Jerry and Stephen Jones' stare down with three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott over his second long-term contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys is finally over.
The Cowboys are re-signing Prescott, who will be 31 years old as he enters his ninth NFL season in 2024, to a four-year extension worth $240 million with $231 million guaranteed, according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. He is now the NFL's highest-paid player in terms of his contract's average-per-year value of $60 million, surpassing the previous of $55 million APY set by Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on his five-year, $275 million deal. Both Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (five years, $275 million) and Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (four years, $220 million) tied the $55 million APY mark with their new deals this offseason. With his record-setting deal, Dak Prescott gets $39M more than any QB is scheduled to make over the next 5 years. He also gets an $80M signing bonus – the largest ever, per NFL Media.
In April, Prescott, who led the NFL with 36 passing touchdowns in 2023, said he was "not trying to be the highest paid necessarily," but he did smirk when saying it, letting on that he didn't entirely mean the company line he just said. Not only does this new deal make him the highest-paid player in NFL history overall, but his $231 million in guarantees is also intentional. That wrinkle exceeds the $230 million guaranteed the Cleveland Browns gave quarterback Deshaun Watson upon trading for him in 2022.
Jerry Jones maintained throughout the offseason he wanted Prescott as the Cowboys' long-term quarterback going forward, saying "We want Dak Prescott, that's that" at his pre-draft press conference in late April. He walked the walk with this deal. Jones cited Prescott registering a career-high 105.9 passer rating in head coach Mike McCarthy's first season as the team's offensive play-caller. Dak also became the first quarterback in Cowboys history to lead the NFL outright in passing touchdowns in a season with his 36 a season ago.
That figure isn't even Prescott's career high. He threw a single-season franchise record of 37 in 2021, his first healthy season with McCarthy as the head coach with both Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb on the team. Thirty-six passing touchdowns ties his predecessor Tony Romo's single-season career high set in 2007, which are the second most in a season in franchise history. Prescott (202 career passing touchdowns) trails only Romo (248 career passing touchdowns) for the franchise's all-time touchdown record, one he could take control of by 2026 if he maintains his current pace. He trails (29,459 career passing yards in eight seasons) both Romo (34,183 career passing yards) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman (32,942 career passing yards) on the Cowboys' all-time passing yards list.
"We want Dak Prescott. That's that," Jones said on April 23. "There's no question that Mike's [McCarthy] focus, not that he didn't have focus, but how he [Prescott] improved last year. I give Mike a lot of credit for that. That improvement demonstrated to me there's more as far as ultimately winning what we're trying to do here. ... We think that there's room for growth. He is absolutely unsurpassed as what he is as an individual with his work ethic, what he brings with his leadership and everything about what you would think about as a quarterback. So he's got that. He's had a few hits, but everybody has that, too ... This wouldn't even be my response if we were in a different place relative to the cap. ... That's our challenge and to make it work out. Dak as the quarterback Cowboys, I don't even have a blink on that one."
The 31-year-old was drafted by Dallas in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Mississippi State. Prescott was thrown into the fire early as a rookie as he came in under duress following a preseason injury to then-starter Tony Romo. Prescott took the reins of the starting job and largely never looked back.
He has started 114 games for the organization and the Cowboys are 73-41 in those regular season matchups Prescott has been under center. Already, Prescott ranks third on the franchise's all-time passing yards list (29,459), looking up only at Troy Aikman and Tony Romo. Prescott's 202 career passing touchdowns rank second all-time in Cowboys history behind Romo (248).
Now, that Prescott's deal is done, the front office can turn its attention toward extending three-time All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons would be next in line as he is now extension eligible after playing three seasons following being taken 12th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Dallas is undergoing a transition year of sorts in 2024 after losing eight players in free agency, including five starters, which is tied for the third-most free agency departures in a single offseason for the Cowboys all time. Dallas is banking on its youth -- rookies like left tackle Tyler Guyton (29th overall pick), defensive end Marshawn Kneeland (56th overall) and interior offensive lineman Cooper Beebe (73rd overall) -- plus continuity on offense as the Cowboys enter their second year with McCarthy as the offensive play-caller to run their streak of making the postseason to four in a row. The team is starting over schematically on defense with Mike Zimmer after Dan Quinn departed to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders.
The Cowboys aim to join their pro sports brethren -- the Texas Rangers (MLB), Dallas Mavericks (NBA), and Dallas Stars (NHL) -- in making runs to at least the conference finals, something they haven't done since 1995. Their 36-15 record since 2021 is the second best in the entire NFL behind only the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (37-14), but Dallas is the first team to win 12 or more games in three consecutive seasons and fail to make the conference championship round since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger. The Cowboys' 13 playoff appearances in a row without reaching the conference championship game is the longest active streak in the league. Prescott's and the Cowboys have been starved for a deep run as Dallas is 2-5 in the postseason during his tenure.
"It's not jealousy, but yeah, it fires you up, 100%," Prescott said at OTAs on May 22. "Yeah, any competitor should, damn sure, in my position -- leader of the team, understanding what winning means here, not getting it done, and then watching your brothers across the city go and make these things happen ... I want it for them. I want it because it only raises the stakes and makes it tougher on me. And I'm for that. Go win it. Rangers did it [winning the 2023 World Series]. Other two [Stars and Mavericks] go do it. Put more f---ing pressure on us."
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