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Todd Archer
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
- Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010. You can follow him on Twitter at @toddarcher.
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Adam Schefter
Adam Schefter
ESPN Senior Writer
- ESPN NFL Insider
- Joined ESPN in 2009
- Former president of the Pro Football Writers of America and the author of four books
Sep 8, 2024, 11:24 AM ET
The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott have agreed on a four-year, $240 million contract extension that will make the star quarterback the highest-paid player in NFL history and keep him in a Cowboys uniform through the 2028 season, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Sunday.
The deal includes $231 million guaranteed, which is the most in league history. Deshaun Watson‘s fully guaranteed deal with the Cleveland Browns was worth $230 million.
“I know that these numbers are beyond anything that I could have ever imagined,” Jones said of the guaranteed money in Prescott’s deal.
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The $60 million average annual value of Prescott’s contract is the highest in NFL history, easily surpassing recent deals worth $55 million in average annual value signed by Cincinnati‘s Joe Burrow, Green Bay‘s Jordan Love and Jacksonville‘s Trevor Lawrence. Prescott also received a record $80 million signing bonus, passing Love’s previous high of $75 million.
“There’s a lot of me that thinks [that] I hope Dak is our quarterback for the rest of my time,” Jones said. “And that’s not just limited to the terms of this contract, either. I have a lot of confidence in him. He brings so much to the table. He’s a player that the team follows — that’s big.”
The record-setting deal comes hours before Dallas’ season opener in Cleveland against the Browns, after the Cowboys and Prescott engaged in negotiations throughout the weekend, sources told ESPN.
“This was the thing to do for what we’re here for — and that is to win a championship,” Jones said. “I know our fans know that. I’m surprised that anyone would think that anything short of — they might disagree with the decision — but anything short of a commitment is just not the case with me.
“I gave everything I ever had or hoped to have to get a chance to be a part of the Cowboys. And it’s beyond my fondest dreams where we stand today.”
In less than two weeks, the Cowboys were able to make Prescott the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL and make CeeDee Lamb the league’s second-highest-paid wide receiver, securing both players through 2028.
The Prescott deal also helped the Cowboys avert a potential salary cap mess and keep them from needing to find a franchise quarterback either through free agency, trade or the draft in 2025. The path to the largest contract in Cowboys history was not as long as the first time Prescott signed the biggest contract in team history, but it still had some drama.
that’s our QB 🤩 pic.twitter.com/XmJmHi5lqV
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 8, 2024
Prescott had been set to play this season on the final year of a four-year, $160 million deal that he signed in 2021. The Cowboys and Prescott had been unable to find common ground since the start of this past offseason, but they entered the weekend with the knowledge that they would try to work out a deal before the season kicked off.
By agreeing to a deal Sunday, the Cowboys prevented Prescott from becoming a free agent next winter in a market that figures to include a number of teams looking for a quarterback. Thanks to the no-trade and no-franchise-tag clause in his previous contract, Prescott would have hit the open market as a rarity in the NFL — a no-strings-attached quarterback in the prime of his career.
Prescott instead will stay in Dallas, where he has formed a strong bond with coach Mike McCarthy. After playing just five games in 2020 before a season-ending ankle injury, Prescott led the Cowboys to the postseason in each of the past three seasons under McCarthy, who is 36-15 over that stretch.
One of Jones’ concerns about the big-money deals paid out to quarterbacks has been able to field a competitive team around Prescott. Micah Parsons is eligible for an extension after this season.
“It’s going to always be a test and a measurement when it comes to planning ahead,” Jones said. “That’s a big thing. We sit on eroding sand and things change every year. My assessment of where we’re going to be going in in the future, we’re going to be able to handle this. We’re going to be able to get players around him that gives us a chance to compete for a Super Bowl. He was our best chance of getting one.”
This deal could see Prescott end his career as the franchise’s all-time leader in wins, passing yards, touchdown passes, attempts and completions. But the biggest goal for both sides is ending a Super Bowl drought that is drawing closer to 30 years.
Prescott, 31, finished last season with 4,516 passing yards and a league-leading 36 touchdown passes. The three-time Pro Bowler is the third-leading passer in Cowboys history, behind only Tony Romo and Troy Aikman, and his 202 career touchdown passes trail only Romo (248) on the franchise’s all-time list.
Prescott has directed the Cowboys to the postseason five times in his career (2016, 2018, 2021-23), but they have not gotten past the divisional round. In 2016, the Cowboys had home-field advantage and lost in the divisional round to the Green Bay Packers, then coached by McCarthy.
Last season, the Cowboys were bounced by the Packers in the wild-card round. While Prescott threw for 403 yards and three touchdown passes, he was intercepted twice as Green Bay ran out to a 27-0 lead in the first half.
The last time the Cowboys won a championship was in Super Bowl XXX with Aikman as their quarterback. The last time the Cowboys made an NFC Championship Game was for the 1995 season. Only the Washington Commanders have a longer NFC title game drought than the Cowboys.
Prescott has embraced the pressure of trying to deliver a Super Bowl and living up to the standard Hall of Famers Roger Staubach and Aikman have set. He has also embraced helping the community with his Faith, Fight, Finish Foundation. In 2022, he was named the winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler contributed to this report.
