With Tuesday afternoon’s deadline for NFL teams to place the franchise or transition tag on players to lock up their contractual rights for the 2021 season looming, the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott agreed to a deal that will keep the franchise quarterback in Big D for at least the next four seasons.
Prescott’s $160-million contract includes $126 million guaranteed and comes complete with a signing bonus worth $66 million, the highest in NFL history, according to ESPN.
Though it is not surprising the Cowboys and Prescott came to an agreement, the amount of guaranteed money in the deal does raise some eyebrows considering the 27-year-old has yet to take the field after suffering a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle in a Week 5 win over the New York Giants in October.
Though Prescott, who passed for 1,856 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions before getting injured, is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for next season, players do not always return to form immediately after suffering compound fractures once they begin playing again. (Just ask Gordon Hayward of the NBA, who reached out to Prescott after he got hurt.)
The Cowboys were hoping to sign Prescott to a five-year contract, but the two sides eventually agreed on a four-year pact that will allow the franchise quarterback to hit the market with the chance of earning a second huge payday when he is 31 years old. Dallas likely felt they had no choice but to give in to their young QB’s preference for a shorter deal after they saw their offense go from scoring 32.6 points per game with Prescott to 21.1 without him.
Drafted in the fourth round out of Mississippi State in 2016, Prescott went from a fourth-stringer in the spring to a starter by Week 1 following preseason injuries to former Dallas quarterbacks Tony Romo and Kellen Moore. After leading the ‘Boys to a franchise record-tying 13 wins during the regular season, Prescott won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Prescott has gone 42-27 in 69 regular-season starts but has only played in three playoff games, going 1-2. With Dallas desperate to make the playoffs after missing the postseason in three of the past four seasons, it makes sense the Cowboys went all-in on Prescott, but it is still an incredible investment in a player whose career arc compares most similarly to Josh Freeman, Carson Wentz, Blake Bortles, Vince Ferragamo, Scott Mitchell, Colin Kaepernick, Joe Kapp, Jameis Winston, Jay Fiedler and Eric Hipple at this point, according to Pro-Football Reference.
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