Carson Palmer explains why Dak Prescott should take less money with Cowboys

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys will resume contract talks this offseason, and one former NFL quarterback believes Prescott should consider giving the team a hometown discount.

Carson Palmer said during a Thursday appearance on 105.3 The Fan that Prescott should consider taking less money from the Cowboys than he would from another team. His logic is that there are plenty of other ways to generate income when you play for America’s team, so Prescott would benefit from allowing Dallas to spend money elsewhere.

“I love Dak’s game. I think he’s great. I think he shouldn’t shoot for the moon (on his next contract),” Palmer said. “Being the Dallas Cowboys quarterback, there’s a lot that comes with that financially. So, you don’t have to be the top-paid quarterback in the league. You can make as much as the top-paid quarterback in the league when you’re the Dallas Cowboys quarterback if you do take less.”

Palmer pointed to endorsement opportunities and the fact that so many former Cowboys players — most notably Troy Aikman and Tony Romo — have landed jobs in television.

“You’ve seen Dak on tons of commercials and endorsements,” Palmer said. “You can make that same top-tier money if you’re Dak and you take a little bit less, and you keep all the players around you within the salary cap structure.”

The flip side to that argument is that Prescott is a franchise quarterback, and the Cowboys certainly have the means to compensate him accordingly. Though, there is some merit to what Palmer said. Tom Brady signed below-market contracts with the New England Patriots for years, which allowed them to almost always field a competitive team around him.

The Cowboys were a disaster without Prescott this season. One former Cowboys player issued a warning to Jerry Jones after Prescott went down with an ankle injury, but the Jones family understands how important Prescott is to the team. It would be a surprise if the two sides can’t come to an agreement for a second straight year.

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