The wait is finally over.
After holding a tremendous amount of leverage all offseason, Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys were able to come together on an agreement that allows them to keep their starting quarterback for the long haul.
Prescott signed a four-year, $240 million dollar contract that guarantees him $231 million and makes him the highest-paid player in NFL history.
With the deal now in place, Prescott can now focus entirely on football as he looks to help his team finally get over the hump in 2024.
While Prescott has emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in team history for a franchise with a rich history at the position, his legacy will ultimately come down to whether or not he brings a Lombardi Trophy back to Dallas.
Dak Prescott’s Contract Extension Details
Prescott’s deal puts to bed the offseason-long discourse regarding his and his teammate CeeDee Lamb’s potential future with the team. With both now under contract long term, Lamb and Prescott will be a dynamic duo with the hopes and dreams of another Super Bowl for the franchise heaped upon their backs.
The new deal follows Prescott’s massive 2023 season, during which he finished second in MVP voting after throwing career highs in touchdown passes (36) and completion percentage (69.5%) as well as 4,516 passing yards.
Now, with a new, freshly signed deal that keeps him in Dallas for four more years beyond this season, the Cowboys hope Prescott can pick up where he left off in 2023 as he tries to help them reach the NFC Championship Game for the first time in over 28 years.
New Contract Puts Even More Pressure on Prescott to Deliver in the Postseason
Although it might be a scary dollar figure for some to comprehend, Prescott has cemented himself as one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks and deserves every penny.
While there’s no denying Prescott’s regular-season production, the playoffs have been a different story.
Prescott has emerged as a top-10-caliber quarterback, and the Cowboys are coming off three consecutive 12-win seasons. During this three-year period, only the Kansas City Chiefs have won more regular-season games than Dallas.
Over these three seasons, however, the Chiefs have won two Super Bowls, while the Cowboys have won just one total playoff game.
Football is a team sport, and the blame can never entirely go to one player. With that said, Prescott has certainly been a less effective quarterback in the postseason.
According to TruMedia, only Brock Purdy, Patrick Mahomes, and Josh Allen have higher expected points added (EPA) per dropback than Prescott at 0.14 over the last three regular seasons.
During this same time period during the postseason, however, Prescott’s EPA per dropback drops to 0.06 (13th best of 28 quarterbacks) over four postseason starts. In those four playoff games, Prescott threw for an average of 292 passing yards with nine total touchdowns, five interceptions, and 6.75 yards per attempt.
These statistics are slightly inflated by one outlier strong postseason performance — when he threw for 305 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the Cowboys’ lone playoff win in the last three seasons against a below .500 Tampa Bay Buccaneers team.
If you take away Dallas’ lone playoff win, Prescott’s recent playoff statistics are considerably worse. His QB rating, for example, plummets from 89.5 to 76.6.
On paper, the Cowboys have enough talent to compete with the best of them in the NFL. But much rides on Prescott’s shoulders to improve in the playoffs and put the team on his back when they need him the most.
While an immense amount of pressure already comes with the title of being the franchise quarterback for America’s Team, it only increases for Prescott now that he’s been rewarded as the highest-paid player in NFL history.
Prescott may be on his way toward breaking every passing record in franchise history, but his legacy will be defined by whether or not he helps snap the Cowboys’ Super Bowl drought.