibility that Okay, 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:33.320 if it's great, it's great, and if it's not, we're 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:35.400 still going to be able to get out from underneath it. 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:37.480 So it's obviously a win from Dak. He'll be able 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:41.400 to hit free agency very quickly while he's still young. 0:09:41.880 --> 0:09:43.920 But I think it's a win for the Cowboys too, 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:47.920 because even if this thing doesn't go well, they will 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:52.679 still have flexibility to remanage their situation again in you know, 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:56.960 three years, And that's unique. It's unique because these deals 0:09:56.960 --> 0:09:59.360 that we've seen over the last decade or so are 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:04.120 so long, and this is not that. This is This 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:06.400 is why I think it's it's a It's a big 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:09.360 win for Cowboy fans because Cowboy fans obviously want to 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.800 win right now. They're thinking about right now. It's rare 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:15.760 to have a situation where you sign a player to 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:19.720 a mega deal like this and his cap charge is 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:24.240 actually could significantly yeah, this year, because last year he 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:26.400 was counting what thirty one three? Is that what it 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:28.560 was that with the seward cap. I mean, that's what 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:32.600 the thirty one three and thirty one four and there's 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:34.960 a chance it could be about thirty eight if they 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:36.760 didn't get a deal done and he was playing on 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:39.760 a tag. Now his cap charge is gonna be twenty 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:43.840 two two, and that, you know, that's significant when you're 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:46.920 thinking of what any played for last year. You're saving 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:49.640 nine million dollars or so on the cap to maybe 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:52.520 go get somebody else or resign some players or whatever. 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:55.000 So that's that's why I think is a win, is 0:10:55.000 --> 0:10:56.600 that they were able to get this done and you 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:58.800 said four years, David, You're right about that. It will 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:00.800 be a four year but they were able to make 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:04.240 it a straight Yeah. That will avoid down before and 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:07.720 that's what spreads it down. So we can go over 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:09.760 some of those numbers. Though you know it's he's gonna 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:12.640 get seventy five million in the first year, it's about 0:11:12.679 --> 0:11:16.400 sixty six signing bonus nine in a base salary. I 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:19.480 mean that's it's like one hundred and twenty two million 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:21.599 over the first three years. I mean, it's like you 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:23.679 said to a lot of which and I just I 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:26.680 think it's important. I mean, and Nick you said it 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.000 at the beginning. Is you know there's there's more than 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:31.640 one way as to skin a cat, but like to 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:35.040 get that money out of the way quickly, I think 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:38.040 is important because it gives you flexibility later. Like sometimes 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:40.920 you see these long deals where a player gets signed 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:44.200 for six, seven, eight years and it's like, yeah, we 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:46.920 can cut him, but it's gonna hit us for forty 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:49.959 million dollars five years from now. I don't think this 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:53.040 is that situation. I think. And again I think you know, 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:55.640 we all think Dak's gonna play well, but even if 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:58.240 he doesn't, I think this gives you the ability to 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:00.560 get away if you need to. And like I said, 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:03.800 I think it's unique. I think it's refreshing, and you know, 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:06.360 I we'll see how the whole deal plays out. But 0:12:06.480 --> 0:12:08.880 for those of you Cowboy fans, and I know there 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:10.600 are a lot of you that don't live in the 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:14.719 Texas area, maybe you live in Pennsylvania, the Cowboys are 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:19.400 gonna pay Dak Prescott less money on the cap to 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:22.880 play quarterback for them this year. Than the Eagles are 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:25.400 going to pay Carson Wentz to play for the Colts. 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:29.640 Carson Wentz is counting thirty million dollars toward the cap 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:33.480 to play for somebody else this year. And that's why 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:38.040 it's amazing. Yeah, And that's why all this talk about 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:41.640 quarterback movement like, to me, that's not that's not a 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:46.120 trend because for that reason, because you can't. This isn't 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:49.120 the NBA, the way the salary cap is structured. You 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:54.000 can't move around contracts like that without major implications down 0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:56.560 the road that year and down the road. And that's 0:12:56.600 --> 0:13:00.120 why I just don't see that happening. That's why the 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:03.240 Cowboys wanted to get the deal done with their quarterback, 0:13:03.440 --> 0:13:06.080 you know, instead of having to all these other rumors 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:08.920 about something they might else they might be involved in, 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:12.240 or you know, rumors about other quarterbacks that could be 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:14.320 available and all that, they wanted to get this deal done. 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:16.679 And actually, Nick, I want to change my answer because 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.840 what you said about the money they save, that's the 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:22.600 big one for me, Like fifteen plus million under the 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:25.800 cap this year. That's why the timing for this deal 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:29.280 was it. It was now because and to me, it 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:32.040 says you had two sides, both sides pulling in the 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:35.320 right direction, like Dak wants to be here, wants to 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:39.120 be the franchise quarterback. And I'm sure he recognizes and 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:40.960 it sounds like, you know, we'll get to talk to 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:44.280 him on Wednesday. He recognizes, Look to get this thing 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:48.080 done to help the Cowboys out in a crazy year 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:53.280 with the pandemic, the salary cap dropping by twenty five 0:13:53.400 --> 0:13:55.720 million less than it would have been in a normal year. 0:13:56.400 --> 0:13:59.000 This allows them an opportunity to get number one, get 0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:02.840 under the cap, number two, a little more flexibility to 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:06.200 hopefully do something to further upgrade the roster when things 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:09.400 get going next week in free agency. That's a good point, 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:11.960 Rob And that's that, to me, is the one of 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:15.240 the answers of him, because it's easy for fans to say, well, 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:17.720 what took so long? That right there is one of 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:19.960 the reasons why, in my opinion of kind of why 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:21.440 it took so long. They don't even know what the 0:14:21.440 --> 0:14:23.920 salary cap is right now, you know, so that they 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:27.200 had to get creative. And that's when I found out 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:29.200 it was a six year deal that voice the four 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:32.280 then I was I was happy about that because that 0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:35.840 showed me that, like you said, they're working together, that 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:38.320 doesn't want to just take up all of the salary 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:41.200 cap and then not have anyone to block for him. 0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:43.960 I mean, he wants to have he wants his thing 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.240 to have some success. So that I think is a 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:50.080 really big deal. And you saw him today like he's 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:54.080 been rehabbing at the Star. Yeah, that rehab is going 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:57.680 very well like they believed it would, and there's just 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:01.880 been no indication that there's this animosity. It just hasn't 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:04.280 gotten done, and it was time to get it done. 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:05.760 It was, I mean, it just honestly, it was time 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:07.400 to get it done for both time, which I do 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:12.200 think that's that's interesting and important for a deal of 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:16.040 this size that took this long, and we can all 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:20.160 attest to just how long it took. It never seemed 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:23.560 like it got overly contentious, like you know, I mean, Nick, 0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:26.680 you saw Dack today and obviously he probably knew it 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:29.800 was about to happen, But even still, like during this 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:35.720 whole time frame, it never seemed overly acrimonious, like these 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.360 two sides were just sniping at each other, even honestly, 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:43.120 as short as it was when DeMarcus Lawrence was negotiating 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:47.680 his deal, it seemed like there was more uncertainty and 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:51.480 more sort of acid for lack of a better word, 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:54.080 about like, well, is this going to happen? And I 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:57.760 never got that from this well and that one of 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:02.600 the reasons is did France talkm's to the meeting? I don't. 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:08.080 I never know because d laws there. That's totally fair, 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:11.120 totally fair. That was part of it. But also another 0:16:11.160 --> 0:16:13.760 point too is you remember that day where Dak Prescott 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:15.680 was walking around here and he was really mad and 0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:20.360 pissed off. I don't either, you know, I that doesn't happen. 0:16:20.440 --> 0:16:21.960 I mean, that's not the way he is. And that's 0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:24.240 why these people love him. I mean, everybody here loves 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:26.840 this guy. And you know, and and I think the 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:28.920 Cowboys were were the same way, and that's maybe one 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:32.440 of the reasons why they never really got down, because 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:35.440 you know, they figured it was all always going to happen. 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.360 It was. I do think I do think there was 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:43.000 some genuine disappointment, probably on both sides in July because 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:46.000 it was just I think for us too, it was 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:49.520 almost shocked because how many times does it happen when 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:52.320 the Cowboys want something? Done and they it doesn't get done. 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:56.120 That just doesn't happen very often for them, and Dak 0:16:56.160 --> 0:16:59.360 had gotten on the phone with Stephen. I think that 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:02.960 day of the headline trying to get something done didn't happen. Um, 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:06.159 but yeah, I don't think it ever got you know, 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:10.240 really really contentious. And there's also been so many weird 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:14.280 things around this team in the league, with the pandemic, 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:17.760 with the CBA, and again you know, they were just 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:19.200 able to roll up their sleeves and get it done 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:23.600 at a critical point in the offseason. Well, two things, 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:26.840 in my opinion, two things have ended today. Number one, 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:31.040 of course, is this two year negotiation and speculation if 0:17:31.040 --> 0:17:33.840 this was ever going to happen. But another thing that ended, 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:38.879 in my opinion, of course, is that that awesome story 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:42.520 of the fourth year you know, draft pick, compensatory pick 0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:44.879 that comes in and leads this team and look what 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:46.760 he's doing. He's playing on the chief and all that 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:51.600 he's the leader. Okay, now that's over, and that's fine, 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:53.840 that's what he wants. That's over. Now. The goal is 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:57.280 with this contract, the expectation, of course, with this franchise 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:00.760 is to go win win championships. I mean I don't 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:02.800 think he would disagree with that. How do you guys 0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:06.440 think he will handle that? You want to take that first, 0:18:06.520 --> 0:18:11.159 Robbie or me take it? I just I mean, and 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:14.320 I agree with you for whatever it's worth, Like that 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:17.159 narrative can be put to bed, but I think I 0:18:17.160 --> 0:18:19.760 think it's been in bed for a long time. If 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:21.880 you want me to be honest with you, because even 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:24.439 if he didn't get the pay day, he played on 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:27.080 the tag last year, he did this whole song and 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:29.879 dance last year. He did this whole song and dance 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:34.200 the offseason before that. Again, even even if he didn't 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:38.280 get the money, it's literally been two years since the 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:42.280 report first leaked. Oh Dak wants forty million dollars a year, 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:47.120 and everybody in the world lost their damn minds. And 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:51.880 so Dak has been playing under the scrutiny of like, yeah, 0:18:51.920 --> 0:18:55.720 he's great, but how much is he worth for at 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:58.360 least two years at this point. And I can hear 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:01.040 I can hear people being mad right now. I know, 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:03.560 you know, they didn't make that they were they were 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:05.760 terrible last year when he got hurt. They didn't make 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:09.920 the playoffs the year before that. But man, I don't. 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:12.800 I don't know, go go watch the tape. As other 0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:18.080 Cowboy players like to say, my man's good at quarterback, 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:20.640 Like he's he's damn good. And I know that he's 0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:24.040 very confident in himself. And honestly, if you're asking me 0:19:25.040 --> 0:19:27.480 to give you a reason why you should feel optimistic 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:31.320 about Dak Prescott, like, I've never been around a person 0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:36.320 with more self belief than Dak Prescott. And I mean 0:19:36.359 --> 0:19:39.440 that's just me talking, like that's just my own experience. 0:19:39.560 --> 0:19:42.280 But he's got a way about him. Like right before 0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:46.200 we logged onto this show, you know, just looking through 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:49.720 Instagram and Twitter, like the number of players that are 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:55.040 posting about it. Randall Cobb, this spoke volumes to me. 0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:59.320 Randall Cobb, who played one year with Dak, said he's 0:19:59.359 --> 0:20:01.640 one of the best teammates I've ever had. He deserves 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:05.639 everything he's got coming to him. You know, obviously nobody 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:08.720 knows if he's going to deliver the Cowboys their next championship, 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:13.520 but he's got everything you want in a quarterback. Who 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:17.560 would And so I mean, maybe I'm a little bit 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:21.000 biased because I've covered the guy's entire career, but I 0:20:21.040 --> 0:20:23.320 think it's good for the Cowboys to have him under contract. 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:25.199 I think it's good to get this conversation out of 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:28.040 the way. And if there's ever been a guy who's 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:30.840 not gonna, you know, shy away from that type of limelight, 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:35.920 I think it's Dak Prescott. You know, when he when 0:20:35.920 --> 0:20:38.439 he had that awful ankle injury in October. I remember 0:20:38.880 --> 0:20:41.960 Zach Martin saying after the game, he's he's the heart 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:44.760 and soul of the team. And that wasn't lip service 0:20:44.880 --> 0:20:47.639 because all the guys feel that way, and that's a 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:50.080 big part of you know, it's one thing to be 0:20:50.119 --> 0:20:53.080 the best player on the team or the most important 0:20:53.119 --> 0:20:55.080 position on the team, but if you're the leader of 0:20:55.080 --> 0:20:58.840 the team at that position, that makes to me, that 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:03.680 makes your value. It puts the value of the contract 0:21:03.720 --> 0:21:06.600 in perspective, and to me, it makes it all worth it. 0:21:07.200 --> 0:21:09.600 And Daki is all those things. And I think, you know, 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:12.720 he's he's had pressure already. I mean, he played, like 0:21:12.760 --> 0:21:15.160 you mentioned Nippet, he had a thirty one million dollar 0:21:15.240 --> 0:21:18.080 contract last year, so it wasn't like he's been playing, 0:21:18.080 --> 0:21:20.040 you know. I think twenty nineteen was a two million 0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:23.080 dollars base salary that went away last year. Before he 0:21:23.119 --> 0:21:25.520 got hurt. So he's to a certain extent, he's already 0:21:25.520 --> 0:21:30.840 been through that. But yeah, he's he's in it to 0:21:30.880 --> 0:21:33.360 win big. I mean that that's what he expects out 0:21:33.400 --> 0:21:36.560 of himself. I remember one of one of his first 0:21:36.560 --> 0:21:39.080 couple of years in the league, he had Tom Brady's 0:21:39.080 --> 0:21:41.800 book in his locker, you know. I mean, that's that's 0:21:41.800 --> 0:21:44.439 where he's trying to go and and the Cowboys to 0:21:44.480 --> 0:21:48.359 get there. It's it's gonna take building an entire team 0:21:48.359 --> 0:21:51.280 around him, no question about that. But I just, I mean, 0:21:51.320 --> 0:21:54.480