Rayne Dakota Prescott is a successful American football quarterback. He was drafted by the ‘Dallas Cowboys’ in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, as the 135th overall pick, and played only the first game of the season in September. He is well known for breaking Tom Brady’s record for the most consecutive pass attempts without an interception to start a career in his first season with the Club at 176 attempts. He has recently recovered from a thumb injury and is still very much part of the Cowboys. The club placed the exclusive franchise tag on Prescott for the second consecutive season in March, 2021 after which he signed a four-year contract extension with the Cowboys.
Dak Prescott was born on July 29, 1993, as the youngest son of Nathaniel and Peggy Prescott. He was the youngest of the three boys in the family. Peggy Prescott was a single mother and raised all three of her children by herself. She drove trucks to make ends meet. She had been a football fan and this had probably sparked Dak’s interest in the sport at a young age. Dak had been enrolled in the ‘Haughton High School’ and became part of the school football team. His performance was instrumental in the school’s victory in the 2010 ‘District 1-AAAA Championship.’ After graduating from high school, Dak enrolled at the ‘Mississippi State University’.
His career in college football began at Mississippi where he began his career as a backup to Tyler Russell for two consecutive years but was able to start for the team in 2013 when Russell suffered a concussion. He was the MVP of the 2013 Liberty Bowl after leading the Bulldogs to a 44–7 win over the Rice Owls. Following the season, he was named to the 2013 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. In 2014, when he became a full-time starter, his performance kept on improving. He not only led his team to the Orange Bowl but also broke several records and won the Conerly Trophy for his performance. He was a finalist for many other reputed awards like the Maxwell Award, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award, and the Manning Award. In his final season in college football (2015) Prescott was named the AutoNation National Offensive Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America, the Davey O'Brien Award National Quarterback of the Week, a Manning Award Star of the Week by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, and the SEC offensive player of the week (for the fourth time) following his performance in the Bulldogs' victory over Kentucky, a game in which he passed for 348 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 117 yards and three touchdowns.
Despite having a very promising start to his career and holding 38 school records by the end of his college term, Prescott was picked in the fourth Round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys as the 135th overall pick of the season. He started playing a little late in the season but grew in prominence within a very short span of time within the club.
He was picked up by the ‘Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round, as the 135th overall pick, and played only the first game of the season in September. He has remained with the cowboys for over seven seasons. Dak started slow, but his performance eventually picked up the pace. In the ninth week, he played a key role in his team’s win over the ‘Cleveland Browns.’His excellent performance in the month of November earned him his first professional ‘Rookie of the Month honor. The ‘Cowboys’ performed well consistently during the season, and Dak continued to contribute to their victories. The team reached the regular season finale and lost to the ‘Philadelphia Eagles.’ Dak performed below his usual standards in the finals.
During his rookie season, Dak played in 16 games and scored 29 touchdowns. He was ranked fourth among quarterbacks in 2016. The team won the ‘NFC East title. By the time the season ended, Dak started receiving praise for his performance. He was named the ‘NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.’ He reached number 14 on the list of the ‘NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.’
Toward the beginning of the 2017 season, Dak performed unevenly but picked up pace as the season progressed. His team performed badly and experienced a few losing streaks throughout the season. The team, however, managed to keep their hopes alive for the playoff season but not for long. They lost to the ‘Seattle Seahawks’ in a Christmas Eve match. This loss cost the team a postseason contention. Despite the team performing below expectations, Dak had a fairly good season. He played in 16 games and recorded 3,324 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.
Prescott began playing a bit late in his first season after being drafted in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Cowboys. The club had been looking for a quarterback to develop behind the successful quarterback Tony Romo. Despite not being the Cowboy’s first choice and having to compete with a more experienced quarterback, Jameill Showers, Prescott exceeded all expectations by completing 10 out of 12 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns in one half of action in the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams. Even though they lost the match against the Rams, Prescott was successful in proving his merit throughout the preseason. Based on his performance, Prescott went on to become the fourth rookie quarterback to open the season as a starter in the franchise history in September in a home match against the New York Giants. In the third week of the season, he threw his first NFL touchdown in a match against the Chicago Bears. He won the Offensive Rookie of the Month Award for his performance in the following couple of months of the season.
Even though the Cowboys missed the playoffs during Prescott’s second season with them he ended the season with 3,324 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 357 rushing yards, and six rushing touchdowns. During the 14th week of his third season with the Club, in a match against the Philadelphia Eagles which they went on to win, he recorded 42 completions which was the most for any quarterback in a single game in that season. He achieved his first playoff victory with the Club in the same year after passing for 226 yards, a touchdown, and an interception along with 29 rushing yards and a crucial touchdown late in the fourth quarter of the match against the Seahawks. Prescott only climbed further up in his career in the following seasons with the Cowboys. He finished the 2020 season with 4,902 passing yards, which ranked second in the league, and became the first player in NFL history to pass for at least 450 yards in three consecutive games in the earlier half of the season. In 2021 his contract with the club was extended by four years for a whopping sum of money. Despite a few losses towards the end of the season Prescott was named NVP (Nickelodeon Valuable Player) with more than 81 percent of the online vote for his remarkable performance. He missed a few initial weeks of the 2022 NFL season due to a thumb injury but returned with a winning performance for the club against the Detroit Lions in the 7th week of the season.
Highest passer rating by a rookie quarterback (104.9)
Highest completion percentage by a rookie quarterback (67.8%)
Most Completions (game): 42 (December 9, 2018, against the Philadelphia Eagles)
Most Completions (rookie season): 311 (2016)
Most Completions (game, as a rookie): 32 (December 18, 2016, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Most Pass Attempts (rookie season): 459 (2016)
Most Passing Yards (rookie season): 3,667 (2016)
Most Passing Touchdowns (season): 37 (2021)
Most Passing Touchdowns (rookie season): 23 (2016)
Best Passer Rating (rookie season): 104.9 (2016)
Best Passer Rating (game, as a rookie): 148.3 (December 16, 2016, against the Detroit Lions)
Most Yds/Pass Att (rookie season): 7.99 (2016)
Most Pass Yds/Game (career): 245.6
Most Pass Yds/Game (season): 306.6 (2019)
Most Pass Yds/Game (rookie season): 229.2 (2016)
Most 300+ yard passing games (rookie season): 3
Completion Percentage (career): 65.8%
Interception Percentage: (career: minimum 16 starts): 1.8%
Interception Percentage: (season/rookie season): 0.9% (2016)
Most sacks took: (season) 56 (2016)
Most 4th Quarter Comebacks (rookie season): 5 (2016)
Most 4th Quarter Comebacks (season): 5 (2016, tied with Tony Romo in 2012)
Dak Prescott has a net worth of $40 million dollars. Apart from earning a salary of $42 million, Prescott is also associated with several high-end brands like AT&T, Adidas, Beats by Dre, Campbell's Chunky Soup, Direct TV, 7-Eleven, New Era, Sleep Number, Oikos, Pepsi, Citibank, etc. He has signed a deal with Jordan in June 2021 and his earnings from his endorsements alone are approximately $50 million at present. He also earns from his investment in a Plano startup, OxeFit. Prescott invested $12.5 million in the startup, along with Lydia Partners and other former NFL athletes.
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In 2021, Prescott signed a four-year contract extension with the Cowboys according to which he earns a base salary of $2,750,000, a signing bonus of $66,000,000 and a restructure bonus of $6,250,000 while carrying a cap hit of $17,200,000 and a dead cap value of $95,000,000. His deal with the club included a $66 million signing bonus which was previously the highest in NFL history.
Dak Prescott’s initial contract with the Dallas Cowboys was worth $2.7 million, and he was earning an average annual salary of $383,393.
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Dak’s personal life is ridden with losses as he lost his mother Peggy, whom he was extremely close to, in 2013 to colon cancer. He established the Faith Fight Finish Foundation in the same year to honor his mother who had raised him and his two elder brothers as a single parent who drove trucks for a living. In 2020 one of his brothers- Jace Prescott- committed suicide at the young age of 31. He had been close to his grandparents whose home he would frequent as a child. His father, Nathaniel Prescott, is known to have played college football as a linebacker during his time at Northwestern State and Gambling University.
Prescott is in a live-in relationship with Natalie Buffet. After having secured her major in civil engineering she is presently a social media influencer and model. The couple has been dating since 2020. She is often seen cheering for him at his games.
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Prescott has not yet played a Super Bowl match but played in the Pro Bowl in his first and third seasons with the Cowboys.
Dak Prescott owns a 9,000 sq. ft mansion in Prosper, Texas. The house is surrounded by 7 acres of land and is worth $3.3 million. It includes an indoor sports simulator theater, game room, outdoor pool, as well as a custom field for football practice. The master bath in the mansion also has a jetted tub, steam shower and a private exercise room that opens into the backyard. Prescott also has properties in southern Florida and California. Prescott has recently bought a $10 million house in his home state of Louisiana for his family.
Apart from owning a Tesla-S and a Cadillac Escalade, Prescott bought a Ferrari soon after signing his 2021 contract extension with the Cowboys.
Dak Prescott's rookie cards are popular among card collectors. The average cost of a Dak Prescott rookie card is $20, while the most expensive Dak Prescott rookie card sold to date has been worth $10,000.
As one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Dak Prescott has a passer rating of 98.6 in the regular season and a passer rating of 87.9 in the postseason.
Dak Prescott has been named the NFL Offensive Player of the Week, 4 times in his career, till now (Week 1, 2019, Week 11, 2019, Week 2, 2020, Week 6, 2021).
Yes, Prescott has registered one 5+ touchdown game in his career. Dak Prescott broke Tony Romo's franchise record for most touchdown passes in a season by tossing a career-high five touchdown passes in the Dallas Cowboys' victory over the Philadelphia Eagles (9-8) at Lincoln Financial Field.
Dak Prescott is the youngest of three Prescott brothers. He has two elder brothers Tad Prescott and Jace Prescott. Unfortunately in April 2020, it was revealed that his elder brother Jace Prescott had shot himself (at 31 years of age).
Dak Prescott’s last deal with the Dallas Cowboys was worth $160 million which was a four-year contract extension he signed in 2021. He receives an annual average salary of $40 million and also received a $66 million signing bonus.
