Hours before the Dallas Cowboys played the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, September 8, the Cowboys struck a massive deal with Dak Prescott. The franchise quarterback’s four-year contract extension, first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, is worth upwards of $240 million with $231 million in guaranteed money. Following the Cowboys’ 33-17 victory over the Browns, Prescott fielded questions during a postgame press conference, and he opened up about his new contract.
‘I Put Pressure on Him to Get This Behind Me,’ Dak Prescott Says of Agent
During the September 8 press conference, Prescott was asked what he was doing and who he was with when he found out about his new contract. He replied that the moment was “emotional.”
“I was in my room. Zeke (running back Ezekiel Elliott) and (tight end) Luke (Schoonmaker) were there, just getting body work. (Manger) Todd (France) had FaceTimed me, a little emotional call from the both of us,” he said. “I put some pressure on him. I guess you can say and he definitely delivered. It was a great call. Then, we called the rest of my marketing agents, financial teams and just said, ‘It’s behind us. Dak’s moving forward, focused on the game.’ It was about a five-minute call there.” Prescott added that he also talked to his dad and “sent some text messages.”
When asked how he put “pressure” on his agent, Prescott elaborated.
“I wouldn’t say I put pressure on him. I guess I said that,” he said, laughing. “Honestly, I put pressure on him to get this behind me, whether I was getting it done or whether I was playing the season without it. It wasn’t necessarily pressure of ‘I need this, go do this.’ Honestly, I wanted to stop answering your guys’ questions.”
He continued, “I love you guys. You are all fun. But, I don’t care to talk about money. That was the only annoyance in this ordeal…having to answer questions over and over and time and time again about the negotiations. I just wanted that behind me. If it meant me not being here, which I did not want to think about, I said that over and over again. I just wanted to be at peace with whatever the decision was.”
Prescott added that he’s “wanted to be a Cowboy, wanted to stay a Cowboy and not think about anywhere else. Just happy that it got done for all of us.”
Dak Prescott Says the Cowboys ‘Just Didn’t Get Going in the Second Half’
Elsewhere in the press conference, Prescott said he wasn’t “happy” with his “personal performance today, and that’s what motivated me.”
When asked what, specifically, he didn’t like about his performance, Prescott said the “sloppy second half.”
“Just didn’t get going in the second half,” he said. “Obviously in the first half, we did pretty well. Took a sack early, but other than that, we moved the ball and we got opportunities.”
He also noted trouble converting third downs, saying the team “just couldn’t convert” and that it’s “something that we’ve been great at (and) something we take a lot of pride in, converting on third downs.”
“Had a couple of three-and-outs in the second half that made that team think they had a chance to come back in this game, and put a little pressure on our defense,” he added. “But, as I credited them to begin with, they played a hell of a game and withstood it all, and obviously, we got some field goals. When you have a kicker like that, that helps. Credit to Butter (kicker Brandon Aubrey). I can be better in a lot of ways in this game.”
