Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott Eyes Title After Signing Massive Deal

Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys looks to pass the ball in the first quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 8, 2024. Jason Miller/Getty Images

Quarterback Dak Prescott celebrated his new, massive contract with the Dallas Cowboys by helping his team dominate the Cleveland Browns in the regular season opener.

Just hours before kick-off, it was announced that Prescott agreed to a new four-year, $240 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history.

“The figure is right,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed before the Cowboys played the Browns on Sunday. “What it means is a big commitment to the next five years to our future if you will. I hope Dak is our 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. He brings so much to the table. He’s a player that the team follows,” he told reporters.

After signing the deal, Prescott led the Cowboys to a 33–17 victory over the Browns. He completed 19 of 32 passes for 179 yards with a touchdown, basically managing a game in which the defense and special teams came up with big plays.

Prescott’s deal was made just two weeks after the Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb agreed to a four-year, $136 million contract. Lamb sat out all of training camp before his agent reached an agreement for a new deal.

Lamb had his best year as a pro in 2023 when he led the NFL with 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. He earned All-Pro honors for the first time and is already a three-time Pro Bowler. He led the Cowboys with five receptions for 61 yards Sunday against the Browns.

“That’s my dawg ... shout out to him,” Lamb said about Prescott after the Browns game. “We have a lot to accomplish. We knew that he was going to be with us. It was just a matter of time before it was announced. Very outstanding. He is a great player, a great dude. He’s a great teammate and friend if you will. He checks all of the boxes.”

The new deal also lessens Prescott’s $55.5 million salary cap hit this year. If he didn’t reach a new deal with Dallas by next March, Prescott would have counted more than $40 million against the 2025 cap in dead-money charges.

Prescott has been a three-time Pro Bowl selection and won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award in 2022.

The Cowboys selected Prescott in the fourth round (135th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft from Mississippi State. He was the first quarterback drafted by the Cowboys since Stephen McGee in 2009 and the fifth since Jones bought the team in 1989.

However, Prescott is 2–5 in the postseason over his career. He threw for 403 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in a 48–32 upset loss to Green Bay in the wild-card round this past season.

His main focus is to bring a sixth Super Bowl title back to Dallas. The money is secondary.

“That’s my only motivation to hold up my part of this deal and just deliver that,” Prescott said after the game against the Browns. “That’s what is at the forefront of my mind, not the money. It’s about holding up my end of the deal and it’s winning, and I want to do it here.”