The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott have agreed to a four-year, $240 million contract extension that will make the star quarterback the highest-paid player in NFL history and keep him in the Cowboys’ jersey through the 2028 season, sources told ESPN.

The deal includes $231 million guaranteed, a source told ESPN. That’s the highest amount in league history. Deshaun Watson’s fully guaranteed deal with the Cleveland Browns was worth $230 million.

The average annual value of Prescott’s contract is $60 million, the highest in NFL history, easily surpassing recent contracts with an average annual value of $55 million signed by Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, Green Bay’s Jordan Love and Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence.

The Cowboys announced Sunday morning that they had agreed to a deal with Prescott, but did not provide any details.

The record-breaking deal was finalized just hours before Dallas’ season-opening game in Cleveland against the Cleveland Browns, according to sources, after the Cowboys and Prescott were engaged in negotiations throughout the weekend.

In less than two weeks, the Cowboys managed to make Prescott the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL and CeeDee Lamb the second-highest-paid receiver in the league, securing both players’ contracts through 2028.

The Prescott deal also helped the Cowboys avert a potential salary cap mess and saved them from having to find a franchise quarterback either through free agency, trade or the draft in 2025. The road to the largest contract in Cowboys history wasn’t as long as the first time he signed the largest contract in team history, but there was still some drama involved.

Prescott was supposed to be playing this season in the final year of a four-year, $160 million contract he signed in 2021. The Cowboys and Prescott had been unable to come to terms since the start of last offseason, but entered the weekend knowing they would try to reach an agreement before the season began.

By agreeing to a deal on Sunday, the Cowboys prevented Prescott from becoming a free agent next winter in a market where multiple teams are likely looking for a quarterback. Thanks to the no-trade and no-franchise tag clause in his previous contract, Prescott would have been a rarity in the NFL on the open market – an unsigned quarterback at the peak of his career.

But Sunday’s deal ensures Prescott will stay in Dallas, where he has developed a strong bond with coach Mike McCarthy. After playing just five games in 2020 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury, Prescott led the Cowboys to the postseason in each of the past three seasons under McCarthy, who has a 36-15 record over that span.

The deal could see Prescott finish his career as the franchise’s record holder for wins, passing yards, touchdown passes, attempts and completions. The biggest goal for both sides, however, is to end a Super Bowl drought that stretches to nearly 30 years.

Prescott, 31, finished last season with 4,516 passing yards and a league-leading 36 touchdown passes. The three-time Pro Bowler is the third-best passer in Cowboys history, behind only Tony Romo and Troy Aikman, and his 202 career TD passes put him behind only Romo (248) on the franchise’s all-time list.

Prescott has led the Cowboys to the postseason five times in his career (2016, 2018, 2021-23), but they have never advanced past the divisional round of the playoffs. In 2016, the Cowboys had home-court advantage and lost in the divisional round to the Green Bay Packers, then coached by McCarthy.

Last season, the Cowboys were knocked out by the Packers in the wild-card round. Prescott threw for 403 yards and three touchdowns but was intercepted twice as Green Bay built a 27-0 first-half lead.

The last time the Cowboys won a championship was in Super Bowl XXX with Aikman at quarterback. The last time the Cowboys reached an NFC championship game was in 1995. Only the Washington Commanders have a longer NFC title drought than the Cowboys.

Prescott has embraced the pressure of delivering a Super Bowl and living up to the standards set by Hall of Famers Roger Staubach and Aikman. He has also made it his mission to help the community with his Faith, Fight, Finish Foundation. In 2022, he was named the winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.