Prescott, Cooper shrug off money talk in camp with Cowboys

OXNARD >> Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott pretends he can’t hear questions about a new contract, while receiver Amari Cooper steadfastly says he simply doesn’t think about his negotiations.

Both reported to training camp on time as they prepare for the final year of their deals, unlike running back Ezekiel Elliott. The two-time rushing champion has been holding out for more than a week, seeking a new contract with two years left on the existing one.

“Different strokes for different folks,” Cooper said. “Everybody’s situation is different.”

By that, Cooper means he’s about to make $10 million more than Elliott ($13.9 million to $3.9 million). But Cooper also talks to Melvin Gordon, the San Diego running back who also is holding out.

“I have a fifth-year option coming up to where I get paid a significant amount of money if I play on that,” Cooper said. “But the running back position, you know Melvin is one of my good friends, and he tells me the contract he would play on this year isn’t even ... it’s nothing. It’s peanuts to an elephant.”

Cooper was the fourth overall pick of the draft in 2015, a year before Elliott went with the same choice. Elliott’s salary is supposed to jump to $9.1 million next year. Gordon was drafted 11 spots behind Cooper, putting his fifth-year salary at $5.6 million this season.

All three of those players surpass the $2 million base salary for Prescott, drafted 131 spots behind Elliott in the fourth round before winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2016 after Tony Romo got hurt. The Cowboys have two NFC East titles and a 32-16 record with Prescott.

Chiefs counting on Clark, Mathieu to provide leadership

ST. JOSEPH, MO. >> The back stories of safety Tyrann Mathieu and defensive end Frank Clark are remarkably similar, starting with their rocky rides through college and right into their NFL stardom.

So it makes sense that the Kansas City Chiefs are counting on both of them to provide not only playmaking but also leadership for a defense that has undergone a top-to-bottom transformation.

The Chiefs signed Mathieu in March to a $42 million, three-year contract to replace the oft-injured Eric Berry at the back end of new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s 4-3 scheme. Then in April, the Chiefs acquired Clark from Seattle and lavished on him a $105 million, five-year deal.

Big money for what the Chiefs hope is a big payoff.

“It’s really trying to build a defense with an attitude,” said Mathieu, who spent last season with Houston after a solid run in Arizona. “Any time you can have 10 or 11 guys with a chip on their shoulder, with an edge, a certain kind of presence, a certain kind of attitude, a certain kind of swagger, you can create a collective identity, and I think that’s really what we’re trying to do.”