Report: Cowboys and Dak Prescott reach four-year, $160 million deal

The wait is over.

The Dallas Cowboys signed franchise quarterback Dak Prescott to a four-year, $160 million deal, including a record $126 million guaranteed, according to Adam Schefter. This number is particularly important considering Prescott is coming off a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle suffered in the Week 5 win against the New York Giants last season.

The deal is technically for six years but voids to four in order to help Dallas against the salary cap. It can be worth up to $164 million, per Schefter. It includes a $66 million signing bonus and $75 million in year one, the most in NFL history. The first three years average $42 million per year.

Finally, the deal reportedly includes a no-trade and no tag clause.

The Cowboys will reportedly place the franchise tag on Prescott on Tuesday solely as a procedural measure, meaning they cannot tag him again in the future. The teams plans to hold a press conference on Wednesday.

Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence posted the following on Instagram on Monday night.

Signing Prescott to a four-year deal, as opposed to placing a second franchise tag on him, is a serious help to the Cowboys’ salary cap. Prescott would have counted for $37.7 million against the salary cap under the franchise tag. Instead, he will count as $22.5 million against the cap. This means the Cowboys will not have to restructure as many contracts to get under the anticipated 2021 salary cap, which is not yet finalized but believed to be between $180 million and $185 million.

Both parties always reportedly wanted to reach a deal; it just took longer than expected. Prescott’s absence was felt in Dallas last season as the team finished with a 6-10 record. The Cowboys have missed the playoffs in three of the past four seasons. They have not reached the Super Bowl in 25 years.

It will now be up to Prescott to change that.

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