Patrick “Money Bags” Mahomes?

On Monday, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes inked what has been reported as the largest contract in the history of sports. The 24-year-old Super Bowl champion and MVP signed a record-breaking contract extension worth up to $503 million over 10 years.

Chiefs fans have had little to complain about since Mahomes became the starting QB for the team in 2018. Mahomes has a career record of 24-7 and has led the Chiefs to back to back AFC West titles the past two seasons. He took the team to the promise land in 2020 when they won Super Bowl LIV.

The Chiefs 2017 first round draft pick has also impressed with his personal stats. Through three years, he has a total of 9,412 passing yards 76 touchdowns, 65.88 completion percentage, and a quarterback rating of 98.5. All of this comes with just 18 career interceptions, and while he’s no Lamar Jackson in the mobility department, he has 500 career rushing yards, which is above average for NFL quarterbacks.

Whether it’s his flashy passes or big arm, anyone who watches football seems to be drawn to the young QB who has seemingly done little wrong in his early career 

Mahomes received his big pay day just three years into his rookie deal, but there’s one big name QB still waiting for his, Dak Prescott. 

The Cowboys 2016 4th round pick is entering his fifth year in the league, seemingly burning through his rookie deal. Prescott’s team and the Cowboys have gone back and forth in contract talks, but Prescott finally budged on June 22 and signed the exclusive franchise tag worth $31.409 million for the 2020 season.

Though the two sides have reached an agreement for the 2020 season, both are still hoping to reach a long-term contract agreement, which has to be done by July 15.

Prescott’s ranking among quarterbacks in the league seemingly changes every week, making it hard to pinpoint the amount of money he will eventually receive. It’s been reported that the cowboys offered Prescott a contract worth $175 million over five years, but according to Chris Simms of NBC Sports, he wants a number north of $45 million in the fifth year.

Before Mahomes’ signed off on his contract, Prescott was looking to be the highest paid quarterback in the league. But after seeing the number Mahomes got, he has to be realizing that it’s probably not going to happen, at least not from the Cowboys.

The Cowboys are trying to avoid going into “cap space hell” when they cut Prescottscheck. They put themselves in this situation when they decided to sign other players before their quarterback. They signed running back Ezekiel Elliott in 2016, after he held out during training camp, to a six-year $90 million extension. The Cowboys also signed LB Demarcus Lawrence to a five-year $105 million deal and more recently signed WR Amari Cooper to a $100 million deal for five years. 

With that being said, Prescott can and should still be getting a sizeable contract.

Prescott has put up pretty impressive numbers of his own since entering the league. He has a career total 15,778 passing yards, 97 touchdowns, 65.8 completion percentage, and 36 interceptions. He was also named the NFL offensive player of the year when he was a rookie and has led his team to two NFC East division titles.

The truth is, sports are all about “what have you done for me lately,” and Prescott didn’t help his case by failing to make the 2019 playoffs while playing in the weakest division that season. He’s also only won one playoff game in his four years with the Cowboys. 

Prescott has a great opportunity to make his case this upcoming season, and the potential to make more money after this season if the Cowboys aren’t able to sign him before. Of course, this all depends on how far he can carry this talented Cowboys team, which consists of a top 10 defense, a star running back, three stud receivers, and a new head coach. If Prescott is unable to, at the very least, win the division, there is no question he will be receiving the brunt of the blame, barring any significant injuries from his supporting cast. 

The consistency week in and week out, and the proven ability to make and win in the playoffs is the main difference between Mahomes and Prescott but rest assured that if Prescott makes a deep playoff run, he’s going to want his slice of the pie, and it’s going to be a big one.