Dak Prescott is in no rush to get his second veteran contract extension from the Cowboys. That's because he knows patience will pay off — in the form of once again becoming the highest-paid player in the NFL.
Prescott and the rest of the league saw quarterback salaries further escalate in the 2024 offseason. The new standard for the QB market is an average of $55 million per season, which is the number both the Bengals' Joe Burrow (No. 1 overall pick in 2020) and the Jaguars' (No.1 overall pick in 2021) hit on their recent five-year, $275 million extensions.
Taking out the outlier of the Browns' Deshaun Watson getting his $230 million deal fully guaranteed, Burrow is No. 2 at $219 million guaranteed.
With no other QBs in line for big contracts from the 2021 or 2022 draft classes, and other franchise QBs, including Jordan Love, Tua Tagovailoa and Jared Goff, getting recent deals, Prescott is sitting pretty as a pending 2025 free agent to get unprecedented money from the Cowboys.
As Prescott continues to take the field for the Cowboys with no threat of a holdout, here's breaking down his near-future earning power.
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What is Dak Prescott's current contract?
Prescott signed a four-year, $160 million deal with the Cowboys in March 2021. That came with an annual average salary of $40 million and $126 million guaranteed.
Because of bonuses over the first three years, Prescott's base salary is $29 million for 2024, but he's also costing the Cowboys more than $55 million with his salary-cap hit. That number is the springboard for what will be his new average annual salary, which has been at $40 million since signing his post-rookie deal three-plus years ago.
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Dak Prescott contract projection
Prescott has a shot at being the NFL's first $60 million man based on where the market is headed. That's the ceiling, with more than $55 million (to surpass Burrow and Lawrence) being the floor for his average annual salary.
That would represent a tidy 50 percent raise. Keep in mind Prescott got paid big-time the first time when coming off a major ankle injury. Given he can be signed by any team once the new league year opens next March 12, that's the deadline for the Cowboys to strike a deal. That clock looks like it will start ticking only after the 2024 season and playoffs.
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Prescott should be once again going for a four-year deal, as that's what's led to this leverage. His total contract value then projects to $224-$240 million, with the average ranging from $56-$60 million.
Because Prescott might get one less year than Burrow, it would be fair to give him a little less guaranteed, around $200-210 million. There's an outside shot Prescott tries to get Jerry Jones to treat him like Watson and get his deal fully guaranteed.
If the Cowboys don't bend to the parameters and salary wishes of Prescott, they can expect some other team to do just that in the unlikely event he makes it to the open QB market, where the short supply says he will be in massive demand.
