Dak Prescott Has Better Stats Than Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, Cowboys' QB Deserves Record Contract

The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott have until July 15 to reach a long-term contract agreement. The franchise tag is set to pay the quarterback a guaranteed $31.409 million salary for the 2020 NFL season. Prescott reportedly wants a multi-year deal worth upwards of $35 million a year.

Russell Wilson is the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback with an average yearly salary of $35 million. Ben Roethlisberger is second with a $34 million average annual value. Aaron Rodgers’ $33.5 million average salary is tied for third in the league.

Prescott hasn’t accomplished nearly as much as those quarterbacks. He has, however, put up better career stats than the other quarterbacks in his draft class, who have already received lucrative deals.

Jared Goff, the No.1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, makes $33.5 million per year. The Los Angeles Rams rewarded Goff with a four-year, $134 million contract last year. Goff received a record $110 million guaranteed.

Carson Wentz, the No.2 overall draft pick in 2016, is the NFL’s sixth-highest paid player at $32 million per season. The Philadelphia Eagles gave him a four-year, $128 million contract in the 2019 offseason. The deal includes $107.9 million in practical guarantees, the second-highest all-time mark, according to Spotrac.

Prescott came off the board 133 picks after Wentz. Dallas had arguably the NFL’s best bargain with the fourth-round pick under center from 2016-2019. Prescott earned just south of $5 million in his first four seasons.

Goff signed his deal after a trip to the Super Bowl. Wentz was part of a Super Bowl winner in 2018. Prescott had made two trips to the divisional playoffs, never reaching the conference championship game.

The rest of the numbers are in Prescott’s favor.

Prescott has never missed a start in his NFL career, going 40-24. He’s won two division titles and never posted a losing record in a season.

Goff is 33-21, having sat the first half of his rookie season. After going 0-7 in 2016, Goff led the Rams to a combined 24-7 record in 2017 and 2018. Los Angeles finished in third place in 2019 and missed the playoffs.

Wentz is 32-24 with eight missed regular-season games. He was forced to watch Philadelphia’s Super Bowl run from the sidelines because a torn ACL ended his season prematurely. Wentz’s inability to stay on the field continued last season when he suffered a concussion in the Eagles’ wild-card playoff loss against the Seattle Seahawks.

Before getting hurt in the 2017 season, Wentz was an MVP candidate with 33 touchdown passes, seven interceptions and a 101.9 passer rating. Goff’s 2018 season was nearly as impressive. The Rams’ quarterback posted 4,688 passing yards, 32 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and a 101.1 passer rating.

Prescott has been more consistent than both quarterbacks, and he’s got better overall stats to prove it.

Prescott has a career 97.0 passer rating. Wentz is significantly behind him with a 92.7 passer rating. Goff has a career 91.9 rating, though an extremely poor rookie campaign skews that number.

In the playoffs, Prescott has nearly matched his regular-season passer rating at 95.7 in three starts. Goff’s playoff performance has been poor with a 73.6 rating in four games. Wentz has only attempted four postseason passes.

Prescott’s 15,778 passing yards are more than Goff’s 14,219 and Wentz’s 14,191 yards. Prescott has thrown for 7.8 yards per pass attempt. Goff comes in at 7.6 yards per attempt. Wentz is far behind both quarterbacks at 6.9.

Prescott has completed 65.8% of his passes. Wentz (63.8%) and Goff (62.4%) are notably behind the Cowboys’ quarterback in that area.

Both Prescott and Wentz have 97 touchdowns passes. Prescott has thrown one more interception than Wentz with 36 picks. Goff has 87 touchdown passes and 42 interceptions.

If and when Dallas and Prescott reach an agreement, it should be a better deal than what Goff received less than a year ago.