IS DAK BACK?
MAYBE… BUT HIS CARDS ARE ARGUABLY THE BEST INVESTMENT IN FOOTBALL RIGHT NOW.
Rewind to four years ago. Jared Go and Carson Wentz were the top two picks in the NFL Dra . The Dallas Cowboys took running back Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth overall pick and scooped up Dak Prescott in the fourth round (the eighth quarterback selected).
Tony Romo suffered a back injury in the preseason that eventually paved the way for Prescott to take over the starting job. His rookie season was nearly flawless, going 13-3 with a 104.9 passer rating and being named Offensive Rookie of the Year a er a close battle with Wentz and Elliott for the award. His card values soured, and the Cowboys had found their next leader in a deep lineage of great quarterbacks.
Today, Prescott is coming off a 2019 season where he threw for the second-most yards in the NFL, but finished with a mediocre 8-8 season that included a 1-7 record against playoff teams. A drawn-out contract battle dominated most of the off-season. e quarterback reportedly turned down offers that would average close to $40 million per year, which would be the highest per-season salary in the NFL.
Amid the contract disputes, Dallas made significant changes that seemingly eroded Prescott’s negotiating leverage, including using a franchise tag to keep him from signing elsewhere. e biggest change is new head coach Mike McCarthy, who averaged 9.6 wins per season while developing Aaron Rodgers into one of the greatest passers of all time. e team locked up Elliott with a $90 million contract just before the start of the 2019 season, gave receiver Amari Cooper a $100 million contract
in March, then drafted receiver CeeDee Lamb in the first round. They then brought on quarterback Andy Dalton as a backup and added insurance if Prescott staged a hold out. However, he signed the franchise tag in mid-June, which guarantees Prescott will be a Cowboy for at least the 2020 season. So, Prescott now has a new offensive-minded coach, elite offensive weapons and a veteran backup who could easily fill in at any time. He’s in an interesting spot with huge upside. While his cards have been soft for more than a year, they could be some of the best buys in the hobby right now. Prescott is a two-time Pro Bowl Dallas Cowboys quarterback, and the football card hobby is extremely quarterback heavy. He has already shown he can lead his team to the playoffs. In his four-season career, he is 18-6 against NFC East teams: 7-1 against the Redskins, 6-2 against Giants, and 5-3 against the Eagles who are just three years removed from winning the Super Bowl. Prescott has shown he can win, rack up big numbers and put a game on his shoulders—all traits of an elite quarterback. He just lacks the deep playoff success. If he’s able to put it all together and stay with the Cowboys (still the strongest and most valuable brand in pro sports), his cards could skyrocket again. If buying low is the name of the game, now seems like a good time. We rarely cover cards that have lost significant value, but getting ahead of the curve means recognizing changing market trends. Prescott is primed to move up. Even after his best season statistically, his card values have been flat, remaining at their lowest point since last summer. His key RCs have dropped by an average of 60 to 80 percent since their peak after his rookie season. Here’s how his top five have changed since values debuted in 2017.