FRISCO, TX — It was made chandelier-clear previously by Dak Prescott that he wanted to play the entirety of his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, and he's now taken yet another long stride toward helping ensure that promise isn't an empty one just hours ahead of the 2024 regular season kickoff against the Cleveland Browns.
Prescott has agreed to terms on a new four-year contract extension worth upwards of $240 million, per multiple reports that include NFL.com, with a historic $231 million in guaranteed money.
That will keep him locked in as the team's franchise quarterback well beyond the 2024 season — news that follows the arrival of megadeals awarded to Jordan Love by the Green Bay Packers and Tua Tagovailoa by the Miami Dolphins this summer.
Earlier this year, he made it clear that while the money is a necessary part of the business aspect of the game, that's not what wakes him up in the morning, nor is it what drives him to excel, as a human being, a father or a player.
"I've never played the game for that," he said on Thursday. "I've played a game for the pure love for the guys in that locker room. Yes, this game has always brought me something that not a lot of things in life do. That type of peace, it does. Just being out there in between the lines with people that you share a brotherhood with. Yeah, something that's just special about this game of football and we're just blessed that that money comes with it, and I'm in the position that I'm in that we can be having these conversations.
"But that doesn't motivate me."
Speaking from the first fully padded contact practice Week 1, the three-time Pro Bowler re-emphasized his want of retiring in Dallas and, more specifically, why the thought of winning a Super Bowl with the Cowboys— above any other team — drives him.
"That's what motivates me on being here, just to be the quarterback that does it, that wins it," he said. "I don't think that winning it any other place would be the same as winning it here."
He'll now get several more chances at achieving that goal.
The 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year, only the fourth to ever win the award in Dallas alongside Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Jason Witten, Prescott was set to enter yet another contract year beginning this September, something he is no stranger to when considering he's been the recipient of the Cowboys' franchise tag on two previous occasions — those amounting to basically contract years — his latest variation, non-tag related, set to hit the current salary cap for more than $59 million in 2024.
In 2020, Prescott became the first quarterback in Cowboys' history to ever receive a tag.
His second, in 2021, tag lasted all of one day, literally, before he was signed to a four-year contract extension worth a maximum value of $160 million with $126 million guaranteed in March 2021.
Even with the explosive news of the $255.4 million salary cap set for 2024 (more than $30 million higher than last season and nearly $13 million more than expected), and the aid that it provided the Cowboys, they still remained over the cap at the time and, as such, needed the additional relief provided by extending Prescott.
"I feel like 24 hours can really change your life," said All-Pro wideout CeeDee Lamb, hot off of a new contract extension himself that landed in late August. "Obviously, it's done that for me and throughout the process that I went through, and this is Dak's second time at the table, so I know he's very familiar with this and how Jerry's working. I have no doubt that they're going to get the job done but, again, he can't win a game by himself."
The two sides agreed to a reworked deal this past spring to allow for some relief in that moment, but this extension likely cements tens of millions of dollars of additional savings toward the cap for additional wiggle room.
With this move, the Cowboys not only guarantee they'll avoid quarterback purgatory — e.g., Clint Stoerner, Stephen McGee, Quincy Carter, etc. — but it should also free up tens of millions of dollars in salary cap space for 2024 that can be fully rolled into the 2025 calendar season, or rather whatever portion of it remains unspent to that point.
Dak Prescott's Journey to NFL Stardom: A Look Back
Entering his ninth year in the league, Prescott, the former fourth-round compensatory pick in 2016, has ascended to being one of the best in the business — his 2023 season earning him not only a third Pro Bowl nod and his first honor as an All-Pro, but also second-place in NFL MVP voting behind only Lamar Jackson.
Prescott finished the 2023 season with the third-highest passing yards tally of his record-setting career (4,516) and his second-highest number of touchdowns (36), all while throwing his lowest number of interceptions (9) in a full season since 2018 — completing a 180-degree turn in that category after throwing a career-worst 15 interceptions one year ago.
With the signing of his new contract extension, we take a look back at some of quarterback Dak Prescott's career highlights.
Dak Prescott's Rookie Year
The Cowboys' second pick in the fourth round (135th overall) of the 2016 draft, Prescott went to training camp as the fourth quarterback on the depth chart.
The default starter after both Tony Romo and Kellen Moore went down with injuries in training camp, Prescott scored his first NFL touchdown with a 6-yard run in a 27-23 win at Washington on Sept. 18, 2016.
Prescott then became the first rookie quarterback in Cowboys history to start a playoff game when Dallas faced off against Green Bay in a divisional round showdown. He threw for 302 yards with a 103.2 passer rating and became the first NFL rookie to throw three touchdown passes in a playoff game.
For his effort, Prescott earned 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors after setting rookie club records with 3,667 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
Dak Prescott's Career Highlights
On his second pass attempt at the Broncos on Sept. 17, 2017, Prescott became the first quarterback in NFL history to have less than five interceptions in his first 500 career attempts.
On Dec. 1, 2017, Prescott threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns, with all three of those scores coming from 20 or more yards out, including an 81-yarder to Rod Smith. Behind that performance, the Cowboys beat the rival Giants, 30-10.
Prescott racked up 455 passing yards in a 29-23 victory over the Eagles on Dec. 9, 2018, which also saw him toss three touchdown passes, one a 75-yard score to Amari Cooper. In addition, Dak surpassed 10,000 career yards in the game.
Not only did Prescott record his first postseason victory with a win over Seattle in the 2018 wild-card round, he also became the first quarterback in Cowboys history with both a rushing and passing score in a playoff game.
The 2018 season saw Prescott earn his second of three trips to the Pro Bowl. He also was invited to the all-star event in both 2016 and 2023.
The Cowboys opened the 2019 season with a 35-17 win against the Giants on Sept. 8 in which Prescott completed 78.1 percent of his passes (25 of 32) for 405 passing yards and four touchdowns. With a 158.3 passer rating, he became only the second quarterback in Cowboys record books to post a perfect rating and just the fourth to do so in NFL history with more than 30 passing attempts.
With 334 passing yards on Dec. 5, 2019 at Chicago, Prescott became just the second quarterback in Cowboys history to surpass 4,000 passing yards in a season.
In the Cowboys' fifth game of the schedule, against the Giants on Oct. 11, 2020, Prescott suffered a severe ankle injury. When his season came to an end, he was on pace for 5,000 passing yards. In his absence, Dallas went just 4-7 the rest of the way.
At the Patriots on Oct. 17, 2021, Prescott threw for a season-high 445 yards and three touchdowns, including a 35-yard connection with CeeDee Lamb in overtime to give Dallas a 35-29 win. Dak was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Prescott went on to throw a team-record 37 touchdown passes during the 2021 season and totaled 4,449 passing yards, the fourth most in Cowboys history.
Prescott finished up the 2022 campaign with a 15-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb in the season finale at Washington on Jan. 8, 2023. With that, he passed Hall of Famer Troy Aikman for the second-most touchdown passes in franchise history, totaling 166.
In the 2022 wild-card playoff game at Tampa Bay, Prescott threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns for a 143.3 passer rating. He also ran for a score as well in the Cowboys' 31-14 win. This would mark the last NFL game for the great Tom Brady.
After the season, Prescott received the 2022 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award for his outstanding community service off the field as well as his excellence on the field. He joined Roger Staubach (1978), Troy Aikman (1997) and Jason Witten (2012) as the fourth Cowboys player to receive the prestigious honor.
Against Washington on Jan. 7, 2024, Prescott completed 86.1 percent of his passes and tossed four touchdown passes. In doing so, he became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to post four games with at least an 80 percent completion rate. That also marked his 11th career game with at least four touchdown throws, setting a new franchise record. In addition, Prescott joined Tony Romo as the only quarterbacks in Cowboys annals to reach 200 touchdown passes.
Runner-up for MVP honors in 2023, Prescott became the first Cowboys quarterback to lead the NFL outright in passing touchdowns (36). He also topped the league in completions (410), was second in completion percentage (69.5) and passer rating (105.9) and ranked third in passing yards (4,516).
For the fifth straight year in a row, Prescott was presented the team's Bob Lilly Award. Voted on by Cowboys fans, the honor is given for sportsmanship, dedication, leadership and achievement. Since this recognition started in 1985, Prescott is now second to only Jason Witten in franchise history for the most times winning the award.
Is Dak Prescott Worth the Investment?
Over the course of his career in Dallas, he's thrown for a total of 29,459 yards and 202 touchdowns to 74 interceptions, and owns a regular season record of 73-41 despite having now played under two different head coaches, three different play callers and four different quarterbacks' coaches; and once again led the Cowboys' offense to become the No. 1 unit in production last season.
The one constant has been Prescott's ability to adapt quickly and continue winning, and also in the face of debilitating personal adversity that includes tragic loss(es) within his family, along with a season-ending fractured leg in 2020.
In 2024, he became a father for the first time when Margaret Jane ("Baby MJ") was born, truly focusing him like never before, to his own admission.
Prescott is trending in the right direction once again with McCarthy orchestrating the offense, the very coach who coordinated offenses for both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, and the Cowboys' head coach stated earlier this offseason that he and the Cowboys believe Prescott "is part of the solution" as owner and general manager Jerry Jones, speaking from training camp, noted he's "right up there with his biggest fan".
They all just put their money where their mouth is, yet again, and every player in the locker room is celebrating Prescott's job security.
"Yeah, it's everything," he said of the camaraderie in Dallas. "When you play this game, such a physical game, a team game with people that you love and that you pour into and it's vice versa. It makes showing up every day. I don't even want to say easier, but better. You're excited.
"You want to come into this locker room, you want to push guys to be better, you want to get to know and help them on and off the field in every which way that you can. You become more than employees with each other, or coworkers with each other — rather true brothers and family. And I've built some amazing relationships with teammates over these nine years. And yeah, I'm blessed.
"I'm blessed with so many of those guys in there."
Needless to say, the expectation is that Prescott will do the same when the next postseason rolls around, assuming the Cowboys earn their way into the tournament as they have the previous three seasons, but that's not something he's planning on shying away from.
And he'll get several more chances in his NFL career to attack it in a Cowboys' uniform.
