Cowboys To Make Dak Prescott Highest-Paid Ever? No Surprise - And A No-Brainer

As Dak Prescott enjoys one of his best seasons in the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys are setting themselves up to make him the highest-paid quarterback in the league. And it's a no-brainer for them to do so.

It is that time again. The Dallas Cowboys are looking to extend the contract of their franchise quarterback, Dak Prescott. 

This angle, written about often over the course of the last year by CowboysSI.com's Mike Fisher, is now getting added juice from a new report from our colleague Jordan Schultz, who is putting a big new number on the possible APY. Whereas Fish has written about $50 million, Schultz is predicting $60 million.

And yet ... there are no real surprises here.

That "highest-paid'' title is currently held by Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, thanks to a five-year $275 million contract extension that he signed in September. To get up and over that, the Cowboys will likely pay Prescott anywhere from $55 to $60 million APY.

The revelation from Schultz shouldn't surprise anyone who has paid close attention to the Cowboys' contract and salary cap situation over the past few years. A contract extension was always the plan. 

As things currently stand, Prescott's cap hit is scheduled to hit at a budget-handicapping $59 million in March. This would mean even if the Cowboys were non-committal to Prescott, a) they'd have to move mountains before being able to get rid of him before the end of his contract or b) they would stick with him as a final-season lame duck while absorbing the hit that would prevent them from doing much other roster business.

But that "non-committal'' vibe is nowhere near the truth for those inside The Star in Frisco. After an abnormally turnover-filled 2022 season, Prescott is in the midst of his best season as a Cowboy. The former fourth-round pick leads the lead in passing touchdowns with 30 while having thrown for 3,892 yards and just seven interceptions. 

Should Cowboys Worry About Dak at $60M?

His strong play has seen Prescott prove himself worthy of a potentially market-setting new contract and has lifted him into the conversation for the league's Most Valuable Player award. 

For a team that is dead-set on breaking their 28-year-long NFC Championship drought, locking down Prescott to another long-term extension is, all things considered, not only a non-surprise ...

It's also a no-brainer.

While many will question if Prescott is worth the market-setting money that the Cowboys are set to pay - and the "worth-it'' question will be a fair one until and unless Dak and Dallas make a Super Bowl - the alternative is much worse. 

Is Dak Still Confident in Cowboys?

Not only would the Cowboys be stuck with a $59 million cap hit and uncertainty in regardsto Prescott, but it would severely restrict their flexibility when it came to re-signing other key players like CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, both of whom will need contract extensions in the very near future. 

Last spring, Fish asked Cowboys owner Jerry Jones if the extension plan was about Dak's play, or about Dak's cap hit.

"Both!'' the owner replied.

The APY number is going up. But otherwise? The "both'' reasoning has gone unchanged.