Dak Prescott doesn't have to spend any time thinking about his financial future.
He's either going to be filthy rich. Or rich beyond his dreams.
See, Prescott is scheduled to earn $630,000 ($725,848 salary-cap charge) this season, which would be a ton of dough for the average American, considering our country's
median salary is 44,148 according to the Bureau of Labor statistics.
But it makes him only the NFL's 48th-highest paid quarterback this season, which means he makes less than a lot of backup quarterbacks.
But San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garropolo just signed a five-year deal worth $137.4 million. He joins Detroit's Matt Stafford and Oakland's Derek Carr as the only quarterbacks making more than $25 million per year.
It won't be that way for long considering Atlanta's Matt Ryan is a free agent at the end of next season and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers will be a free agent in 2020 as will Prescott.
Right now, 14 quarterbacks earn an average of $20 million per season - and that's why the 2018 season already feels like it has some pressure built into it.
The Cowboys need to win now, while Prescott is making the equivalent of chump change.
It's a lot easier to put a team around Prescott now than it will be when, he's taking up a huge chunk of the salary cap.
And you can forget about a hometown discount. Prescott is a fourth-round pick, so the Cowboys are getting him at a discount for his first four seasons.
When it's time for him to get paid, he's going to want to collect all the cash he's due.
Right now, we're not sure who Prescott is as a quarterback.
In his first 24 starts, the Cowboys were 18-6. In those games, he averaged 228 yards passing with 38 touchdowns and nine interceptions with a passer rating of 102.4.
In his last eight starts, he was 4-4 and averaged 188 yards passing per game with six touchdowns, nine interceptions and a passer rating of 76.4.
The guy who started the first 24 games could command closer to $30 million than $20 million per season. The guy from the last eight games of last season ain't commanding nearly that much.
No one of importance in the Cowboys' front office doubts Prescott's ability or his intangibles.
They believe in his skill set and his work ethic. They believe he'll work to be a more accurate passer next season and with Ezekiel Elliott for a full season he'll return to being among the league's best young quarterbacks.
If he does, Jerry Jones will be happy to sign Prescott to a contract with a whole lot of zeroes.
