FRISCO, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott have agreed on a $ 160 million, four-year, $ 126 million contract, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The agreement, which is technically valid for six years but is valid until four to help Dallas reach the salary cap, could be worth up to $ 164 million.
Prescott’s signing bonus is $ 66 million, the highest in NFL history, with $ 75 million payable in the first year, Schefter reports. According to the source, the first three years of the transaction average $ 42 million a year.
The Cowboys announced that they had agreed a contract with Prescott, but did not disclose the terms. The Cowboys will place the franchise label on Prescott Tuesday as a procedural matter, a source told Schefter. The Cowboys have announced that they will be holding a Wednesday news conference.
The process of reaching a long-term agreement with Prescott covered three seasons, multiple mega-million offers and hours of negotiations. The Cowboys have consistently said they want Prescott to be their franchise quarter for the present and the future, and Prescott has said he wants to stay with the Cowboys.
It just took much longer than normal.
Prescott, who turns 28 in July, has a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle that suffered in the Week 5 win over the New York Giants in October, but he is predicted to make a full recovery during the off-season.
The path to the agreement is complicated by the extensions signed by 2016 partners Jared Goff and Carson Wentz in 2019, the last year of a collective bargaining agreement, and the unwillingness of both parties to bend in what they wanted in terms of the length of the agreement. The Cowboys wanted a commitment of five years or longer; Prescott’s team wanted a four-year deal.
Now that the deal has been finalized, the focus is on improving Prescott’s list to make sure the Cowboys can compete for a Super Bowl.
The Cowboys have missed the playoffs in three of the past four seasons. However, Prescott’s absence in 2020 has shown how integral he is to their success. Before getting injured, he threw for 1,856 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions in five games. The Cowboys’ offense went through a few weeks without Prescott and scored once in three games after scoring at least 31 points in four of their first five games.
In five seasons, Prescott has a team record of seven 400-yard games and 24 running touchdowns, most by a Cowboys full-back. He is second to Tony Romo in pass races at 300 meters with 15. He has also proved that he is a clutch with 15 match races.
Prescott, the Cowboys ’fourth-round pick in 2016, set a 42-27 record with 17,364 passing steps to pass along with 106 passes and 40 interceptions.
With the contract secured, Prescott’s expectations will be even greater to deliver a Super Bowl to an organization that has not won the title race in the past 25 years.