Dallas Cowboys: Why Dak Prescott is worth $40 million per year
If things had gone Jerry Jones' way in the 2016 NFL Draft, Dak Prescott would not be the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. After failed attempts to trade up for Paxton Lynch and Conner Cook, the Cowboys were forced to "settle" on Prescott in the fourth-round. Ironically, after years of negotiations, Jerry Jones has just […]
If things had gone Jerry Jones' way in the 2016 NFL Draft, Dak Prescott would not be the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. After failed attempts to trade up for Paxton Lynch and Conner Cook, the Cowboys were forced to "settle" on Prescott in the fourth-round.
Ironically, after years of negotiations, Jerry Jones has just made Dak the second highest-paid QB in NFL history.
Prescott has agreed to a 4 year, $160 million contract extension to stay with Dallas that will pay him roughly $40 million per year. The deal includes a record-breaking $66 million signing bonus, $126 million in guaranteed money, and is worth up to $164 million in total.
Dak is now being paid more than Deshaun Watson, Russel Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers, and he's worth every damn penny.
Dak's résumé speaks for itself. In four full years as a starter, he's won 59% of his games, has a QBR of 97.3, and has been to the second-round of the playoffs twice. He's also won the NFC East twice and has 3 winning seasons under his belt.
But the true value of Prescott to the Dallas Cowboys wasn't discovered until week five of the 2020 season when he suffered a gruesome ankle injury against the New York Giants. The Cowboys were completely lost on both sides of the ball without him on the field and quickly became the laughing stock of the NFL. Prior to his injury, Dallas was putting up 31 or more points per game but it took the offense three games to score one touchdown without him.
There has been a lot of talk throughout Dak's career that any quarterback could step in and win games for the Cowboys with the weapons they have, but obviously that is not the case.
Before his 2020 season was cut short, Prescott was having an absurdly productive season. Through four games, he was on pace to throw for 6,760 yards and 36 touchdowns. He became the first player in NFL history to throw for 450+ yards in three straight games and had the most passing yards through four games in NFL history.
What's even more impressive is that Prescott was putting up these numbers with one of the worst defenses we've ever seen. Mike Nolan's unit gave up a franchise-record 473 points and was constantly gashed on the ground, giving up over 2,500 rushing yards last season. Therefore, Dak was tasked with putting together scoring drive after scoring drive, and he never flinched.
With a healthy Dak Prescott under center, the Dallas Cowboys are the most dangerous offense in the league. That was proven when Dallas finished with the best offense in the NFL in 2019 and when the Cowboys were ranked in the top five of every offensive metric with Dak on the field in 2020.
But last season was no fluke. Since he broke into the league as a rookie in 2016, he's only gotten better every year.
Some talking-heads want you to believe that the Cowboys overpaid for Dak, but the truth is he's worth every penny. Dak is an elite quarterback and finally got the respect he deserves.
Dak is one of the five best quarterbacks in football when healthy, and he's just now entering his prime. At just 27 years old with five years of experience under his belt, Prescott is only going to continue to ascend.
The numbers speak for themselves. Dak is clearly worth $40 million per year and Cowboys Nation can now rejoice that they've got their star QB locked up for the foreseeable future.
The Cowboys now have Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper, and CeeDee Lamb under contract through the 2024 season.
The future is bright in the Big D.
Featured Image Via © Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
