FRISCO, TX — It was made chandelier-clear beforehand by Dak Prescott that he needed to play the whole thing of his NFL profession with the Dallas Cowboys, and he is now taken yet one more lengthy stride towards serving to make sure that promise is not an empty one simply hours forward of the 2024 common season kickoff in opposition to the Cleveland Browns.
Prescott has agreed to phrases on a brand new four-year contract extension value upwards of $240 million, per a number of experiences that embrace NFL.com, with a historic $231 million in assured cash.
That may hold him locked in because the group’s franchise quarterback properly past the 2024 season — information that follows the arrival of megadeals awarded to Jordan Love by the Inexperienced Bay Packers and Tua Tagovailoa by the Miami Dolphins this summer season.
Earlier this yr, he made it clear that whereas the cash is a vital a part of the enterprise facet of the sport, that is not what wakes him up within the morning, neither is it what drives him to excel, as a human being, a father or a participant.
“I’ve by no means performed the sport for that,” he mentioned on Thursday. “I’ve performed a sport for the pure love for the blokes in that locker room. Sure, this sport has all the time introduced me one thing that not numerous issues in life do. That kind of peace, it does. Simply being on the market in between the strains with folks that you just share a brotherhood with. Yeah, one thing that is simply particular about this sport of soccer and we’re simply blessed that that cash comes with it, and I am within the place that I am in that we will be having these conversations.
“However that does not inspire me.”
Talking from the primary totally padded contact follow Week 1, the three-time Professional Bowler re-emphasized his need of retiring in Dallas and, extra particularly, why the considered profitable a Tremendous Bowl with the Cowboys— above another group — drives him.
“That is what motivates me on being right here, simply to be the quarterback that does it, that wins it,” he mentioned. “I do not assume that profitable it another place can be the identical as profitable it right here.”
He’ll now get a number of extra possibilities at attaining that purpose.
The 2022 Walter Payton Man of the 12 months, solely the fourth to ever win the award in Dallas alongside Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Jason Witten, Prescott was set to enter yet one more contract yr starting this September, one thing he’s no stranger to when contemplating he is been the recipient of the Cowboys’ franchise tag on two earlier events — these amounting to principally contract years — his newest variation, non-tag associated, set to hit the present wage cap for greater than $59 million in 2024.
In 2020, Prescott grew to become the primary quarterback in Cowboys’ historical past to ever obtain a tag.
His second, in 2021, tag lasted all of in the future, actually, earlier than he was signed to a four-year contract extension value a most worth of $160 million with $126 million assured in March 2021.
Even with the explosive information of the $255.4 million wage cap set for 2024 (greater than $30 million increased than final season and almost $13 million greater than anticipated), and the help that it supplied the Cowboys, they nonetheless remained over the cap on the time and, as such, wanted the extra reduction supplied by extending Prescott.
“I really feel like 24 hours can actually change your life,” mentioned All-Professional wideout CeeDee Lamb, sizzling off of a brand new contract extension himself that landed in late August. “Clearly, it is accomplished that for me and all through the method that I went by way of, and that is Dak’s second time on the desk, so I do know he is very aware of this and the way Jerry’s working. I’ve little doubt that they will get the job accomplished however, once more, he cannot win a sport by himself.”
The 2 sides agreed to a reworked deal this previous spring to permit for some reduction in that second, however this extension seemingly cements tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} of extra financial savings towards the cap for extra wiggle room.
With this transfer, the Cowboys not solely assure they’re going to keep away from quarterback purgatory — e.g., Clint Stoerner, Stephen McGee, Quincy Carter, and so on. — but it surely also needs to unlock tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in wage cap house for 2024 that may be totally rolled into the 2025 calendar season, or relatively no matter portion of it stays unspent to that time.
Coming into his ninth yr within the league, Prescott, the previous fourth-round compensatory decide in 2016, has ascended to being top-of-the-line within the enterprise — his 2023 season incomes him not solely a 3rd Professional Bowl nod and his first honor as an All-Professional, but additionally second-place in NFL MVP voting behind solely Lamar Jackson.
Prescott completed the 2023 season with the third-highest passing yards tally of his record-setting profession (4,516) and his second-highest variety of touchdowns (36), all whereas throwing his lowest variety of interceptions (9) in a full season since 2018 — finishing a 180-degree flip in that class after throwing a career-worst 15 interceptions one yr in the past.