DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Dallas Cowboys have finally secured their future at the quarterback position.
On Sunday, just before their season opener vs. the Browns, the Cowboys and Dak Prescott finally agreed to a four-year, $240 million contract extension, including $231 million guaranteed, per NFL Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
Prescott now sits as the highest-paid player in NFL history.
The $60 million per year deal will also put Prescott ahead of Joe Burrow, Jordan Love and Trevor Lawrence - each of whom is making $55 million APY.
Prescott and the Cowboys have been in negotiations for quite some time, in hopes of getting the deal done and the distraction out of the way before the season opener against the Browns on Sunday.
That said, there is also a camp of fans - or rather detractors - who would have preferred the Cowboys move in another direction. In fact, Prescott has been a lightning rod in terms of criticism in years past for Dallas.
After all, it is easy to point the finger at the quarterback when a team struggles to get over the hump. Unlike a handful of his other contemporaries, such as Burrow, Jared Goff, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Matthew Stafford, Prescott has never been to a conference title game with the Cowboys - much less a Super Bowl.
Of course, any rational football fan knows that there are more issues with the Cowboys than the play of their quarterback.
More than that, the odds that they would have been able find an 'upgrade' at the position any time soon were slim at best. In fact, Prescott - at least statistically - has been one of the best performing passers in the NFL in two of the last three seasons.
The 2021 season was one one of the best years of Prescotts career, completing 68.8 percent of his passes for 4,449 yards and 37 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. In 2022, he struggled, playing in just 12 games and throwing a career high 15 interceptions.
In 2023, Prescott bounced back, leading the Cowboys to a 12-5 record, completing 69.5 percent of his passes for 4,516 yards and 36 touchdowns with just nine interceptions. He also led two fourth quarter comebacks in three game winning drives.
But Cowboys fans don't want stats. They want NFC Championships and Super Bowls.
And with Prescott now sitting as the NFL's highest paid quarterback, the pressure will be higher than ever for that to change.
Dallas opens vs. the Browns in Cleveland at 3:25 pm on Sunday.