The San Francisco 49ers were never likely to be players for Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott this offseason. If Dallas didn’t agree to a long-term extension with their star signal caller, they could’ve placed the franchise tag on him and kicked the contract down the road. The Cowboys on Monday agreed to a long-term deal with Prescott though that ended what was the 49ers’ long-shot chance at landing the two-time Pro Bowler.
One of the other road blocks to a 49ers-Prescott union was the massive contract he was going to command. He wound up earning a four-year deal worth up to $164 million with the Cowboys per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. Prescott will also got $126 million guaranteed and $75 million in the first year of the contract.
Dak Prescott gets a $66M signing bonus and $75M in year 1. https://t.co/SwjHaFBJPE
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2021
Up to $41 million per year was far outside the realm of possibilities for the 49ers given their salary cap situation even in the off chance Prescott had come available.
The goal for the 49ers is to find a quarterback like Prescott that they’re comfortable hinging the franchise’s future on with a deal worth more than $40 million per season. It doesn’t look like going into free agency that they have that player on their roster, and finding him is going to be the single biggest challenge facing head coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers’ front office going into this offseason.
