Dak Prescott and Cowboys agree to four-year, $240 million contract extension before game begins

The raise and vote of confidence for Prescott are well-deserved. The 31-year-old signal-caller is coming off a career year in which he led the league with 410 completions and 36 touchdowns and finished second in MVP voting. Prescott's marked improvement over the 2022 season, in which he played in just 12 games but still led the NFL with 15 interceptions, proved that the QB has gotten better with age, a pillar to build on rather than one to abandon.

By signing Prescott before he was set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2025, Dallas prevented its franchise QB from hitting the market with unprecedented pressure. In addition to his no-trade clause, Prescott benefited in negotiations from having already been franchise-tagged twice. If Dallas were to tag him a third time, they would owe Prescott over $80 million, a prohibitive amount even for the deep-pocketed Cowboys.

Sunday's news ends an offseason of consternation for Jerry Jones and the Boys, who have had to face questions about the futures of Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons in Big D since training camp began. Jones has been fairly confident all summer about the state of his big stars at The Star, telling reporters he accepts the “ambiguity” of Dallas' good problem. The Cowboys owner said late last month that the team doesn't have to finalize Dak's contract before the start of the 2024 season, but Sunday's loose deadline spurred action.

With Prescott and Lamb now both signed to record-high contracts, Dallas can focus on the crucial 2024 season and re-sign two-time All-Pro and perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate Parsons, who is entering his fourth season with the Cowboys. The star linebacker is under contract through the 2025 season after Dallas exercised his fifth-year option earlier this year, giving Cowboys leadership some breathing room before shelling out even more money for big contract extensions.

At this point, the Cowboys can confidently say that they are truly and definitively relying on Prescott, their quarterback of the present and future.