Hours before the Dallas Cowboys were set to open up the 2024 NFL season against the Cleveland Browns, the franchise agreed to terms with Dak Prescott on an NFL-record shattering contract extension.
Sunday morning, the Cowboys signed Prescott to a four-year contract extension worth $240 million, making him the highest-paid player in the history of the NFL. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Prescott’s deal includes $231 million guaranteed.
Dak Prescott’s New Contract Details from Dallas Cowboys
The guaranteed portion of Prescott’s contract eclipses the fully-guaranteed contract the Cleveland Browns signed Deshaun Watson to prior to the 2022 campaign.
Not only is Prescott’s deal the highest-paying contract in league history, but includes the most money ever guaranteed by a contract.
Over the past two offseasons, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, and Jordan Love all signed contracts that pay them upwards of $55 million per season, a benchmark that Prescott’s deal eclipses with an average annual salary of $60 million.
Prescott’s contract is the latest major move made by the Cowboys in recent weeks, following on the heels of making CeeDee Lamb one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the league, thanks to a four-year deal worth $136 million.
The timing of Prescott’s extension is a bit conspicuous because while owner Jerry Jones and the Cowboys secured one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL for the next four seasons hours before the 2024 campaign kicks off. However, Dallas was one of the more inactive teams in free agency so it is fair to wonder if the organization should have been able to get this deal done sooner in order to add more pieces around their QB.
No longer is Prescott facing a lame-duck situation as the 31-year-old looks to guide the Cowboys past the NFC Divisional Playoffs this season, a benchmark that could determine head coach Mike McCarthy’s future in Dallas.
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