Market Value

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome in podcast listeners. Hope your Tuesday is going well.
You know it'll make your Tuesday better. Well, hopefully this
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(00:21):
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make it funny and I'll read it. Today's show, we
got John Morosie sliding in to give us a major

(01:05):
League Baseball update. But It's all about Dak Prescott, the
Dallas Cowboys, Ezekiel elliott A, Marie Cooper, how do you
handle Dak Prescott if the reports that he turned down
thirty million a year and once forty million a year
if those reports are true. Fascinating story in the world
of sports and business. Will break it down for you. Also,

(01:29):
NBA moving, It's time starts and we got a Marie
Marie Cooper Antonio Brown update as to whether or not
he'll be in camp. All that and more. It's I'll
Kick the coverage. Dive in now. I'll Kick the coverage
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(01:50):
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FS Are you're listening to Fox Sports Radio? Oh welcome man.

(02:11):
I hope all of you are having a fantastic Tuesday.
We are coming to Alive from the Get Go Out
Kick studios. We however, are available in all areas. Appreciate
all of you tuning in this morning. And a couple
of things right off the jump Antonio brown decent into
madness continues on some level. He lost his grievance over

(02:32):
the football helmet, and now we have to figure out
when he's eventually going to show up in the Raiders camp.
But the bigger drama and story continues to be what's
going on with the Dallas Cowboys and in particular, how
in the world is Jerry Jones going to finagle three
different guys who all anticipate and expect really big contracts

(02:57):
in the new Your Future, and in particular we got Ezekiel.
Elliott's still holding out. That story kind of floating around
but not getting that much attention. And now the new
bigger story is Dak Prescott and reports last night which
are being disputed as negotiations sometimes are, but multiple national

(03:19):
reporters now have come out and said, you know what,
Dak Prescott is actually willing uh to turn down thirty
million dollars and he is demanding a forty million dollar
contract per year. Putting that into context, that would make
him the highest paid NFL football player of all time.

(03:45):
I want to think about that for a minute. What
Dak Prescott is demanding in his contract status is to
become the highest paid football player on a yearly basis
of all time. Now, let's run through some of these details,
and a lot of you a roll in your eyes.
You're like, are you crazy? Dak Prescott the highest paid quarterback,

(04:05):
the highest paid player of all time. Well, one factor
here is, while there's a lot of attention being paid
to Ezekiel Elliott, we told you guys on this show
that Zeke didn't really have very much ground to argue
upon because he still has two years left on his contract. So,

(04:26):
Ezekiel Elliott, it's one thing, if you have a year
left under your contract, maybe you've got a little bit
of negotiating leverage. But when you still have two years
left on your contract, what are you gonna do? Sit
out for two years? That would be utterly crazy. So
I don't think that Ezekiel Elliott has that much bargaining power.
But Dak Prescott is in the final year of his

(04:49):
contract and and this is pretty wild, he got only
two point seven million dollars over his four year deal.
So the Cowboys have been a able to build up
a lot of talent around Dak Prescott because they've been
able to pay way less than what a quarterback would
typically be making under his rookie contract. Let me just

(05:11):
hit you with these numbers, because it doesn't get that
much attention. Dak coming in as a fourth round pick
like he did is way under what the market would
be for any kind of starting quarterback. Let me hit
you with this. Uh. In year one, he made one
point one million dollars. Year two he made only nine

(05:34):
hundred and forty one thousand dollars. Year three, the one
that just finished. Last year, he just made six hundred
and thirty thousand dollars. And this year now he's going
to make two million dollars. So one of the aspects
of Dak Prescott's contract situation that I'm sure he and

(05:54):
his representatives are going to argue is, not only do
you need to pay me for years ahead, we've got
to make up for the fact that we made virtually
nothing under our initial rookie contract. In fact, let's go look,
you paid six hundred and thirty thousand dollars to me

(06:14):
to be the Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback last year. Having
said that, turning down thirty million dollars to me if
you are Dak Prescott is crazy because there are so
many other quarterbacks that I would rather have for potentially
less money. And so this is the challenging situation that

(06:37):
you find yourself in. If you are Dak Prescott, he
could be franchised after this fourth year. He could be
franchise to multiple years if the Dallas Cowboys really wanted
to get aggressive with him and treat him like Kirk Cousins.
And I think the question that Cowboy fans have, and
I think the question that Jerry Jones has and certainly

(06:57):
all of Cowboy management, what in the world is Dak
Prescott actually worth? And how do you assess his worth
compared to the rest of the quarterbacks in the NFL
right now? Because demanding forty million dollars is insane. It's
like me demanding a Caribbean island as part of my

(07:19):
next contractual negotiation. I can do it, but it doesn't
really help the process. And so I thought one of
the things that's intriguing is who would you take? Who
would you take? Like, where do you slot Dak Prescott
in right now among the starting quarterback universe? How would

(07:40):
you contemplate them, where would you put them? What would
you say in general if I gave you options of
the starting quarterbacks last year. So let's like kind of
just run through quickly, I thought to contextualize. Next segment,
I'll bring in the crew and we'll see how many
of them disagree ree with this. But my position on

(08:02):
Dak Prescott is that he's right around the most average
starting quarterback in the NFL. He's not a top ten
guy in my opinion. He's certainly not a top five guy,
and he's nowhere near being the best quarterback in the
NFL from the perspective of deserving the highest pay. So

(08:22):
here are right now the five highest paid quarterbacks in
the NFL. So I'm just gonna hit these directly with
their salaries and then we'll start running through other guys.
Russell Wilson, he's gonna make thirty five million dollars. Every
single person listening to this show right now, other than
maybe Dak Prescott's mom, believes that Russell Wilson is a

(08:45):
better quarterback than uh Dak Prescott. And so thirty five
million dollars a year is the ceiling, and there's no
way that anybody would take Dak over Russell Wilson. Ben
Roethlisberger is making thirty four million now, remember, part of
the salary that you make is a function of how
long you have been somewhere. Ben Roethlisberger is clearly on

(09:07):
the tail end of his career. If I had to
choose to have a quarterback for the next ten years,
Roethlisberger wouldn't be in the mix. If I had to
decide the next five years, I'm not sure that Big
Ben's got five years left. But right now there's zero
down in my mind that Big Ben is worth more
than Dak Prescott is worth Aaron Rodgers. Come on, everybody

(09:27):
knows that, uh, Carson Wentz. Carson Wentz is a little
bit intriguing, But the numbers on Carson Wentz when he
is healthy are off the charts. I mean, this is
a guy who would have won the m v P
a couple of years ago if he hadn't injured himself.
The difficulty with wins his contract is based on his

(09:48):
injury status to me, not based on his overall talent.
And then Matt Ryan is making thirty million dollars. You
may or may not like Matt Ryan, but I think
he slots in above Dak Prescott. So that's five guys
that I feel like deserve to be in above him
Patrick Mahomes. Eventually, God knows how much money Patrick Mahomes
is gonna get. I think everybody out there would say you,

(10:10):
I'd rather have my homes. Drew Brees. Again, age factors in,
but we're talking about for the next couple of years,
or even for next year. Drew Brees and no brainer.
Uh what about Andrew Luck? No doubt at all. Everybody
would rather have Andrew Luck. Tom Brady, even though he's
forty two, Yes, you'd rather have him. Philip Rivers, you'd
rather have him. I think Matt Ryan, we already went across,

(10:32):
you'd rather have him. Russell Wilson, you'd rather have him.
Deshaun Watson, That's an interesting debate. It's an interesting debate
both young guys. I tend to go with Dak over
Deshaun Watson because of Deshaun what Watson's injury history. He's
already torn both A C L s. But that is intriguing.
Kirk Cousins. Would I'd rather have Kirk Cousins or would

(10:54):
I'd rather have Dak Prescott. I'd rather have Cousins. And
I actually though think that maybe what of Redskins did
with Kirk Cousins, another NFC East team could be a
template for how Dak could be treated. If you're really
not sure about Dak, I don't understand why you would
have that much pressure on yourself to get him a
long term deal. Why not just franchise him for a

(11:16):
year and see whether or not he's the guy. See
how he performs this year. Um, Aaron Rodgers, no doubt
much better. Uh. Cam Newton, I think I'd rather have
Cam Uh Mariota head to head. I don't think there's
that much difference between Mariota and Dak Prescott. Some Cowboy
fans may disagree, but I think that that Honestly, if

(11:36):
Jerry Jones were being a little bit more smart in
the way that he's playing this, Mariota and Dak are
very similar players. Matthew Stafford, I'd rather have Stafford, even
though Stafford hasn't want a playoff game. Uh yet. Baker Mayfield,
I'd rather have Baker uh Eli. Uh all right, maybe
I'd rather have Dak than Eli, but he lies on
the very end of his career. UM and Derek Carr.

(12:01):
It's an interesting question, right Derek Carr makes twenty five
million dollars a year. I don't think that's an easy
call on rather or not you'd rather have him. I'd
rather have Sam Donald, I think, based on his ceiling
than Dak and uh that's basically the crew, right Lamar Jackson, No,
I wouldn't rather have Lamar Jackson. I'd rather have Kyler
Murray slotting in Dak Prescott. To me, he is the

(12:24):
most average quarterback in the NFL. That's it. He has
never proven to me, this is a guy who is
accurate enough consistently to win a championship. I think the
reason why the Cowboys have been good and one a
decent amount of games around Zack, around Dac to a
large extent, is because of the money they've been able

(12:46):
to spend on the defense and on other talented players
surrounding Dak because they don't have to pay him anything. Again,
he made six hundred and thirty thousand dollars last year.
So if you are the Cowboys, this is one of
the really intriguing questions is out there. One of the
things I like to tell you guys to do if
you want to one day have a job that matters.

(13:08):
Almost every job that matters comes down to one thing judgment.
Almost every you want to know what connects the President
of the United States with a high profile CEO with
a GM, or owner of an NFL franchise with a
senator with a h with management at the highest level

(13:32):
of any company in the world, it's judgment. Ultimately, you
are paid for your ability to make big decisions and
get them right. There are facts that are laid out
for you. You look at all the facts in front
of you, and you have to decide the best possible
course of action for your company, for your country, for

(13:54):
whatever group you are in charge of managing. So this
to me is a great test. If you want to
one day be in the role of making important decisions,
you have to train your mind to be in that
position to think about all the different factors, considering everything.

(14:16):
What is Dak Prescott's value, what is your dollar figure
that you want won't go past, and how do you
negotiate out with Dak keeping in mind that simultaneously you
have Amari Cooper's deal that you have to work and
you have to figure out what to do with Ezekiel Elliott.
The Cowboys, I believe, are about to find themselves in

(14:40):
salary cap hell and you can have people like Dez
Bryant tweeting out pay that man his forty million dollars.
That's insane. There's a reason why Dez Bryant isn't working
as a GM anywhere or anywhere in a high level
when it comes to judgment, because the easy thing to
do is buckle and try to make a player happy.

(15:01):
But ultimately, if you overpay Zachdak and this is why
it matters, if you overpay Dak Prescott, the team suffers.
Your overall business potentially suffers in a massive way, and
the wins and losses ultimately are impacted in a huge manner.

(15:22):
So what do we do with Dak? I'll tell you
when come back on the next side. Will also bring
in the crew. How do you handle a guy who
is in that really difficult spot in the NFL? I
would put it at Andy Dalton level, right. The Cincinnati
Bengals have had to decide what to do with Andy
Dalton for a long time. What do you do when
you think you have the most average quarterback in the NFL.

(15:45):
You don't have the best, you don't have a top
five or top ten guy, but you also don't have
a bottom five or bottom ten ten, guy, how do
you value averagen nous in today's NFL? Because the worst
thing in the NFL is not to have a quarterback.
But another thing that can be bad is you overpay
a quarterback who doesn't deserve a big contract. That's what

(16:06):
the Dallas Cowboys are facing right now. I'll tell you
what my solution. It would be coming back on the
flip side, and we'll also bring in the crew and
get their opinions. We continue to debate next on Fox
Sports Radio. Be sure to catch live editions about Kick
the Coverage with Clay Travis week days at six am
Eastern three am Pacific. Oh back, I'm Clay Travis. Uh,

(16:30):
this is the guy go out kick Studios. Um, this
is a this is a big deal. I think, Uh,
surrounding Dak Prescott that isn't getting enough attention, and it's
surrounding Zeke Elliott. And that is the fact that, uh
that Amari Cooper and Dak Prescott are both going to
be free agents before Ezekiel Elliott is. So if you

(16:50):
are out there right now, UH, and you have been
hearing about Zeke Elliott and the holdout, think about what
a Marie Cooper and k Prescott must be thinking about
Ezekiel Elliott holding out because they are playing both in
the final years of their contract, and they are risking
everything when they are running around on the field. Every

(17:15):
time that a Marie Cooper plants on a route that
he's running, if his knee blows up. He's got thirteen
million that he's making this year, but it's the final
year of his rookie contract and then he'll be an
unrestricted free agent. And the same thing is true of
Dak Prescott. Imagine that Dak Prescott steps the wrong way

(17:35):
and he has a Teddy Bridgewater like injury. He's only
made four million dollars total through the first four years
of his contract. He's asking for massive money. But it's
wild to me that Dak Prescott and a Marie Cooper,
even though they don't have contracts for next year, are

(17:57):
showing up and putting in the work at training camp,
and Ezekiel Elliott, who still has two years left on
his deal, isn't in the camp with the Cowboys. I mean,
this is a big story, and I think it has
to do to a large degree with the potential to
create some dissension because all three of these guys are
wanting big money, and all three of them, you can argue,

(18:21):
are underpaid relative to what their market value might be.
And so as a result, how in the world do
you handle the decision that's going to be made if
you're Jerry Jones, Because you can't just focus on any
one of these guys. You have to have basically a
dollar value in your mind that you can afford to

(18:45):
pay for your quarterback, for your running back, and for
your wide receiver. And the risk that Dak and Amari
Cooper are putting out there by showing up despite the
fact that their contracts are up and they become theoretically
unrestricted free agents at the end of this year, makes
me want to reward them over Ezekiel Elliott, who's not

(19:09):
showing up right now. And the reason why Ezekiel Elliott
is holding out now, truthfully, is because he's afraid that
a Marie Cooper and Dak Prescott are gonna get taken
care of by the Cowboys, and that's not gonna leave
enough money for him to get taken care of. But
that's a tough situation for the Cowboys to find themselves

(19:30):
in where a Marie Cooper's contract is coming up, where
Dak Prescott's contract is coming up, and where the contract
of Ezekiel Elliott is coming up. So what would I do?
What do you do? If you are the Dallas Cowboys
to Dac and exactly contract demands forty million that he wants,
that's crazy. The highest paid player in the NFL right
now gets thirty five million. Dak clearly negotiating, would want

(19:53):
to become the highest paid player in the NFL and
the highest paid quarterback in the history of the game
as well. That's insane. Okay, the Cowboys, to me should
say to Dak Prescott, we will not go higher than
I think around thirty million dollars a year. I think
that's way overpaid. But I think your top dollar cost

(20:16):
has to be thirty million dollars if you're the Dallas Cowboys,
and I think more accurately, around twenty five million dollars
would be the right number. Now, all these contracts come
up at different years, but Andrew luck makes twenty four
point five million dollars, Tom Brady makes twenty three million.
Nick Foles is gonna make twenty two million. If you

(20:37):
told me that Nick Foles and Dak Prescott, We're gonna
make right around the same salary. I think Dak Prescott's
market value personally is right around twenty two million dollars.
I think Dak Prescott is worth twenty two million dollars
a year in my opinion on the open market. The
other thing that I think Jerry Jones and the Cowboys
have to decide here is how many teams out here

(21:00):
are willing to break the bank to pay Dak Prescott
thirty million dollars. I'm not sure there's a single team
that would pay him thirty million dollars. If you're the
Miami Dolphins, would you rather give Dak Prescott thirty million
dollars or would you rather use your draft pick to
go into the top of the first round and take
Justin Herbert take two? A talk about Loah potentially sit

(21:23):
around another year and take Trevor Lawrence when he comes
out after his junior year and it's the number one
overall pick. You have to look at the overall market.
Jake from I think potentially is gonna really blow people away,
and I think there's a good chance that he's gonna
come out after this year. I think there are three
guys that are gonna be at the very top of
the market. And there's always guys out there that rise

(21:45):
up that we don't anticipate in college football. But right now,
I think there's a good chance there are three guys
that go top ten in the NFL Draft next year.
Justin Herbert uh to a talk about Loah and Jake
from and there could be certainly other guys that rise up,
but I think there's a good chance all three of
those guys end up top ten picks. Why in the

(22:06):
world would you give Dak Prescott thirty million dollars if
you could roll the dice on one of those three
guys and their contract is only gonna cost you around
million dollars for multiple years, It's a no brainer to
me right now. You look at what a first round
quarterback costs as you determine whether or not he's the

(22:27):
right guy. Kyler Murray, for instance, over the next four years,
is gonna make thirty five million dollars. So if the
Arizona Cardinals are right and Kyler Murray is a really
good quarterback, he's gonna cost roughly about the same for
four years what Dak Prescott wants for one year going
forward with the Dallas Cowboys. I don't think anybody touches

(22:48):
him at thirty million dollars. I think you play hardball
with Dak. I think you go back to him and say, Okay,
this is our final offer. If you want to play
for the entire season and risk your entire future, knowing
that you've only made four million dollars, that's your opportunity.
We then will have the opportunity to franchise TAG you.

(23:09):
And if we decide to franchise TAG you, you'll make
a decent amount of salary for one year. But we
don't think that you've proven that you're worth anywhere near
over thirty million dollars. In fact, we think your market
value on the open market is around twenty two million dollars.
We think that you are about as attractive as Nick

(23:29):
Foles would be on the open market as a quarterback,
and we don't believe you're any higher than that at all.
And as a result, that is our final offer. That's
what I would say to Dak Prescott, because again, remember
you're gonna have to sign a Mari Cooper. You're gonna
have to sign Ezekiel Elliott at some point, and There's
only so much money you can pay for those guys.

(23:51):
And I think the real big story here about Dak
Prescott is one of the reasons why the Cowboys have
been able to be so successful is because they have
been able to pay the money that would otherwise be
going to a highly paid quarterback on other talent that
surrounds him. I think the Dallas Cowboy defense is more
important and more more integral to the long term impact

(24:16):
of the team than Dak Prescott is. And I'm not
an anti Dack guy. I loved watching him play at
Mississippi State. I think this is a huge decision that
the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones have to make, and
I think ultimately you have to be willing to let
Dak Prescott walk. I think some sometimes in negotiation, you

(24:39):
have to be willing to recognize that what somebody wants
from you is so outside the bounds of what their
market value is actually worth that you have to be
prepared to let them walk and potentially go back into
the market and try and draft another young quarterback. You
got I as much as you can get out of

(25:01):
Deak Prescott. I'm not sure that his ceiling is that
much higher. I'm not sure he's any better than an
average starting quarterback in the NFL. You lose a lot
of football games in the future if you pay average
starting quarterbacks in the NFL top five money. There's no
way the Dallas Cowboys can do that, all right, let
me bring in the crew. I mean squarely, like there's

(25:23):
almost like a Mendoza line for quarterbacks. He's got much
more in common with Nick Foles and with let's say
Andy Dalton, like very middle of the road. In my opinion,
starting quarterbacks not an insult than he does Wilson or
or Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady or any of the

(25:44):
other guys that were certainly Patrick Mahomes that right now
we believe are the best quarterbacks in the league. Danny
G what would you do here? Remember how you laid
out your plan about how NBA teams should all have
one exception when it comes to the cap. Too bad.
NFL teams couldn't have that for quarterbacks because I'd be
way more concerned as a Cowboys fan about resigning Deck

(26:07):
than I would be about a Mari or Zeke because
it's such a quarterback league. Now, forty million is kind
of delusional. Not kind of delusional, It is delusional. There
was a report back in June saying that Dak's agent
wanted somewhere around thirty four million dollars annually. You think
that's too much, So thirty is the Mendoza line. Thirty

(26:28):
is too high. But if it's important for Dad to
get to thirty because it's some sort of validation to him,
and because he was underpaid the first four years, I
do think that's his agent's gonna play that card because
he made what just under seven hundred thousand dollars. I
think it is each season. And I was looking up
his stats for three seasons. Ten thousand, eight hundred seventy

(26:50):
six yards, almost eleven thousand yards, sixty sevent t d s,
twenty five interceptions, a nineties six radio. All of those
things are great. You're saying that you would take Stafford,
Mariota and car maybe over deck. They're right around him.
I think they're I think that very they're very similar.
I think that that the Dallas Cowboys have an incredible defense,

(27:11):
and I think they have put him in position alongside
a Zeke Elliott, who has been a massive portion of
the Dallas Cowboy offense. I think they have an incredible
offensive line that they built to be able to protect
Tony Romo because they knew that he was on the
back end of his career. And I think that the
talent that surrounds Dak as a result at positions other

(27:34):
than uh that he doesn't really have any impact on
the game itself from a quarterback perspective, I e. The defense.
I think Dallas Cowboys have a lot of really good
young talent around him. I don't believe that Doc is
any better than an average quarterback in the NFL, and
I think that's the question you have to ask yourself
when you're trying to assess his overall value. But he
took the team to the playoffs two of his first

(27:55):
three seasons, and last year when he got his first
playoff w against the Seahawks. If you remember that game,
he put the team on his back. So that's the
difference over Stafford, Mariota, and car is that he leads
the Cowboys to winning season Mariota to give you an example,
And I don't think anybody out there would argue that

(28:16):
Mariota is anywhere near like He's probably at best twenty
million dollar a year guy, right, and that's at the
high end of what Mariota is. I would put Dak
Prescott right around the same level. But he's only made
the playoffs once in four seasons though, but he's had
three straight winning years. He has the same number of
playoff career wins as Dak Prescott. So I think that

(28:38):
Mariota is very similar to Dak. I think that, um
when you actually break down the amount of talent that
Dak has around him everything else, the Cowboys are a
very talented team, and so for a guy to argue
that he deserves forty million dollars is wild and insane.
Even from a negotiation perspective, and I love people out there,

(28:59):
it's like, you don't even understand how negotiation works. Yeah,
I do. If you walk in and tell me that
you want something that's so outside the bounds of negotiation
that inclines me to believe that negotiating with you is worthless, right,
I mean, I'm just gonna be honest, Like, there is
a fine art to negotiation. Part of negotiation is understanding
your value enough to walk in, Like, for instance, we

(29:22):
need got I negotiate. People are like, you don't understand
I negotiate a lot of contracts, right. I negotiated my contracts.
I've helped other people negotiate their contracts. If I go
in for my next Fox Sports Radio contract and they say, okay,
what do you what? What what kind of uh what?
What are your demands? And I say I want to
make ten million dollars a year, they would say, okay, next,

(29:43):
like like, You're starting point is utterly absurd, right, And
that actually, I think hurts you in the overall negotiation
because you're not coming in with a good faith effort
to actually negotiate a contract. Um I I I have
been involved in so many different negotiations. A huge part

(30:04):
of it is understanding what your market value is. If
you come in and you're Dak Prescott and you say,
we expect to become the highest paid quarterback in the
history of the NFL, and I also expect, as a
result of that, to become the highest paid player in
the history of the NFL, that's the starting point that's

(30:25):
not worth engaging on if I'm the Dallas Cowboys, because
my response is we love Dak. We think he's been
very good as a quarterback for us. He is nowhere
near the best quarterback in the NFL. He is nowhere
near the best player in the history of the NFL.
That's a non starter. I think if you look at
right now what guys make, and I think that's what

(30:45):
you have to do. You have to look at the
market for quarterbacks. Russell Wilson's making thirty five million dollars
a year. He's won a Super Bowl, He's nearly one two.
He is a much better quarterback than Dak Prescott. Every
single person out there listening to us right now would
rather have Russell Wilson. Roethlisberger is making thirty four million.

(31:06):
He's won two Super Bowls. He has been with the
Steelers a long time A lot of times. The function
of what you make is how long you have been
in the league, because your salaries keep going up if
you're performing at a high level. Big ben like whatever.
He is thirty five, thirty six years old, not an
even remote comparable to Dak Prescott, Aaron Rodgers, come on, stop, uh,

(31:27):
Carson Wentz. I think the Eagles got Carson Wentz and
gave him way too much money. Matt Ryan makes thirty
million dollars a year. Matt Ryan, that's the absolute Apex.
I would go to give Dak money that would make
him the fifth highest paid quarterback, tied with Matt Ryan
in the league. Matt Ryan is an infinitely better quarterback

(31:47):
in my opinion than Dak Prescott, particularly if you look
at the surrounding talent. Kirk Cousins twenty eight million. I
think Kirk Cousins I would rather have Jimmy Garoppolo I
think is overpaid relative to what he's been able to
accomplish so far. He's getting twenty seven and a half million,
Matt Stafford twenty seven million, Derek Carr twenty five million,

(32:08):
Drew Brees five million, Andrew Luck five Tom Brady twenty
three million. Again, I think that Dak is Joe Flacco.
I think he's Nick Foles. Right around twenty two million
dollars is what I think he would be worth on
the open market. Will continue to break this down. What
is Dak worth? I'll ask the rest of the crew.

(32:28):
This is out Kicked. Thanks for hanging with us on
him Tuesday in August. This is Fox Sports Radio. This
is Outkicked. The coverage with Clay Travis. Welcome back, Geico
OutKick Studios. All right, bringing in the crew, Danny g
bottom line dollar value, I would go no higher than

(32:49):
like thirty two million dollars. Thirty two is too high,
I think, But thirty two million is your top line. Dub.
You are Jerry Jones, you are negotiating with Dak Prescott,
keeping in my that you've got Ezekiel Elliott sitting out
and a Marie Cooper whose contract is also running out
this year. And again, I think it's a big part
of this story is imagine what a Marie Cooper and
Dak Prescott are thinking about Zeke sitting out with two

(33:12):
years left while they are playing in the final year
of their contract, and every step they take in training
camp could theoretically be a major injury that impacts their
long term earnings potential in a way that frankly wouldn't
be impacted by Ezekiel Elliott getting hurt because if he did,
he'd come back for another year. What do you do?
What's the max value that you're willing to pay Dak Prescott.

(33:35):
If I'm Jerry Jones, I pretty much dare all the
other thirty one teams to pay Dak Prescott over twenty million?
I would I think you put in the ground at
twenty five and say, okay, go look around, go shop around.
If anyone else gives you this money, then go I mean,
this is so outrageous. The forty million is just unthinkably insane,
and thirty million, to me is still crazy. I'd say

(33:55):
that's my top offer, and you can go search all
you want. Yeah, you give him a war year twenty
five million dollar a year deal. That's a hundred million dollars.
You're guaranteeing him a hundred million dollars. And then you say,
and I think that's a good point. Everybody is a
function of not just what what your current boss is
willing to pay you, but what your market value is.

(34:17):
If you are a free agent, is there anybody in
the NFL who is paying him twenty five million dollars
a year or more. I just don't believe it. I
don't believe there's a single NFL team that, if Dak
Prescott were an unrestricted free agent right now, would be
rushing to give him twenty five million dollars a year. Again,
nick Foles just got twenty two million a year from

(34:38):
the Jacksonville Jaguars. Nick Foles has won more playoff games
than Dak Prescott. He has got a pretty good resume, right,
I mean, if you want to look at his best
full season that he produced with the Eagles years ago,
and then what he's been able to do when he
gets into the postseason, He's one. If I'm not mis

(35:00):
they can four NFL playoff games, Dak Prescott has won one,
He's won a Super Bowl. We know he's capable of
incredibly high level play when necessary. Uh. To me, this
is a this is a no brainer. I I just
I really don't believe anybody gives him more than twenty
five million dollars. Eddie Garcia, what would you do? Well?

(35:20):
I think the thirty million dollars is uh is very
generous of the Dallas Cowboys agree. And I wonder if
Dak and his agent feel empowered because Jerry Jones speaks
so glowingly of Dak Prescott. If you ever listened to
Jerry Jones talking about him, he talks about him like
he's an elite quarterback. So the only thing I can

(35:41):
think of is that because of that, maybe they feel like,
you know, they can ask for the moon. But I'm
in agreement with all all of you guys that again,
this is a very generous offer, and he should take
it immediately. Do you think anybody would give him more
than twenty five million dollar? Would anybody give him more
more than a four year, hundred million dollar deal if

(36:03):
he was an unrestricted free agent? I don't think so. Now, yeah,
I mean I again, I think you have to assess
not just what you were going to pay a guy,
but what the market value would be. And Jerry Jones
is an old oil man. You have to be able
to sometimes walk away from a negotiation and say, hey, Dac,
you're an undrestricted free agent, go out and see what
you can get. Here's our final offer um, which, by

(36:24):
the way, you might be able to take anyway. I
might be able to willing to resign you, even to
a four year, hundred million dollar deal if you can't
do better than that out on the open market. Roberto,
you believe anybody is out there gonna give Dak more
than twenty million dollars a year. I think I think
somebody might because it's it's a quarterback driven league. But

(36:46):
I say, when it goes out this year and he
just stinks up the joint, I can see the Butts
maybe paying him four years a hard a million, or
let's say the Chargers, right and the last year maybe
with Philip Rivers day he stinks up to joint, maybe
the Chargers go. But even even for those teams, even
for those teams, And it's an interesting point. And by
the way, I'll open up the phone lines. I'm curious.

(37:08):
I don't want to hear from Cowboy fans. But if
you were on the open market here maybe Cowboy fans too,
But open the phone lines eight seven, seven, six, three
six nine. Within the context of your favorite team, would
you rather have Dak Prescott or the quarterback that you
have right now? And it's interesting, Roberto, you mentioned the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and you mentioned the Chargers. Why would

(37:31):
you not be willing if you're those teams to go
back into the NFL draft, if you're gonna draft a
guy because they cost so much the less. And you
got Herbert out there, You've got Jake from You've got
to a talk of Boloa. Who are all top ten guys.
I think next year we'll continue to discuss on out kick.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports

(37:52):
radio dot Com and within the I Heart Radio apps
search f s R to listen live oh from the
Gico OutKick Studios. We're talking about Dak Prescott and the
contract decision the Dallas Cowboys have to make. If you're
just waking up with us, thanks for starting your morning
without Kick as by the way, tons of you have

(38:13):
been doing nationwide. I want to thank all of the
audience out there over three a MFM stations, satellite radio, streaming,
on podcast wherever you may be across the country or
the world. This is pretty wild. Um. In h the
spring and I tweeted this out, we were up fifty
one percent over last year, So I mean that is

(38:37):
just a massive increase. A lot of people in media
right now are trying to grow at you know, one
or two percent or even stay even. Our audience is
just exploding, and that's because of word of mouth, because
of you guys, because of all our good affiliate stations
a MFM. Lots of good news coming on the show
uh in the weeks and months ahead. But for you guys,

(38:59):
I just want to say banks and obviously for our
guests and all the support of the show that you
guys have had. Were four years in now I think, um,
and obviously for the crew that's on the show now
as well. Uh, it's pretty outstanding. I mean too in
this competitive media market. I'm, you know, incredibly gratified by
how many people are choosing to start off your morning
with us. So, uh, the decision though that uh that

(39:22):
that Dak and Zeke and a Marie Cooper and Jerry
Jones and everybody with the Dallas Cowboys, they're all connected
because while a lot of attention has gone to Ezekiel
Elliott's hold out, he's got two years left on his deal.
A Marie Cooper only has what this is last year,
it's contract year for him. Dak Prescott this is a
contract year for him. So ultimately, the Dallas Cowboys don't

(39:44):
just have to decide what Doc is worth. They have
to decide what Dak, Amari Cooper, and Ezekiel Elliott are
all worth as a crew and how that impacts their
overall ability to put forth the best possible team that
they can to compete in the NFC East. And I think,
dub I think you hit it. I think the reports
are out there that that Dak has turned down a

(40:05):
thirty million dollar deal and that he's demanded forty million dollars.
I don't think there's a single NFL team that would
pay Dak Prescott twenty five million dollars a year. I
think that the peak of Dak Prescott's value on the
open market right now is four years a hundred million dollars.
So twenty five million dollars a year I think is

(40:25):
a good number now if Jerry Jones is willing to
go close to thirty because he looks at what Dak
got paid the last four years under his fourth round
rookie contract and says, Okay, part of what we're gonna
pay Dak for the next four years is what we
didn't have to pay him last year. Let's make it
up to him and pretend that he had been paid

(40:45):
as a first round quarterback, because I think he's a
first round quarterback, and he's a Dallas Cowboy quarterback, and
he's been a great leader for our team. And unlike
Ezekiel Elliott who's sitting out for two years left on
his contract, uh never as Dak Prescott set out and
demanded a new deal even though he's wildly underpaid under

(41:06):
his currently existing deal. If all those things are true,
maybe you give him more money than he would otherwise
receive elsewhere. But on the open market, I don't think
Dak Prescott is getting more than twenty five million dollars
a year, and I'm not sure how many teams would
even offer that. Again, Nick Foles just went on the
open market. He got twenty two million a year. Kirk
Cousins went on the open market. He got twenty eight

(41:28):
million dollars a year. I think I might well rather
have both of those guys, then I would Dak Prescott.
And I think twenty five million that you hit DUB
is a pretty good number. We opened up the phone lines.
I want to hear from the OutKick crew out there, Dubb.
But who should we go to first? We got Tommy
down in Florida. Tommy, what's up? What's Dack's value? Hey,

(41:50):
hey man, great show of congratulations on all your success.
Appreciate that. Here's here's the here's the point that I
gotta make. And I think you guys got all this
stuff wrong. I keep here and for years of how
this is a quarterback driven lead, It's really not. I
did a little did a little research of Matt Ryan
versus Joe Montana. Nobody would consider Matt Ryan the greatest

(42:11):
quarterback of all time, but many say Montana is Matt
Ryan statistically destroyed. Just let me just pause you here
for a second. That's because the game has changed substantially
since Joe Montana was a quarterback. And so my point
is is that all of these quarterbacks are are They're
not worth anywhere close to what they're being paid. I

(42:33):
got into a conversation with your call with your call screener,
and we both said the same thing. You could you
could just get a new quarterback every four years. I mean,
these guys are very average. They've made the position so
easy to play that you don't have to be great.
Look at the guys that we think are great in
the NFL, Why aren't they winning every year? And look
at the guys that win Eli Manning, Nick Foles, Jared

(42:56):
Golf was really close to winning last year. These guys
aren't great quarterbacks. Then you've got guys like Drew Brees
and Aaron Riders that they're not winning anything. Look at
River statistically, he's fantastic. He can't win anything. Yeah, thanks
for thanks, But look those guys put their teams into
positions to make the playoffs and contend for championships every year. Yes,

(43:18):
Aaron Rodgers only has one Super Bowl. He's put the
Packers into position to win a lot of Super Bowls
over the years. Yes, Philip Rivers has never won a
Super Bowl, but the Chargers have been in the conversation
a lot of years. And by the way, Philip Rivers
only makes twenty two million dollars. I think it is
next year, so if you think I've got again. And

(43:39):
partly this is a function of when contracts come up
to market, because remember when Matthew Stafford gets paid, people
are like, oh, Matthew Staffords nowhere near the highest bid
or best court call. Matthew Stafford makes twenty seven million
now because he's like a top ten quarterback according to contracts.
Because his contract came up and Derek Carr got twenty
five million. That's been blown asked. But right now Philip

(44:02):
Rivers makes twenty less than twenty one million dollars a year.
So Philip Rivers twenty point eight million, Eli Manning twenty
one million, Nick Foles twenty two million, Joe Flacco twenty
two million. Tom Brady has always been underpaid just about
twenty three million But to me, I think Dak is

(44:22):
around a twenty two million dollar a year guy, and
it is a quarterback driven league, but you can still
overpay for an average quarterback. And I think that's what
Doc is. Who's up next? Up Chris in California? Chris?
What would you do? Yeah? Okay, thanks for taking my
phone call. Play um. Yeah, I just want to say,
and I think you're dad on everything you explained. I

(44:46):
think the only point I want to make is I
think Dac is a product of the system. What you explained,
great offensive line and his z kill Elliott. How many
quarterbacks did you would rate better than Dak Prescott? What
would they would do with the Dallas Cowboys? They would
be great on that team thanks to I mean, the
easy question is if Nick Foles was lining up behind

(45:07):
the Dallas Cowboy offensive line to start off a week one,
would Dallas Cowboy fans think, oh my god, this team
is so much worse. If Kirk Cousins were gonna be
under center for the Dallas Cowboys this year, would Cowboy
fans think, oh my god, we're gonna be so much horrors?
I think the answer, I mean, I again, Doc is

(45:29):
the quintessential average quarterback. In the NFL, quarterbacks matter a
great deal. Where you can get in trouble is overpaying
an average quarterback because that means that you are in
a tough spot going forward. All right, just keep rolling through.
Who we got? Alright? Cool? We got fran and Pennsylvania.
What would you do? Okay? See this is this is

(45:52):
what I think makes the difference with Dax Now as
far as him being an average quarterback to throne, he
has to make the tangible yes, I see that, But
his lead either ship, what he does under pressure, his
image for the Dallas Cowboys, America's team, that's what's getting
Dak paid. That's what's why they're raising. It's so high
for him because they know, like that is the leader

(46:12):
of this team. They love him in Dallas, they love
him on the team, his players. That's what separates Deak
and why and will another team pay that? Absolutely? I
think John Elway would carry him up to Denver if
he could. That's interesting. I don't think there's any way
that John Elway would give Dak Prescott thirty million dollars
a year. I just don't. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't

(46:35):
think that that that there's any way on the planet
that would happen now. I do think there are intangible
qualities to Dak Prescott that Jerry Jones certainly loves, and
the representation that he has brought to bear as the
quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys has been I think sterling
for Jerry Jones. I think also Jerry Jones looks at

(46:56):
Dak as his modern day Troy Aikman, and I think
he looks at Zeke his modern day EMITTT. Smith. And
I think he looks at a Marie Cooper is his
modern day Michael Irvin. I think in Jerry Jones's world,
he's been constantly trying to replicate that trio for most
of his life, and he thought he had it with
Tony Romo, he thought he had it with Jason Witten

(47:16):
With who was a modern day Nova check right, Like
think about this from the perspective of Jerry Jones. I
do think that he's willing to overpay Dak for some
of those reasons. But overpaying Dak might be thirty million
dollars a year, It's sure as hell ain't nowhere near
forty million dollars a year. And again, if you're Jerry Jones,
the question that I would ask him is worst case scenario,

(47:39):
Dak Prescott hits the open market. Now you don't even
have to worry about that because you could franchise tag him.
But worst case scenario, let's pretend that Dak hits the
open market. I don't think the market is going to
be that good. I think he might well come right
back to you with his tail tucked between his legs
and say, you know, what is that contract that you

(48:01):
offered me still available? I think Jerry might be willing
to give that to him. I almost think letting him
test the market can help the cowboys here, because I
don't know where he's gonna go, where he's gonna get
paid a ton of money. Who's up next, dub We
got a couple more. We got a victor in l
A victor. What do you do? Thanks for the calling him? Uh?

(48:22):
I want to say, first of all, I'm a Dolphins fan.
We're paying like twelve million for both of our quarterbacks.
There's no way I would go anywhere over two million. Yes,
let me stop you here for a second, Victor, you
are a Dolphins fans, a perfect example of a team
that has a decision to make let's assume I think
it's fair to say that Ryan Fitzpatrick and also that

(48:44):
that Ryan Fitzpatrick is not the guy for the future
of the Miami Dolphins, even though right now he is
leading that quarterback debate. Josh Rosen is probably not going
to be the future of the Miami Dolphins if he
can't beat out Ryan Fitzpatrick. Expectation as Dolphins not gonna
be that good. Will be one of the teams up
near the top of the NFL draft board. You've got
to You've got Justin Herbert, and you've got Jake from

(49:07):
three guys that I'm laying out who I think are
all potential top ten guys. Would you rather pay relatively small? Again,
I said that Kyler Murray's making thirty five million dollars
over the next four years average about what is that
a little bit less than nine million dollars a year
for a first quarterback? Would you rather pay a round
nine million dollars a year for a first round quarterback

(49:29):
that could be a stud or give uh Dak Prescott
million dollars or more. No, you've got it right. There's
no way I would come both pay them that. Yeah,
that's the one thing I will say, though, is that
I think the reason he asked for the ridiculous number is,
like you just said, Jerry Dolan is trying to replicate
that what the Dallas Cowboys have. And I will say

(49:51):
that if without press cut uh, that that that team
might have to go through a semi rebuilding stage. But
they're not, like you said, they could franchise tage him.
So even if you take the worst NFL team, they're
not gonna pay him anywhere near dollars. You should jump

(50:12):
on that. You got it right, thanks. And the way
I think you have to contemplate it is if you're
a bad NFL team and you don't have a franchise quarterback.
Let's say you're the Miami Dolphins. Let's say Jamie's doesn't
work out and the Bucks decided to cut bait there.
Let's say the Titans it doesn't work out with Marcus
Mariota and they cut bait. Let's say that Philip Rivers

(50:33):
suddenly decides, even though he's still not that old relative
to uh, Drew Brees or two Tom Brady. Let's say
Philip Rivers decides to go. You're more likely, I think,
to see value in going into the NFL draft and
getting a guy in the first round who could be
a nine or ten million dollar a year quarterback, because

(50:55):
if you're wrong there, it doesn't cost you that much money.
In the Rand scheme of things. If you're wrong on Dak,
it costs you a hundred million dollars anybody else Dublished
I go to break. Yeah, we got one more. Let's
go to Charlie and Dayton. Charlie, what would you do? Y? Yeah,
you called us? Hey, man, uh, I think if Dad

(51:18):
doesn't design right now, he's taking a huge gamble because
there's a huge thing going on in the NFL. Howard
Murray had any except here, and Baker continues, that's that's it's.
I mean, the window of is gonna be huge. And
you know, as a Bengals fan, we're not looking for

(51:39):
anybody like Dak. We're looking more for Nai and so
if he doesn't signed, man, that's a huge gamble. You're
a Bengals fan. If you could replace Andy Dalton with
Dak Prescott, but you had to pay Dak Prescott twenties
five million dollars a year, would you want to do
it right now? Andy Dalton makes six team? No, Yeah, no,

(52:04):
I would I want to go in the draft and
look for a fact that they so tired. Yeah, that's
why we took up five year old coach. Yeah, I
mean that's what's happening. It's over. I mean the window
the quarterback is gonna explode. They're gonna take everybody. Thanks
for the call. I think that's a great example of

(52:25):
I think the Bengals have been kind of perpetually in
mid range quarterback bill. And what I would just find
as mid range quarterback bill is when you got a
guy like Andy Dalton who's you feel like pretty good
but isn't great. You're afraid of going back into the

(52:46):
market because you might end up with a really bad pick,
but you also don't feel like you've got a franchise guy.
So you're stuck in that perpetual middle ground where eight
and eight, nine and seven, seven and nine, six and ten,
tenants six, all those numbers are in play, but you're
never gonna be able to take that step where suddenly, hey,
we're the best team in the a f C or

(53:08):
the best team in the NFC. You're like the guy
who doesn't really like his girlfriend but doesn't think he
can do that much better. How often do you see
could be very other way to girl who doesn't really
like her boyfriend. How often do you see a couple
stay together and it's clear they don't really like each other,
but both of them think, I'm not really sure I

(53:28):
can do that much better. That's where a lot of
NFL teams are. That's where I think the Dallas Cowboys are.
I think that Jerry Jones has got the most average
quarterback in the NFL, and I think the worst thing
you can do in the NFL is overpay the most
average quarterback in the league. I don't blame Dak for
asking for it. If the Cowboys give it to him,

(53:50):
they're insane. Anything to me over like thirty million dollars
is insane. If if Jerry Jones has truly offered thirty
million dollars and Dak is saying no, they need to
get Dak Prescott in the m r I machine and
make sure his brain is functioning properly, because thirty million
dollars a year. There ain't no way anybody's paying Dak
Prescott twenty five million dollars a year on the open

(54:12):
market if he has truly turned down thirty million dollars
a year. They need to put him in the m
r I machine. They need to scan him through the brain,
the brain machine and make sure whether or not he
is got mental faculties working, because he has no guarantees
right now. If he takes a wrong step like Teddy
Bridgewater did, boom, He's made four million dollars and he's

(54:33):
gonna have to go through incredible rehab. I give Dak
credit for playing, but I've taken thirty million dollars and
a heartbeat if I'm Dak Prescott. That's way more than
he has actually worked. When we come back, John Morosey
joins us every single week, we got some interesting baseball stories.
We come down the stretch here in August. The Mets
are on fire, Dodgers also rolling. We'll see what's going

(54:56):
on exactly with the Yankees, who are also firing on
all cylinders, and get the latest there. I think Morosi
even has an opinion on what the Cowboys should do
with Dak Prescott. Will discuss that with him, and also
the fact that college football is close. He's a huge
Jim Harbaugh fan. What are the expectations for the Wolverines.
We'll touch on all that. John Rosie's next. This is

(55:16):
OutKick on Fox Sports Radio. This is Outkicked, the coverage
with clayt Traffics. It's Clayton Kershaw's walk up music. He
pitches tonight to Uh. This is the guy co OutKick Studios.
John Rosy covers Major League Baseball hockey. It's a big

(55:37):
Michigan Wolverine fan. We've been talking a lot about Dak
and contracts. Can you remember a situation where you felt
like a guy got paid a lot more in baseball
than he otherwise would have because the owner loved him.
There's an element of this Dak Prescott Jerry Jones negotiation

(55:57):
where it seems like Jerry Jones has been in kind
of in Dak Prescott's corner for a long time, and
if he gives him massive dollars, it seems like Jerry
just really feels an affinity with Dak Prescott. You don't
hear that as much maybe in baseball, But I'm curious
if you can remember a story like that. Well, good morning,

(56:19):
Clay and and yeah, I can recall a couple mcgull,
Cabrera and Detroit comes to mind. Uh, Mike ellis that
the late Mike Killich signed Cabrera to an extension a
massive one UH two years before his his deal was
actually up UH and and I believe that was Mike's
intention to to have that contract represent basically thank you

(56:41):
to Miguel for for the amazing m VP years, the
Triple Crown year, and of course getting to the World Series.
But that contract has not worked out for the Tigers. UH.
Similar situation, I believe for the Reds with Joey Vado.
I think in both cases midwestern team, not the biggest markets,

(57:02):
and and those deals have in many ways hampered their
payrolls going forward. So it's not a it's not an
argument for or against the Cowboys paying Dak Prescott three
million dollars a year. But that's UH a comparison in
baseball that that I think is somewhat apt in that
both deals were signed before the players became free agents,

(57:24):
and and I think there was an element of wanting
to keep both players in the uniform at almost any cost,
even to the detriment of the team. And I think
in some cases that's been the case when you look
at the performance here here this season. We're talking to
John Morosy. Go follow him on Twitter at John Morosey,
major League Baseball insider for FS one. Fox Sports also

(57:46):
does hockey with us when it's hockey season. What in
the world's happened with the Mets? I believe they're fourteen
and two in their last sixteen they've put themselves into
position to contend for a wild card. Mickey Colloway, who
had seemed to like is gonna get fired now is
like manager of the year. Uh is this a white
hot just totally a Barren unexpected run or is there

(58:09):
something more substantial in the foundation here? Well, Clay, really
this is one of the great top in baseball right
now because they're they're a confusing team. Uh. We look
at their entire season, but of late, they've been incredibly entertaining. Uh.
They really think that what has changed them has been
their rotation. All season long. They've been led by some

(58:33):
young hitters. Uh. Pete Alonso is one, Jeff McNeil's another,
Michel Michael Confordo, who of course we saw emerge in
the twenty fifteen World Series and then injuries that sidetracked him.
Now he is back. Uh. So that group has led
the way in in so many ways that this season,
but the pitch has just gotten better, and I think

(58:55):
that's the biggest difference. That the offense has been there,
but now the pitching is too and and forever Clay,
they've had the ability to pitch like this the gram Synderguard.
Now they add Marcus Stroman to that mix, Stephen Matt's
Zach Wheeler when healthy, gets one of the very best
rotations in baseball, one that can arguably stand toto toe

(59:17):
with the Dodgers or anybody else in the playoffs series.
So I think there are some nervous teams right now,
Clay in the National League, they do not want to
see the Mets in October. And if they find a
way to make it to the playoffs, and then when
that wild Card game you mentioned Clint Kershe on the Dodgers,
I think they'd be none too pleased to face the

(59:38):
Mets is October. Let's go to the Dodgers. Right now,
they're sitting at seventy nine and forty one. I believe
that is the exact same record as the Yankees, best
record in all of baseball. They have this unbelievable home
record of forty and sixteen. Are there any reasons in
your mind to be nervous other than what you just

(01:00:00):
hit us with with the Mets. When it comes to
the Dodgers being the best team in the n L, well,
they are the best team. They'll be the top seed
in the playoffs almost certainly in the National League, and
and they have every reason to enter this this postseason
with even more momentum than they've had in the past.
Of course, they've won the division every single year since

(01:00:21):
a remarkable stretch. Uh, they're almost halfway to the Braves.
So when you think about what they what they did,
which is really incredible to think that they were, the
Braves were sustainably good for for even longer than with
the Dodgers have been. But I think in general this
team can be a little bit concerned about their bothmen.
They did not really address it at the deadline that

(01:00:42):
there were a lot of people, myself included, who would
have said that trading Dustin May and Kieber ruise in
the minor leagues it would have been a fine strategy
if it was going to allow them to get Flip
Vaska as who I believe is the is the closer
that they really needed, or at least the co closer
along with Kenley jan and so I think Clay there's

(01:01:03):
a high probability that that at some point in time
in the playoffs, they're going to really miss that that
lack of the they'll they'll miss that close or the
co closure they should have there with Kenny Jansen to
help less in the load and and simply that they
just did not acquire that picture at the deadline this year.

(01:01:24):
So I think there'll be some regret there. The big
the big unknown is I mentioned Dustin May as being
a possible prospect they could have traded. Well. Since the deadline,
Dustin May has come on and he's arrived the major
leagues and he's got tremendous stuff and great moxie. And also,
by the way, Clay were one of the best heads
of air in baseball others the slowing red Locks. He

(01:01:47):
is called, by way of a nickname ginger Guard, because
he's got a similar hair and stature and stuff to
know a synder Gard, but of course he has red hair,
so he is known as injured Guard. Love that nickname
really clever. And I think as long as as long
as May can find success in October fishing out of

(01:02:09):
the bullpen play, then I think that the deal, the
lack of a deal, has a chance to work out
pretty well for the for the Dodgers, and in fact,
they would be able to say, listen, you were all
clamoring for us to trade this guy. He's now a
key guy in our on our bullpen, and by the way,
we'll have him in our organization for years to come.
So a lot of really interesting topics there to discuss

(01:02:29):
with the Dodgers Braves bullpen has been a little bit
of a disaster, and that might be putting it mildly. Uh,
they had a blown opportunity here coming down the stretch.
Now the Mets are coming down to town in Atlanta.
Do the Braves have what it takes to hang on
in the NL East? I know they've got a pretty
substantial lead with only what forty two games left in

(01:02:52):
the season, But the Nationals are coming on, the Mets
are coming on. The Phillies have a lot of talent.
What's going to happen in the NL Well, Claire, it's
a great question. The NL East, I think is one
of the most enjoyable divisions to talk about right now
in baseball, And Uh, you're right, it's a it's a
big showdown series. If the Mets want to find a
way to put themselves into the division. Conversation, Um, they

(01:03:15):
almost need to sweep here. They could probably handle, uh,
just winning the series, but a sweep is almost required
for them to have a legitimate shot at this division,
given where we're out right now in the schedule. Um,
with the Braves, you're right that they brought in. They
made all the right moves. I would have said on
deadline day, they did everything you're supposed to do. They

(01:03:38):
added not one reliever, not two relievers, but three, and
they're all pretty accomplished. Shane Green is one name that
I think really is is come on and and uh
it pitched so well for the Tigers this year, but
not so much for the national For the Nationals, He's
got an the r A above nine for the Nationals
with two blown saves. Mark Planson's come in and Mark

(01:04:00):
lens and now was going to be the closer after
Green had struggled so much after the first week or
so of his tenure, and then Chris Martin from the Rangers.
So they added three guys, all of whom got a
big thumbs up from me. I thought it was a
really great strategy for them the deadline that just has
not worked out. And now that this is the week
to your point, Clay playing the Mets, where if they're

(01:04:20):
going to get nervous, if this is going to get
to be a real concern with the division. I think
we'll know by by the end of this week, and
how the Mets play against the Braves. In a really
great August showdown series, um interesting showdown series. A while back,
it looked like the Twins We're just gonna absolutely run

(01:04:42):
away with the a L Central And now they are
a half game back from the Cleveland Indians. What in
the world's happening in the a L Central, Well, Clare,
that's a twelve game swing the Twins at one point
time we're ahead by eleven and a half games. And
the Indians have just played incredible baseball since the start

(01:05:03):
of July, um even the start of June. In fact, uh,
they've gotten better and more consistent pitching that the team
has been built around there pitching for a long time.
Of course, Corey Kluber has been out and Carlos Carrasco
has been on the injured list while he's battling leukemia.
They hope he'll he'll be back before the years over,
which is a remarkable story. They traded Trevor by Our

(01:05:24):
following his his outburst there in Kansas City throwing the
ball over the fence, which I think was coming long
before then. But it's been their young accombination of their
young pitching. UH. Aaron sevali Is is one name, Zach
Plisack is another. They've both been excellent, UM and so
that the Indians to be able to trust some new
faces to really get the job done. And then on

(01:05:45):
the offensive side, UH, josiramira Is getting going has been
so important. He is in many ways Clay that the
kallist of that team. Yes, they've got a number of
luminaries there in Francisco Lindors an m v P caliber
player Jason Kibbs has bounced back to but getting Zira
Mir's back to being himself has been so important. He

(01:06:06):
was a top five m VP guy last year and
he really struggled in the first half, and now he's
back to being himself. It's like getting an all start
at the trade deadline. And he's been so important to
the Indians and I think right now you would say Clay.
Based on where the standings are that the Twins, the
Twins now trailing the Indians by half a game, UH,

(01:06:26):
and the Indians having all of the momentum. I think
that it's right now there's a better than fifty fifty
chance that the Twins, that the Twins finished second, the
Indians find a way to win this division. Last division
question for you Cubs, Cardinals, and the Brewers. This battle
has been pretty intense in the NL Central all season long.

(01:06:47):
Who's gonna win this division? Clad? I believe the answer
is the Cubs. Uh. They have I think the more
consistent rotation of that group. I am worried about Christian
Yellows is back, although I was told by a source
yesterday they expect him to come back today and rejoin
the lineup. But we have seen Clay in this sport.
Back issues can linger, they can become long term concerns.

(01:07:10):
So until I see yell At on the field every
day for a couple of weeks and back to being himself,
I'll be a little bit nervous about that. UM. And
so I've got the Cubs winning the division. UM, Bryant
and Rizzo and Confreris. There's still too much big game,
know how there for me to for me to pick

(01:07:30):
anybody else, have your biases. One more, but the Cardinals, Clay,
are a fascinating team. They can go and I've seen
them a couple different times this year. They can go
from being a team that I would say, yeah, they
could win that division by five games to being a
team and I say, you know what, Clay, they could
They could be a third place team distantly and and

(01:07:51):
have to hold off the Reds to finish third. But
they are so inconsistent. Uh. Carpenter has been on the
entry list. Fowler has been both good and bad this year,
but for the most party has been better, but still
not as consistent as they want. Mike Shilt, the manager,
it is such an interesting team and such an unpredictable

(01:08:14):
team that I can't go with them on the top spots.
So I've got the Cubs winning the Central I know
I said last question, but this one, I think is
the actual last question. We're talking to John Morrosy. What
what what does a team like the Dodgers do that's
gonna win their division. I'm looking at the standings right now,
They're up eighteen and a half games, on the Diamondbacks.
How do you come down the stretch of the season

(01:08:35):
when you've got roughly forty games left and you're gonna
clinch I mean within the next ten or twelve days.
It wouldn't be stunning for them to have locked up
the NL West. From a mathematical perspective, what do you
do then? Well, great point, and we have seen teams
stumble late in the season. Uh. In in fact, Clay
and in this wild cardio relatively small percentage of the teams.

(01:09:00):
It's a minority percentage of the teams. I think it's
almost now around thirty or thirty five percent, maybe lower
than that of the teams with the with the best
records in the regular season actually go on to win
the World Series. So there there are a lot of
different things that they can do. Uh. Looking forward, I
think you've got to rest your your guys. That they'll

(01:09:21):
be getting Rich hell back off the injured listening, finding
a way to work him, work him back into the
routine will be important. That they'll be able to back
their guys off a day, for rest in the in
the rotation, and maybe even skip guys entirely. They've got
to get Kent to my eight already for the bullpen.
Hundred rue his work. Well, we'll see where that takes them.

(01:09:41):
Uh and Dustin May as well, preparing May, preparing my Ada,
and preparing either richill Or or Julio Ria has to
be in the bullpen. That's gonna be a big part
of the of of their fall. So I think for
them it's all about staying all they getting the pitching
adjusted and seeing if Cody Bellen you can be their
m v P that the MVP is in the the National League.

(01:10:03):
I think he's got a real good chance for it.
We have now seen a Dodger position player do it
very often in recent memory. Of course, Matt Kemp almost
did it, Chris Shaw has done it. I believe that
he would be the first position player since Kirk Gibson
going back to the late eighties. It's been a while
since the Dodger position player has been the m v P,

(01:10:27):
and I think the Cody Belinger right now has an
excellent chance to do so. Outstanding stuff is always John
Morosey falling on Twitter at John Morosey. When we come
back NBA making a move designed to deal with all
the talent moving west, What are they doing will tell you.
And also a Rod what a tough break for him
when it comes to a rental car. Two fun stories.
This is OutKick on Fox Sports Radio. Be sure to

(01:10:49):
catch live editions of OutKick the Coverage with Clay Travis
week days at six am Eastern, three am Pacific. Welcome back,
Geico out Kick Studios. I want to bring in the crew.
What did you guy think West Coast contingent about the
NBA adjusting the time starts for a lot of its
different games predicated on one ratings collapsed because Lebron went

(01:11:11):
to the Lakers and a lot of you listening on
the East Coast couldn't stay up for those West Coast
basketball games. And now the number one story in the
n B A I think beyond doubt is Clippers against
the Lakers, both those games taking place, uh in both
the seasons, taking place obviously inside the Staples Center. Danny

(01:11:31):
G you like this move. I don't just like it.
I love it. A lot of that is thanks to
working on this show, because you're on an East Coast
schedule and though you live on the West Coast most definitely,
but for even for everybody else, I think when we
think about East Coast basketball fans. This is really good
because there's not so much as East Coast bias as
there is. People don't want to stay awake that late
to watch games. That's my argument. East Coast bias is

(01:11:53):
all about the alarms going off early tomorrow morning and
I gotta go to bed um, and so I think
East Coast basketball fans get get screwed by this. Really
East Coast in general is in a tough spot when
it comes to late night sporting events, whether it's Monday
night football, whether it's the NBA Finals, whatever it is.
It's tough if you have to be up, as a

(01:12:15):
lot of our listening audience does, including your fearless host
here early in the morning. My alarm goes off in
the four am our Central time here where I live.
I mean, that's tough if I'm staying up waiting at
watching a late night game, uh the night before. What
about you, Dub You like this move? I think it's
smart of the NBA to adjust and recognize that there
are a lot of fans who are impacted by the

(01:12:37):
shift basically of the universe. And we've seen this for
a while because the Warriors have been the best team
in the n B A uh for a long time
as well, and a lot of people didn't get to
watch the Warriors unless they came back to play on
the East Coast. But I think this is a smart move.
The ratings had collapsed with the Lakers and Lebron moving
to the West Coast, and people say, well, how does
that happen? Why does it matter? Well, Lebron moves the

(01:13:00):
needle to such an extent that a lot of people
would watch a Calves game or a Heat game early
in the tip off evening and then they'd stay on
and they'd watch more of the West coast. So Lebron
is the straw that stirs the NBA drink. Him being
on the East coast set the table for the West coast.
Now that doesn't exist, and so the ratings plummeted as

(01:13:22):
a result. In the NBA went back to the laboratory
and said we got to adjust this. Yeah, great move
in my opinion, like you said, and Danny g said,
makes our lives a lot easier. This NBA had a
had a problem with a simple solution, and they made
the simple solution. So, uh, all good by me. Yeah,
I think it makes a lot of sense, any descent
on the West Coast, Eddie Garcia, Roberto any upset and

(01:13:44):
already people talking about it in a negative. Well, I
like it. I immediately got. I mean, there's always west
angry West Coast guy, what about us? What about it? Well,
you're a small part of the population, right, I mean,
I think the numbers are that fifteen percent of the
American pop pulation is on the Western time zone. I
think that's the most recent numbers. So California obviously is

(01:14:07):
the huge percentage of that, but I think it's fifteen
percent of people are on the Pacific time zone. But
you really think is that make that much of a
difference in ratings? It's only thirty minutes, I mean it's
sometimes an hour, right, Like they bumped it around a
decent amount um. I don't know. I mean, I'm not
uh an expert, but I think that the earlier you
can get to the game, the better it is for

(01:14:28):
East Coast. And I know this. The tough people say, like,
what's the toughest time of the year to do early
morning sports talker radio? And I think it's a lot
of times the NBA playoffs because every night there's a
late night basketball game that you know is going to
lead your show and you absolutely have to stay up
for it. When it's the West Coast, it's tough. I mean,

(01:14:49):
it just is. So. I think an extra half hour,
uh sometimes an extra hour can make a pretty tremendous difference.
I think it's a smart move. I think baseball could
look at this. I think when when you go to
the uh the uh, you know, the West Coast of baseball,
how late the games are. I think that this is
certainly something we talked about it every year when it's
the n C Double A Tournament and the game doesn't

(01:15:10):
tip until like on the East Coast, I mean that
that's pretty wild. I do think that becomes impactful. All Right,
we come back. Big story in the world of sports,
Dak Prescott. What do you do about his contract? If
you are the Dallas Cowboys, we will dive into that
story once more for everybody on the West coast too.
Starting to wake up with us. This is OutKick the Coverage.
Appreciate you spending your morning with us. Hope your Tuesday

(01:15:33):
is going well. More on Deck and the Cowboy Dilema.
Next on OutKick. This is OutKick the Coverage with Clay
Travis from A Guy go OutKick Studios. Hope you guys
are having fantastic Tuesday mornings if you're just waking up
with us as many of you are across the country.
As the Dallas Cowboys turned, the drama wheel continues to

(01:15:56):
spend down in Big d and where it's gonna end up.
Nobody really seems to know three big contracts that ultimately
Jerry Jones gonna have to make a decision on. It's
gonna have to make a decision on what to do
with Ezekiel Elliott. Remember him, he's still holding out. He
has two years left on his contract. Amari Cooper becomes
an unrestricted free agent at the end of this year.

(01:16:17):
His rookie deal is up after five years, and the
Dallas Cowboys, because they drafted Dak Prescott in the fourth round,
only get four years with Dak Prescott and so his
deal is up after this year. So, while we have
given a lot of attention to Ezekiel Elliott and the
fact that he is holding out, Ezekiel Elliott still has

(01:16:37):
two years left on his deal. He really doesn't have
a lot of leverage. Meanwhile, Amari Cooper and uh Dak
Prescott are out there running around on the field, risking
everything in terms of their contractual value with every single
step that they take. So part of the Ezekiel Elliott

(01:16:58):
holdout is not just about his kill Elliott feeling that
he is underpaid. It's about worrying that the Dallas Cowboys
may spend so much money on a Marii Cooper and
on Dak Prescott that they don't have a lot of
money left for him at the running back position. If
you are the Dallas Cowboys, you have to have a
value pegged for each position quarterback, wide receiver, and running back.

(01:17:23):
And significantly, they aren't occurring independent of one another. They
are all interconnected. Because let's say you've got, I don't
know a big number. Let's say you've got sixty million
dollars to spend on the running back, wide receiver and
quarterback position. That's probably too high, but let's say you've

(01:17:43):
got sixty million dollars. The way this works is if
Dak Prescott gets thirty million, and reports are that he's
turned down thirty million and wants forty million, which is crazy.
But every dollar that Dad gets limits how much you
and give to someone else. So when a player like

(01:18:04):
Dez Bryant comes out and says, give that man his
forty million dollars. That is an in astute, a not
very intelligent way of analyzing this entire salary cap perspective,
because when you have a salary cap, whatever you spend
on one player means you have less to give to

(01:18:25):
everyone else. And I believe a big reason why Dak
Prescott has been so successful is because his salary is
so far under market. He made six hundred and thirty
thousand dollars last year, six d and thirty thousand last year,
because he's a fourth round draft pick. He's been so
far under market that other players, particularly on that Dallas
Cowboy defense, which is outstanding, have been able to be

(01:18:48):
paid at a high level, which has lifted the overall
caliber of the Dallas Cowboy team talent. As soon as
you start having to pay Dak Prescott, what you think
is his fair market value? That takes tens of millions
of dollars out of the salary cap to allow you
to pay other players. So the question, which is of

(01:19:08):
paramount importance to the Dallas Cowboys is what is Dak
Prescott's value? We talked a lot about this early in
the show. My opinion is, you have to be willing
to let Dak Prescott walk if you are the Dallas Cowboys.
What do I mean by that? Everything in life is

(01:19:29):
about value when it comes to business perspectives? What is
the value of Dak Prescott over the value of whoever
you would replace Dak Prescott with. I believe that Dak Prescott,
if you are being completely honest, is an average quarterback
in the NFL. I think he's got more in common

(01:19:49):
with Nick Foles and Andy Dalton than he does with
Russell Wilson, or with Aaron Rodgers, or with Andrew Luck
or with Tom Brady. I believe that Dak Prescott is
squarely right around the sixteen the best quarterback in the NFL.

(01:20:10):
The sixteenth the best quarterback in the NFL is not
worth thirty million dollars a year. He's worth somewhere around
twenty two or twenty five million at the most. If
these reports are true that the Dallas Cowboys have offered
Dak Prescott thirty million dollars and he didn't accept the offer,

(01:20:31):
Dak Prescott is taken crazy pills. He has lost his mind.
If he is truly demanding forty million dollars a year.
What he's effectively telling the Cowboys is I expect to
become the highest paid quarterback in the history of the
NFL and the highest paid player in the history of
the NFL period. That, my friends, is truly bonkers. There's

(01:20:55):
no way to justify Dak Prescott as the highest paid
player in the NFL. I don't even think there's a
way to justify Dak Prescott as a top five paid
player at quarterback in the NFL. That's what Dak Prescott wants. Now.
Who makes the most money in the NFL right now? Well,
if you actually break down the salaries of the highest

(01:21:16):
paid player in the NFL right now is Russell Wilson.
Russell Wilson makes thirty five million dollars a year. Roethlisberger
makes thirty four million dollars a year, but partly, first
of all, that's a short term contract, and also that's
a function of how many years he's been in the
NFL already, that he's worked his way up there. Aaron

(01:21:37):
Rodgers thirty three and a half million, Carson Wentz makes
thirty two million, Matt Ryan makes thirty million. Those are
the only five players in the NFL who make thirty
million dollars or more a season. So if Dak Prescott
got thirty million dollars, he would be being paid as
a top five player in the entirety of the NFL.

(01:21:57):
I think that's crazy. I think, per really that Dak
Prescott has got a lot more in common with Joe Flacco,
with Nick Foles, with that universe of quarterback right now
than he does as a thirty million dollar plus player. Now,
remember you're also gonna have to pay uh pay a
Mari Cooper, and at some point you have to figure

(01:22:18):
out what to do with Ezekiel Elliott. So how do
you play this out if you are the Dallas Cowboys.
I think it's pretty straightforward. I think you go to
Dak and you say, this is our final offer. De
If you don't want this, we'll leave this offer on
the table for a set amount of time, and then
we're prepared to let you go into free agency and
know that before you go into free agency, oh, by

(01:22:42):
the way, will franchise tag you and we can treat
you like another NFC East team did, like the Washington
Redskins did with Kirk Cousins. Remember they double franchise tagged
him and then they allowed him to leave, and Kirk
Cousins got twenty eight million dollars, and really, the Washington Redskins,
while they don't have a quarterback necessarily right now, we'll

(01:23:03):
see whether Dwayne Haskins is there. Guy. They went and
got Alex Smith, and if Alex Smith doesn't get blown up,
those quarterbacks are roughly fungible. It's not like Kirk Cousins
got to the Vikings and suddenly the Vikings became the
greatest team in the NFL. So I don't really see
the Cowboys as having a tremendous threat here of of
of real danger. Because worst case scenario, you could franchise

(01:23:27):
tag Dak if you don't think Dak is worth the
dollar figure that he would get under a one year
deal as a franchise quarterback. You could also say, hey, Dak,
go test the market. Here's our offer. We'll give you
a hundred million dollars over four years, hundred million dollars
twenty five million dollars a year. I don't think there's

(01:23:49):
a team out there that would give Dak Prescott twenty
five million dollars a year. I really don't when you
break it down, who were the available teams out there
that would be interested in Dak Prescott the Miami Dolphins.
Think about it from a Dolphins perspective. If you are
the Dolphins right now, you have Ryan Fitzpatrick and you
have Josh Rosen. Seems likely that neither of those guys

(01:24:10):
is your long term future. Well, there are three first
round quarterbacks that I believe are gonna be pretty high
caliber draft picks, without even thinking about who else might arise.
There's always somebody who's a sleeper that rises in the
college football stratosphere. I think there are three guys that
are gonna be in the draft in at a high

(01:24:31):
level to a Takoa, Justin Herbert and Jake from out
of Georgia. I think all three of those guys are
gonna be top ten caliber quarterbacks in my opinion, assuming
they stay healthy, assuming they continue to evolve and develop
and play at a high level at the quarterback position
at Oregon, at Florida and at Alabama. Sorry, at Georgia

(01:24:51):
and at Alabama this year, right, Jake from to and
Justin Herbert rank of however, you see fit Okay, if
you're the Miami Dolphins, would you rather, even if Dak
Prescott were on the free agent market, would you rather
give Dak Prescott twenty five million plus meaning a hundred

(01:25:13):
million plus and guaranteed money, or would you rather take
your chances with a first round pick of one of
those three guys that I just named who you will
only have to pay thirty five or thirty six million
total to for four years. I it's a no brainer.
I think you roll the dice on the first round
quarterback over giving Dak Prescott big money. If you were

(01:25:37):
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jamis Winston doesn't work out,
do you want to go give Dak Prescott big money
if he's an understricted free agent or would you rather
go into the draft and draft one of those guys
I just mentioned for a lot less money. If you
are the Tennessee Titans and Marcus Mariota doesn't work out,
would you rather give Dak big money or would you

(01:25:58):
rather go back into the draft and make that decision.
If you are the Cincinnati Bengals, whoever the team is
that could be in the market for a quarterback, I'd
rather go into the draft, assuming I'm gonna be drafting
fairly high and get a first round guy who's only
gonna cost me around thirty five million dollars total for

(01:26:21):
four years, as opposed to give Dak nearly five or
even crazily thirty million dollars a year. I think this
is a no brainer. I think the play, beyond the
shadow of a doubt for the Dallas Cowboys is leak
your final offer to Dak Prescott, allow the media to
get it, allow everybody out there to hear what you

(01:26:44):
offered to Dak. And if it's a close to thirty
million dollars a year, I don't see how Cowboy fans
can be upset with the Dallas Cowboys. I don't see
how anybody can be upset with Jerry Jones. I think
you look at that number and you say, you know what,
that seems like a pretty fair value. And then if
you are the Cowboys, you say, okay, that's our final offer, Dak.
We're not going to continue to make this run. If

(01:27:05):
you come to me and you're demanding forty million dollars,
then sometimes it just makes sense to say, hey, we'll
just walk away from the table. Jerry Jones an old
oil oil man. He knows that he has a set
amount of money that he can spend on Dak, that
he can spend on a Marii Cooper, and that he
can spend on Zeke. Everybody out there needs to understand this.

(01:27:28):
You can't give all three of those guys exactly what
they want and allow the Dallas Cowboys to maintain competitive
balance on their offense and defensive sides. Of all, a
lot of defensive talent, a lot of it young, a
lot of it gonna have to be paid in near future.
You gotta balance out what you're paying all these guys.
So far, Dak Prescott I think has had tremendous success

(01:27:50):
because they've been able to build a lot of talent
around him. Because Dad doesn't cost very much. Dak's salaries
are insanely low relative to what he could make on
the open market. You don't know what Dak Prescott made
last year he played for so was it six hundred
and thirty grand? This year he's paying playing for two

(01:28:12):
million dollars, which is not very much money, but is
a ton for him. In his four year deal, Dak
Prescott has made four point seven million dollars four point
seven million dollars total, so he's entitled to get a
lot more money, but the reason why he has made
the money that he has is because he's a fourth

(01:28:36):
round pick. And the result has been the Cowboys have
been able to build a lot of talent around him.
As soon as you start having to pay him what
his real value is, your ability to pay a lot
of talent around him dries up. So we're gonna unpack
this some more. I'll bring in the crew. I'll also
tell you a negotiation story from my own life and
how things can sometimes go awry if you miss market

(01:28:59):
your self or someone else does. More on deck and
the dilemma facing the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones. What
should happen, what will happen? And how to contract negotiations
often go down. I'll make you smarter in the next segment.
This is Fox Sports Radio. Fox Sports Radio has the
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(01:29:22):
the I Heart Radio app. Search f s R to
listen live. Welcome back, I go out Kick Studios B.
I love negotiations. Um. You know, when you're a lawyer,
a lot of times you are involved in negotiating cases,
and a big part of being a lawyer is figuring
out what a case is worth and trying to get
it settled for an appropriate amount. And there are often

(01:29:46):
mediation conferences, and there are go back and forths and
everything else about negotiating out a settlement that makes sense
for your client and for uh, the opposing side. And
so I've been involved in a decent amount of those
negotiations over the years. I also love negotiations for talent contracts,

(01:30:07):
and I've been involved in a lot of those over
the years, whether it was mine or whether it was
other people. Because other people in our business guys and
girls sometimes come to me and they say, hey, I've
got this issue because they know that I have the
law degree, uh, and they say, hey, can you give
me some advice on this? What do you think the
value is here? I was just talking to somebody yesterday,

(01:30:29):
prominent person in our industry, trying to figure out a
value proposition for something that he is doing and how
does he value it and everything else. And so this
Dak Prescott negotiation is fascinating to me because of the
way it's spilled out somewhat publicly, and you never know
exactly what is true because they are relatively few people

(01:30:52):
maybe who are at this table. Jerry Jones, the representation
for Dak Prescott. Certainly we've got Zeke Ellie It and
probably a mari Cooper conversations that are going on as well,
because again it's significant that a Marii Cooper and Dax
contracts actually run out this year as opposed to Ezekiel Elliott's.
Everybody's got a limited amount of dollars, and everybody's got

(01:31:16):
their hand in the cookie jar and they want to
pull out as much as they possibly can from the
Dallas cowboy business. I thought, as I'm paying attention to
this Jerry Jones negotiation, it reminds me in some ways
of a negotiation that I got involved in when I
was doing local radio. Let me explain how it worked.
When I was doing local radio, I was making a

(01:31:37):
pretty good salary, nowhere near as much as I should
have been making based on how the show was doing.
And I was doing well enough in local radio that
a major national radio chain at the time came to
me and Danny g You were working there, uh NBC
Sports Radio. They were starting up, and they said, we
want Clay Travis to be one of our national host

(01:31:59):
We want to have him on in the evenings on
our network. We want him nationwide. And they offered to
more than double my salary, and they said, we want
to buy out your local radio contract in Nashville. And
so they went to the company that I was working with.

(01:32:21):
They had a conversation and the guy who ran the
company that I was working with on a national level,
the local radio station that I was at, he said,
they said, NBC Sports Radio said how much is gonna
cost for us to buy out Clay Travis's contract? And
he said there is no number. Now I wasn't necessarily

(01:32:41):
happy about that, because if somebody offers the opportunity to
double what your your contract for what you're doing, give
you a promotion, give you a national show, that's something
that is pretty attractive to you. But if your current
boss says there is no number that would allow you
to get out of your exist sting contract, then that

(01:33:02):
is I think a sign that they really also, at
the same time, highly value your work and also recognize
that you have outperformed your existing contract, much like Dak Prescott,
fourth round draft pick, had outperformed clearly his existing contract
and deserves a substantial raise. The market was telling my

(01:33:24):
company that I worked for. Now, hey, Clay Travis is
worth a lot more. So the head of that company
comes to town. He sits down with me, and he says,
don't worry about this. I'll take care of you when
your next contract comes up. He said, I know. I said, Okay,
I understand that. You know now what my market value is.
They told you what they were willing to pay me.

(01:33:45):
They wanted to buy out my contract. They were gonna
give you money to let me out of my existing
contract and come do this national radio show. And uh
and and he said, and he said, I understand. I
got you. So fast forward like probably like a year
and a half. My radio deal is expiring. Might have
been two years that I had left on that deal.

(01:34:06):
My radio deal is expiring. And so they come to
me and they say what do you want? And I say,
I want triple what I'm making now. I want you
to pay me for not only the undervaluation of what
I was making on my local deal, but I want
you to compensate me for the lot of money that

(01:34:27):
I left on the table because you wouldn't let me
get out of contract. And I didn't. I didn't try
to sue him to get out of the deal or
anything like that. I served out the terms of my
contract relying on the conversation I had with that guy
who said I'll take care of you. I said, I
want triple what I'm making now. That's market value. You
guys have had a really good deal with me. I
want triple because I think I should be compensated not

(01:34:51):
just for what I'm worth now, but for the last
two years for not making what I could have made
on the open market. And they okay, And so then
they slow play me, and they wait until my contract
is about to expire and they email me an offer.
And I had said I want triple what I'm making now,

(01:35:12):
and they offered me five thousand dollars more than what
I was making already. As people say, how do you
know how to negotiate? Well, my offer that my salary
should be tripled was a good faith request based on
what the open market would have paid me. Their response

(01:35:38):
of a five thousand dollar raise, which if you break
it down, would have been an extra twenty dollars a
day if you get at the time. If I got
a five thousand dollar raise, that's a hundred extra dollars
a week. That's five thousand dollars over the course of
the entire UH year. That's twenty extra dollars a day

(01:36:03):
to do my job. I believed, based on the market
that was out there, that my salary should triple. They
believe that I deserved twenty dollars more a day, and
they had already told me, hey, we'll take care of you.
And then they came back with that offer, and I
quit on the spot. I said, all right, appreciate it.
I'm out. And that was my response because the contract

(01:36:30):
offer was such an insult that I didn't even see
a point in negotiating any further. I said, I'm out.
I'll sit out my uh my non compete, which were
valid in the state of Tennessee where I lived, and
I'll go back into radio when my non compete is up.

(01:36:51):
That's how I ended up doing eventually Fox Sports Radio.
Because that negotiation they had so under u val you'd
me relative to the market, and their offer was such
a low response relative as they had already said we'll
take care of you, I just said I'm done. I'm
not even gonna go back and forth with you. I

(01:37:13):
bring that up for this reason. Some people have been saying,
Dak Prescott, oh, forty million dollars a year. Why wouldn't
he demand forty million dollars a year? Because sometimes if
your negotiation strategy is so ridiculous, it can break down
and you can say I'm not even willing to continue

(01:37:36):
this discussion any further. When the company that I was
working for at the time came to me and was
that far off of what I thought was a reasonable valuation,
I just said, I'm out. I'll wait and I'll hit
the market if I am Jerry Jones, and I have
offered Dak Prescott thirty million dollars a year and he

(01:37:59):
has had no I want forty That to me is
an I'm out of the negotiation kind of response. In
the same way that when I got that offer from
the company that I was working for, which was so
far outside the bounds of reasonableness that it polluted the

(01:38:21):
entire purpose of the negotiation, I stepped back from the
table and I say, hey, Dak, I love you. You're
a good quarterback. You ain't the greatest player to ever
play football, and that's what you're demanding right now as
a result, We've given you our top offer, and we're
gonna let you play this year, and then we may

(01:38:43):
well let you hit the market, because I don't think
anybody's gonna come close to thirty million dollars. If these
reports are true and Dak Prescott has turned down thirty
million dollars a year and demanded forty million dollars a year,
I think, much like the analogy I just gave you
for negotiation, a stand up from the table, Jerry Jones,
shake hands, say I'm out. I'm not going to negotiate

(01:39:06):
any further. So the point here is negotiation is the
art of the possible. If you come to me with
an impossible demand or an impossible offer, what you're really
sending to me is the story that you're not being
a reasonable person to negotiate with. And therefore I will

(01:39:29):
exit this negotiation and go on and try my luck elsewhere.
What does that mean for the Dallas Cowboys? Ain't there
are a lot of cowboy fans listen to me right
now saying, you know what if the choices between paying
Dak Prescott thirty million dollars a year and guaranteeing him
a hundred and twenty million dollars or more, or taking

(01:39:52):
this great young defense that we have, getting Ezekiel Elliott
signed to a deal, getting a more Rie Cooper signed
to a long term extension, and then going back into
the draft and getting a guy like Justin Herbert, or
getting a guy like Jake From, or getting a guy
like Toua. With this great offensive line we built around Dak,

(01:40:15):
with this great young defense that we're eventually gonna have
to pay for as well. And four years of Jake From,
of Justin Herbert or of Tuah cost me what one
year of Dak Prescott cost me. I think the value
even for the Dallas Cowboys is, let's go back into

(01:40:36):
the market. Let's go back into the draft. Let's let
Dak hit the open market. Because guess what. Are the
Tampa Bay Buck in the years gonna give Dak Prescott
million dollars a year? I don't think so. Are the
Tennessee Titans gonna give Dak Prescott million dollars a year?
I don't think so. And that's assuming Mariota and Winston
both don't work out. Are the Miami Dolphins gonna give

(01:41:00):
Prescott million dollars a year? No way, They'd rather go
into the draft. Are the Cincinnati Bengal is gonna do that.
No way. They've already got a mediocre quarterback in Andy Dalton.
They don't want to give another mediocre quarterback big money.
They're gonna go into the draft and try to get
an excellent quarterback. And so I think it's the point
in time where Jerry Jones needs to push back his chair,

(01:41:23):
stand up at the table, extend his hand to Dak Prescott,
say hey, Dak, it's been great negotiating with you. Forty
million dollars a year is insane. You're asking, and your
representation is asking, to make you the highest paid football
player of all time. I love you, but you ain't
worth it. We'll play for you this year, do as

(01:41:45):
well as you can, and then we'll negotiate at the
end of the year. I'll think about franchise tagging you
have necessary, but I'm not going a dollar over thirty
million dollars a year. And I think thirty million dollars
a year is too high. I don't think i'd go
over twenty five million dollars a year for Dak, and
I'm not sure i'd go much more over twenty Danny

(01:42:07):
G you agree with me, if you're Jerry Jones, and
if it's true that you've made an offer of thirty
million dollars and Dak Prescott has countered with forty million,
that you just stand up from the table, extend your hand,
and say that ain't happening. Good luck. Yeah. I really
hope that these conflicting reports about forty million dollars are
not true. That Dak nor his agents said we have
to have forty because right around thirty would be a

(01:42:30):
blessing for Dak and he should take that money. I
don't think there's any doubt doub Would you agree with
me that, Jerry, if that's if that is true, if
reports are true that the Cowboys have offered around thirty
million and Dak has countered with forty, that you just
extend your hands, stand up and say it ain't happening
and this negotiation is over. I mean me, personally, I
think the thirty is kind of crazy. I mean, I

(01:42:52):
was shocked when I first saw the report that they
offered thirty million, and even more shocked, obviously when Dak
Prescott declined that offer. If I were Dak press got
and I had gotten a thirty million dollar offer. I
would have broken my legs maybe maybe maybe crossed my
own ankles over to get to that table to sign
that contract as fast as I possibly could. And if

(01:43:12):
reports are true that they went back and said we
need forty, which would be an attempt to get doc
to becoming the highest paid quarterback in the history of
the NFL. Jerry Jones can't go there. I think he's
already going too far at thirty million. But I think
there's a time when you when a demand becomes so ridiculous,
or an offer becomes so ridiculous that is so far

(01:43:34):
outside the bounds of what you think the actual discussion
should be. That's when you just walk away from the table,
and hopefully you can end up in a position where
you can afford to do it um because companies will
take advantage of you if they can, which is why
I was fortunate to be in a position where I
could just walk away over an insulting offer um that

(01:43:55):
was nowhere near what the market was, and more importantly,
also was the exact contradiction of what the person who
runs the company had told me they were going to do.
I don't need to negotiate with you, You're gonna run
your business that way. To me, relationships matter and I'll
walk away. Well, I feel the same thing about Jerry
Jones if these reports are true, Eddie. If these reports

(01:44:16):
are true, doesn't Jerry Jones just have to walk away
from the negotiation table and say sorry, I'm not doing
anything here. Yeah. I guess if you look at it
from Dax's point of view, it never hurts to ask.
But at the same time, I actually disagree on some
level things. No, I I I completely agree with what
you're saying. I think that Jerry Jones has been, as

(01:44:39):
I've said earlier, incredibly generous. He's been over the top
to a lot of people as far as his praise
of Dak And to make this offer, if this is true,
and then have Dax say no thanks, I'm looking for more, yeah,
I think that could damage their relationship. Yeah. I mean.
The example I would use is if you there's no

(01:45:00):
there's a you know, aphorism out there that is, there's
no harm in asking, right. I think there is a
harm in asking if you ask for something that's so
far outside the bounds of credulity that it isn't even
reasonable to request it. For instance, I got two years
left on my radio deal. If they sit down across
the table from me and they say to me and

(01:45:20):
my representatives, Okay, what do you want? And I say,
I want twenty million dollars a year or ten million
dollars a year or whatever that number is, which no
one has ever gotten in the history of sports talk
radio before. And I'm asking for that salary, then that's
a ridiculous response, right like, and I think it would

(01:45:42):
actually harm the negotiation in general. And that's effectively what
Dakas said. Daca said, Hey, I want to be paid,
if these reports are accurate, more than anybody who has
ever played football in the history of football has been paid.
And how about you. But in order to be the
highest paid at something, you need to be the best

(01:46:04):
at something, or at least arguably the best. I don't
even think there's a single Dallas Cowboy fan out there
who would argue that dak is the best quarterback in
the NFL. And that is why that is such a
ludicrous position to put yourself in. Roberto, would you walk
away from the table if you were Jared Jones? Yeah,
definitely offered a thirty million dollars man that's that's more

(01:46:26):
than enough for for Dad. Don't don't the game manager
pretty much? And yeah, I think Jerry Jones just gotta
walk away. And again, whatever you give Dak is what
you can't give other players on the team, which means
the overall quality of the team diminishes. There's always guy
out there. He's like while you're trying to keep this
man from getting his money, because if this man gets

(01:46:48):
his money, then other people who are better at their
jobs on your team may not get There's meaning that
you lose them and diminish the overall quality of the franchise.
So it's not just about dec it's about valuing doc
in the context of a Marii Cooper and Ezekiel Elliott
and that good young linebacking corps that you have, all

(01:47:11):
of whom are going to expect big money down the
road as well. Young talent eventually becomes highly paid compensated
for talent, those rookie contracts move into veteran contracts, which
require a lot more money. When we come back, we
got news breaking on Antonio Brown. The drama of the

(01:47:32):
Raiders continues as Hard Knocks moves closer to episode two tonight.
What is it will tell you this is OutKick on
Fox Sports Radio. This is Outkicked the coverage with Clay Traffics.
Oh man, I'm sorry, guys. I'm coming back from the

(01:47:53):
break and I was just laughing. I didn't know this
like CNN. Uh Chris Cuomo, I guess is on CN
in Uh Fredo he went after a heckler. He went
after a heckler who called him Fredo. UM. And I

(01:48:13):
I just I'm laughing because I was watching the video.
Whatever you do, don't call Chris Cuomo Fredo. If you're
not familiar with the Godfather. Fredo was the cor Leone
family family black sheep, weakling, whatever you want to call him.
Um from the from the Godfather trilogy. Uh. And Chris

(01:48:34):
Cuomo just is going off on a guy. Uh. This
is first of all, you I understand like in general,
as a public figure, you can't get into an argument
with a random person, right Like, no matter what somebody
says to you. And I don't really have and have
never had any bad face to face encounters. Pretty much

(01:48:57):
everybody who listens to this show or reads or watches
shows comes up to me and says nice things. But
I certainly don't have time to get into confrontations with
people who say things about me. I mean, I'm forty
years old now, so I think it's a bad look
in general when a grown man threatens to beat up

(01:49:17):
another grown man. But that is it is pretty funny
over Chris Cuomo being called Fredo. So I'm gonna tweet
out this video which is going viral um of Chris Cuomo.
Like he says, calling an Italian man fredo is the
equivalent of calling a black man the IN word at
one video. At one point he tells the heckler all
blanking ruin your blank all blanking throw you down the

(01:49:42):
stairs like a blanking punk us. We need can we
edit this? We'll play it tomorrow takes out. Um. I'll
talk about it on now kick the show later if
you haven't ever watched, I'll kick the show. I do
it on Periscope and Facebook uh in the afternoon, and
we'll have a lot of fun with this because it

(01:50:02):
is pretty funny in general. Also, but again, whatever you do,
don't call Chris Cuomo Fredo or any other Italian man fredo,
because that's the equivalent of using the N word. According
to that's what that's what Chris Cuomo says on the
on the tape, So, uh, apologies to any Italian man
out there who have heard me use the word Fredo
on the radio. We're gonna lose our FCC license over this.

(01:50:23):
I don't know it's gonna be It's gonna be dangerous. Um.
We got news, by the way, uh from well, a
couple of things. One did I say this on the
show yesterday. We're back on lock it In on Monday.
So for people out there who've been watching our lock
It In television show on FS one four thirty Eastern,
three thirty Central to thirty Mountain one thirty Pacific, we'll
be back on that show on Monday, much to Rachel

(01:50:46):
Bonetta's chagrin because she now has to return to television
with me, to dealing with you, to dealing with me
on a daily and you better step your gambling game
up this season. I know I need to. I need to.
There was a disaster last year. Uh so it's gonna
come back on Monday, So my schedule will get a
little bit wilder. But we speaking of wild schedules, we

(01:51:06):
have breaking news. We have breaking news. Sounder yep, Roberto
is gonna hit the button right now. Where is Roberto?
There we go. Breaking news from Fox Sports. The Raiders
are expecting Antonio Brown back at training camp today. Boom,
so the the UH let's see the hard Knocks is
several days behind, so we don't know how exactly this

(01:51:29):
will be covered. I'm sure that we will talk about
it on the show tomorrow. But there are reports that
Antonio Brown has returned to NAPA. I don't know if
he has come in on his UH on his hot
air balloon again to return to the Raider practice, but
he lost his grievance over wanting to wear the football

(01:51:50):
helmet of his choice. His feet may still not have recovered,
but Raider Nation can rejoice. Antonio Brown, your mercurial completely untrustworthy,
potentially CTE addled insane man who plays wide receiver. There
is the audio in the back. I hope they take
care of that ct you've been talking about. You can't

(01:52:11):
see CT with a with a m R. I That's
what's so difficult about it. You only can diagnose c
T after someone's already dead, so that it doesn't really
help anybody to know that you have. It just goes
to the point that he doesn't have ct E would
be home today or afterwards to be able to have
a ct Tom Brady came out in support of Antonio Brown.

(01:52:34):
That's right before somebody dies. By the way, lesson of
the day. Whatever you do, don't call an Italian man Fredo.
Whatever you do, don't call Chris Cuomo Fredo. Antonio Brown
is back. Dack's not worth forty million. Download the podcast
I'm Clay Travis. This has been outkicked. Be sure to
catch live editions of out Kick the Coverage with Clay

(01:52:55):
Travis week days at six am Eastern three am Pacific

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