NFL Tight End Dalton Schultz Bet On Himself… And That Backfired BIG TIME

ByJoey Heldon March 27, 2023inArticles›Sports News

The Dallas Cowboys have been making moves this offseason, looking to bolster a roster that won 12 games and reached the divisional round of the playoffs. They brought on veterans in Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks . They put the franchise tag on running back Tony Pollard and re-signed backup quarterback Cooper Rush in case Dak Prescott gets injured again.

Of course, as every team does, the Cowboys also released some players. They parted ways with longtime running back Ezekiel Elliott and said goodbye to tight end Dalton Schultz.

That proved to be a costly decision for Schultz.

NFL Tight End Dalton Schultz Bet On Himself… And That Backfired BIG TIME - 1

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Before last season, the Cowboys put the franchise tag on Schultz. He made $10.9 million; if the Cowboys franchised him again this season, he’d make $13.1 million.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated recently wrote a roundup of some of the NFL’s biggest free agency transactions. Per Breer, Schultz at one point turned down a three-year, $36 million deal, instead choosing to bet on himself in 2023. Schultz’s agent initially replied to a tweet reporting the news that it was “100% inaccurate.”

Whether the Cowboys ever offered Schultz a deal or not, he’ll take a pay cut this season. After about a week of not landing with a team, Schultz agreed to sign with the Houston Texans. The team offered him a one-year deal worth up to $9 million. He’ll get $6.5 million in salary and could potentially earn another $2.5 million in incentives.

In the best-case scenario, Schultz will make about $1.9 million less than he made last season. And if he (or his agent) did turn down that three-year offer, he’ll be making $27 million less over the length of the contract.

Yet this situation is not as doom and gloom as it seems. Schultz is essentially betting on himself again this season. He’ll be 27 next offseason, which is still in the prime years for a tight end. While no one will argue Houston is closer to a championship than Dallas, Schultz will likely get more pass-catching opportunities on the Texans. He could turn a solid 2023 season into a larger payday.

It appears betting on himself didn’t work out. But Schultz has a chance to double down this season — and that’s not an opportunity every player gets.

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Dak Prescott Will Make More Than $30 Million Next Year – But Will He Be Happy?

ByJoey Heldon July 2, 2020inArticles›Sports News

It seems like ever since Dak Prescott replaced an injured Tony Romo , he’s had to deal with questions about his future. At first, it was whether he’d hold onto his starting job. Then, it was whether he could return the Dallas Cowboys to postseason greatness. And lately, it’s been whether he’ll get the contract he wants from the team.

We have an answer to that last one: No, at least not yet.

The Cowboys placed the franchise tag on Prescott, which will give the quarterback $31.4 million next year. The two sides do have until July 15 to agree on a long-term deal, but it’s looking likely that Prescott will be playing under the franchise tag this year.

In most situations, receiving more than $30 million to play one season of football would be a dream come true. But Prescott was looking for a long-term contract worth about $40 million per season.

NFL Tight End Dalton Schultz Bet On Himself… And That Backfired BIG TIME - 2

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Prescott and the Cowboys never really seemed close to coming to terms, and that could be an underlying issue. It may just be that paying Prescott that much money for several seasons could hurt the team financially. Or could it be something bigger?

Quarterbacks have been dominating the market over the past few years as more teams realize the importance of the position. However, even with the rising price of franchise quarterbacks, the most expensive player next season will be Russell Wilson , at $35 million. Prescott wanted more than that, and he doesn’t have the career pedigree of some of the other highest-paid quarterbacks, including Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers .

Instead of taking over that top spot, Prescott now finds himself the seventh-highest-paid quarterback in the league. That’s still nothing to scoff at, but it presents the possibility that the Cowboys don’t view Prescott in that same tier. The team gave extensions to running back Ezekiel Elliott and wide receiver Amari Cooper ; they could have done the same with Prescott, yet didn’t.

The COVID-19 pandemic adds another wrinkle to any contract negotiations. Professional sports teams are likely to lose a lot of money this year, and probably for several years to come. Maybe the Cowboys looked at the landscape and thought they’d say some money this year.

Whatever the case may be, it looks like Prescott is going to have to prove himself once again this year. If he can put up solid numbers and lead the Cowboys deep into the playoffs, he’ll probably get the exact number he wants.

For now, he’ll have to be content playing under the franchise tag. It’s an expensive one-year tryout that could pay tremendous dividends.

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