DALLAS — Just like that, Dak Prescott is no longer the NFC East’s only $40 million-a-year quarterback. And, no, after a trip to the Super Bowl, Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts has not joined the club. That will happen next year when Hurts more likely blows right by the group.
The division’s new $40 Million Man is New York’s Daniel Jones, which has to come as a surprise to just about everyone, most of all Giants fans. A player so uninspiring (and turnover-prone) in his first three seasons that the club did not even pick up his fifth-year option last season, Jones managed enough of an upgrade in 2022 to guide New York to the playoffs, even if it was a short-lived visit as a 9-7-1 team. For that, his four-year $160 million deal was achieved, although really it was more a matter of exquisite timing. The Giants’ ability to sign him allowed the club to place the franchise tag on running back Saquon Barkley, just as Dallas did with Tony Pollard.
If that sounds like an atrocious amount of money to pay for Jones, that comes in the future. For 2023, his cap hit is $19 million. The Cowboys, meanwhile, pay the piper this season for signing Prescott to his similar deal with a cap hit of $49 million. So while you might prefer the combination of Dak and Pollard to that of Jones and Barkley (you also might not, based on Jones’ play the second half of 2022), the Cowboys’ backfield duo starts the salary cap process at $30 million more than the Giants’ pair.
