The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott formally announced the quarterback's new deal Wednesday, described as the richest contract in club history.
The deal comes to a close two years after negotiations first began with the star quarterback.
During a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Prescott said he was overwhelmed and was feeling the love and and faith from the team and Jones family. He added that he was eager and anxious to give them a return on their investment -- a trip back to the Super Bowl.
Though the deal took two seasons to complete, including last season where Prescott was forced to play under the franchise tag until suffering a season-ending compound fracture and dislocation of his ankle in Week 5, he said he was confident the deal would get done.
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"I grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan, never in a million years did I imagine not being a Cowboy once I put on this uniform and put on this star," Prescott said. "Through it all … there was never a slight doubt in my mind that I wouldn't wear the star for the rest of my life."
The deal comes a day before a deadline to put the franchise tag on Prescott for a second-straight year at a salary-cap charge of $37.7 million.
"I'm excited to be here and never leave, I'm excited for this organization and team, what the fans are going to get. I'm just excited to go do it. Just to know that this is my home, I'm not leaving. I'm a Cowboy and this is only the beginning," Prescott said.
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Owner Jerry Jones said similarly that he was confident the deal would get done and that, "there was never a doubt in my mind."
The deal reached Monday is reportedly a $160 million, four-year contract with $126 million guaranteed and an NFL-record $66 million signing bonus, according to a person with knowledge of the deal who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details weren't announced.
Jones said the money is indicative of what they think Prescott means to the team and can accomplish for the franchise.
"Most anything that I've ever been involved in that ended up being special, I overpaid for. Every time, to the end. Anytime I've tried to get a bargain, I got just that. It was a bargain in a lot of ways and not up to standard," Jones said. "If there's a human breathing that I've ever met that I'm proud that took advantage of me financially, I'm proud it's the one sitting to my right."
The 27-year-old Prescott is the fourth Dallas player to get a $100 million contract after Tony Romo, the injured quarterback Prescott replaced and ultimately sent into retirement, and two teammates in defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and receiver Amari Cooper.
Before the gruesome injury, Prescott had started every game since the beginning of his rookie year after replacing an injured Romo during the 2016 preseason.
Prescott won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors while leading the Cowboys to the No. 1 seed in the NFC and two years later won his first playoff game while reaching his second Pro Bowl.
Negotiations on a new contract started the following offseason, when Prescott was going into the final year of a four-year contract that paid him a total of about $4 million as a fourth-round pick. That included $2 million in the final season.
Prescott got a 1,500% raise with his first franchise tag, which locked in another increase for a second tag despite the salary cap going down because of the NFL's revenue dip in the pandemic.
With a new contract, the Cowboys should get salary cap relief they're expected to need with the cap falling from $198 million to a possibility of as low as $180 million. The cap has risen about $10 million per season for most of the past decade.
Even before Prescott's injury, the Cowboys started slowly in coach Mike McCarthy's first season last year. But Prescott was still leading the NFL in yards passing for the league's No. 1 offense. Those numbers plummeted as Dallas lost its first four games without Prescott, falling to 2-7 on the way to a 6-10 finish.
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