New dad Dak Prescott set to become NFL's highest-paid player
Dak Prescott has lots of reasons to be thankful!
On Monday, not only did he reveal he's now a dad (daughter MJ is a Leap Year Baby born last Thursday, Feb. 29), but he also said he's "definitely confident" that he will have a new contract soon.
That's because both he and Jerry Jones know it needs to get done for the Cowboys to do business when the NFL's new year starts next Wednesday.
Something has to happen with Dak's $59 million cap hit. The easiest way to fix that, coming off the best year of Prescott's career in which he threw a league-leading 36 TD passes, is to make him the highest-paid player in NFL history. Something to the tune of a 5-year, $285 million extension ($57 million average per year) is what to expect.
That is a $2 million per year increase over the last "highest paid player of all time" signing when Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow signed his contract last September.
Here are the most recent mega-million-dollar QB signings:
● 9/7/23 - Joe Burrow, Bengals - 5 years, $275 million ($55 million per year)
● 7/26/23 - Justin Herbert, Chargers - 5 years, $262.5 million ($52.5m)
● 5/4/23 - Lamar Jackson, Ravens - 5 years, $260 million ($52m)
● 4/18/23 - Jalen Hurts, Eagles - 5 years, $255 million ($51m)
● 9/1/22 - Russell Wilson, Broncos - 5 years, $245 million ($49m)
Denver is now biting the bullet on Wilson's deal, cutting the 35-year-old 9-time Pro Bowler after two seasons in which he had an 11-19 record. The Broncos are now absorbing an $85 million salary cap hit over the next two years for their mistake.
Wilson's contract is an example of the risk involved in committing this kind of money to one player. But it's the price of doing quarterback business in the NFL. And if Jerry Jones is truly committed to being "all in" in 2024, the Dak deal needs to be done now so that the Cowboys can do business next week.