Three weeks ago, the Dallas Cowboys did not have CeeDee Lamb or Dak Prescott signed to a new contract. There was concern that Lamb’s holdout would bleed into the regular season, but Dallas signed Lamb to a blockbuster four-year extension with two weeks to spare before Week 1.

That gave the Cowboys a truncated window to sign Prescott before the season-opener in Cleveland. While Prescott didn’t rule out negotiations continuing during the season, it also wouldn’t have surprised if the 31-year-old chose to table talks until after the campaign.

Well, Cowboys fans need not worry about their franchise quarterback hitting the open market in March. With time running out before Sunday’s game against the Browns, Dallas and Prescott agreed to a deal at the buzzer that makes No. 4 the highest-paid player in NFL history.

Prescott has signed a four-year contract extension worth $240 million. Not only does this make him the highest-paid player in the league, but it gives him $5 million more per year in average annual value than second-place Jordan Love.

To say the least, Jones is committed to Prescott as the main man in Dallas.

A simple reading of the tea leaves over the last few days hinted that the two sides were nearing an agreement. Not only was Prescott oddly optimistic when asked about negotiations, but he even walked back last week’s explosive “says a lot of it is or it isn’t” comment about Sunday’s unofficial deadline.

Furthermore, would CeeDee Lamb really have committed to Dallas until 2029 if he didn’t think that Prescott would be getting him the ball?

Given Prescott’s polarizing status, folks will throw dirt on the Cowboys for giving a quarterback who “can’t win the big game” a record-breaking contract. However, teams don’t pay QBs based on playoff success or Super Bowl rings. They are paid for stability and the chance to reach the Super Bowl by making the postseason nearly every year.

Prescott has made Dallas a perennial lock to win double-digit games. He is six wins away from passing Tony Romo for the most wins as a starter in franchise history. Yes, Prescott needs to perform better in the playoffs, but his 2-5 record in the postseason is very misleading.

Prescott averages 280.3 passing yards per game in the playoffs to go with 14 touchdowns to seven interceptions and a 91.8 passer rating. Most QBs with those numbers would have at least a .500 record and yet, Prescott is 2-5. The quarterback gets the most blame, but the idea that Dak is a choke artist and did not deserve this contract simply is not true.

Playoff success notwithstanding, the Cowboys had no choice but to pay Prescott. Teams would have been chomping at the bit to sign Prescott in free agency. Offers would have come in as high as $65 million per year. Maybe a desperate team would have climbed as high as $70.

You can argue where Dak ranks in the quarterback pecking order, but what is incontestable is that Dallas would not find anyone better if they moved on in 2025. Given their history of lucking into franchise QBs post-Troy Aikman, odds are it would have taken a while for them to find Prescott’s successor.

The Cowboys damaged their future cap by waiting until the eleventh hour to sign Prescott (and Lamb), but there is also a sense of calmness and security that they don’t have to worry about the QB position for the foreseeable future.