Dak Prescott, Cowboys agree to record-breaking four-year, $240M contract extension

Yahoo Sports Staff

Dallas Cowboys fans, breathe easy. Dak Prescott's bank account, be excited.

Prescott and the Cowboys agreed to a four-year, $240 million extension on Sunday, including a record $231 million guaranteed, resolving the team's — and perhaps the NFL's — biggest impending contract situation and keeping its star quarterback around for the foreseeable future.

Before his team kicked off against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein, "There's a lot of me that thinks, hopes, that Dak is the quarterback for the rest of my time. And that's not just limited to the terms of this contract either. I've got a lot of confidence in him."

The deal, which has Prescott earning $60 million annually, is the biggest in NFL history. He topped the $55 million per season high mark set by Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence and Jordan Love. His $231 million guaranteed beat Deshaun Watson's previous record by $1 million.

Prescott and the Cowboys finalized the contract hours before Dallas will kick off the 2024 season against the Browns in Cleveland. Prescott also reportedly receives an $80 million signing bonus — breaking another record.

While the Cowboys' playoff failures, to which Prescott's play has contributed, will continue to be a focus until they can get over the hump, there was no real choice but to sign him to a mega deal. Quarterbacks as good as Prescott don't come around too often, and he played at an MVP level in 2023, completing 69.5 percent of his passes for 4,516 yards and 36 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He's a three-time Pro Bowler who was named second-team All-Pro for the first time last season.

At training camp in mid August, Prescott reflected on a potential dip into free agency, Yahoo Sports:

“I'm free right now as in, where I am in life, what I’ve done here — not what I’ve done here, but who I’ve been here. Understanding that sure, I'm deserving of [the next contract]. But then again, I mean, I told [my physical therapist] Luke [Miller] this: This game is judged off of winning the Super Bowl. And I understand people's angst, maybe their angst and me having not done that.

“Hey, if these people want to move on, it's a business. But I know, as I said in the media, it's a two-way street.

“Things have to be right from my end as well.”

Things certainly came out right for Prescott financially, as he is now the highest paid player in NFL history. This is Prescott's second major payday in the NFL. He struck a four-year, $160 million deal in 2021, one that included no-trade and no-franchise tag clauses, a maneuver that helped give him maximum negotiating leverage against the Cowboys entering this season.

Prescott's deal comes on the heels of star wideout CeeDee Lamb cashing in big with an extension valued at $136 million over four seasons, $67 million of it guaranteed at signing.

The next big negotiation for the Cowboys is with star edge rusher Micah Parsons, who has a fifth-year club option valued at $21.3 million for the 2025 season. Parsons, one of the NFL's best defensive players, will likely be looking to set a record for highest-paid defender in the league. How the Cowboys juggle these pricey salaries against the salary cap and field a competitive team will be a source of heavy debate and analysis over the next couple of seasons.

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