It's not a big topic of conversation yet, but the Dallas Cowboys may want to think about extending Dak Prescott's contract soon, likely during the 2027 offseason. At that point, Prescott will have two years left on his deal.
The Cowboys cost themselves a lot of money two years ago by waiting until Week 1 of his contract year to lock him up. Assuming both parties are open to it, it'd make a lot of sense to get ahead of the curve.
Despite signing his latest extension in 2024, Prescott is still the NFL's highest-paid quarterback at $60 million per year. While $60 million is an astronomical number, no other QB has sniffed surpassing the five-time Pro Bowler.
That changed this week, as the Los Angeles Rams and Matthew Stafford agreed on a one-year, $55 million extension that can climb to $60 million with incentives, putting him in line to match Prescott's annual average value in 2027, assuming he doesn't retire before then.
Cowboys' Dak Prescott is still NFL's highest-paid QB after Matt Stafford's extension
However, Stafford's contract now morphs to a two-year, $105 million pact, which equates to $52.5 million per year, incentives included. That puts him in a tie with Justin Herbert as the eighth-highest-paid quarterback.
Technically, Stafford still makes less per year than Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Jordan Love, and Trevor Lawrence, who all earn $55 million annually, as well as Jared Goff and Brock Purdy at $53 million.
While the total value of Stafford's deal doesn't rival Prescott's, his one-year extension is the first time another quarterback has challenged the $60 million mark.
The Cowboys only have themselves to blame for that.
While Allen signed his extension during the 2025 offseason, Burrow, Love, and Lawrence all got paid before Prescott, with Love and Lawrence signing in summer 2024 (June for Lawrence, July for Love). Hell, even Tua Tagovailoa got $53.1 million per year from the Dolphins that June.
For a negotiation that likely started north of $50 million per year, you could tack on an extra $1 or $2 million for every QB that got a new deal before Prescott.
As the most accomplished quarterback in that group and coming off a second-place MVP finish, Prescott had the Cowboys hanging over a barrel.
In the 2023 season, he led the league with 36 passing touchdowns, 38 big-time throws, and a 73.4 QBR, while finishing second in EPA per play (0.245) and success rate (52.6 percent). He also had the fourth-fewest turnover-worthy plays, per Pro Football Focus.
At the time, it was the best season of his career, but it wasn’t an anomaly. Prescott had already been playing at a high level for years. His body of work, paired with a sublime contract year, confirmed that he'd reset the market.
Jerry and Stephen Jones were never going to let Prescott walk. The former fourth-round pick had all the leverage, but they acted like he didn’t, letting the Bengals, Packers, Jaguars, and Dolphins beat them to the punch.
That’s why he still owns the market two years later.
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