Prescott league's top earner on eve of new season

Big signing bonus gives Dallas' QB the edge over endorsement-rich champ Brady

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott and Tampa Bay counterpart Tom Brady will square off in the NFL'S season opener Thursday night.

The Cowboys star already holds a sizable lead over the Buccaneers legend when it comes to their wallets, however.

According to Forbes magazine, Prescott is the league's highest-earning player so far in 2021 with US$87 million. Brady ranks No. 2 with $72.5 million, the figures reported by the publication on Friday reveal.

Prescott, 28, received a record $66-million signing bonus when he signed a four-year, $160-million deal with Dallas in March. His pretax earnings include $12 million from endorsements.

Brady, 44, has the bragging rights when it comes to endorsements. Coming off his seventh Super Bowl title, he has supplemented his $27.5 million in on-field earnings with $45 million in endorsement s.

Seven of the Top 10 spots in the Forbes rankings are quarterbacks.

Trailing Prescott and Brady are Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes ($44.8 million), Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers ($33.4 million), San Francisco offensive tackle Trent Williams ($33.3 million), Washington defensive tackle Jonathan Allen ($31.2 million), Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson ($31 million), Jacksonville rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence ($30.8 million), Detroit quarterback Jared Goff ($27.7 million) and New York Giants defensive tackle Leonard Williams ($26.2 million).

The top 10 NFL players are set to make $418 million in 2021, an increase of nine per cent from last year.

New York Jets starting wide receiver Jamison Crowder tested positive for COVID-19, the NFL Network reported Friday. It's believed to be an isolated case, per the report, but Crowder will be placed on the reserve/covid -19 list. His availability for the Sept. 12 season opener at the Carolina Panthers is questionable.

Crowder, 28, led the Jets in receptions (59), receiving yards (699) and touchdown catches (six) last season.

Crowder missed practice on Wednesday and was considered day-to-day with a groin injury.

He has 358 career catches for 4,160 yards and 26 touchdowns in 84 games (47 starts) with New York (2019-20) and Washington (2015-18), which drafted him in the fourth round in 2015.

The Pittsburgh Steelers acquired cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon from the Seattle Seahawks on Friday in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

The trade is pending completion of a physical.

Witherspoon signed a one-year, Us$4-million contract with Seattle on March 19. He spent his first four seasons with the NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers.

The 26-year-old recorded 20 tackles and one interception in 11 games (four starts) with the 49ers last season. He totalled 117 tackles and four picks in 47 career games (33 starts) since being selected by San Francisco in the third round of the 2017 draft.

Right tackle La'el Collins didn't practice Friday and the Cowboys are preparing to go with backups next Thursday when Dallas visits the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Collins continues to fight a stinger in his neck and shoulder that limits his mobility and range of motion as a blocker.

Head coach Mike Mccarthy said Collins is “day to day,” but the time has arrived for the team to plan for his absence. Accordingly, Ty Nsekhe and Terence Steele are rotating at the position and would be in line to start should Collins sit out Week 1.

Mccarthy said “we're in a holding pattern” regarding plans for Collins to work out or practice next week.

Left guard Connor Williams remains on the Covid/reserve list, but Mccarthy indicated he could return soon.

The last time the Buccaneers' defence faced a bunch of backup offensive linemen, Tampa's front seven devoured the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl with three sacks, forced two interceptions and hit quarterback Patrick Mahomes eight times. Kansas City's potent offence scored nine points and never reached the end zone.

Mccarthy said there are no physical limitations on Prescott, who is a “full go” entering Week 1 after spending the majority of training camp on a pitch count to protect his strained right shoulder.

The Las Vegas Raiders are signing running back Peyton Barber off the Washington Football Team's practice squad, multiple outlets reported Friday.

Barber, 27, rushed for 258 yards and four touchdowns in 16 games (two starts) in his first season with Washington in 2020.

He played his first four NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, rushing for 1,987 yards and 15 touchdowns and catching 57 passes for 349 yards and two scores in 63 games (28 starts) from 2016-19.

Barber would become the third running back on the Raiders' 53man active roster, joining Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake.

Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes isn't sounding the alarm over perceived pre-season growing pains rookie offensive tackle Penei Sewell experienced.

Sewell was selected by the Lions with the seventh pick in the 2021 draft. The six-foot-six, 330-pound Sewell played on the left side during his college career at Oregon before being shuffled to right tackle by Detroit.

Sewell is being counted on to preserve the health of quarterback Jared Goff when the Lions open the season against the visiting San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 12.

Sewell, 20, was a two-year starter for the Ducks (2018-19), allowing just one sack in 1,376 snaps over 20 games.