Background and career
Rayne Dakota Prescott (; born July 29, 1993) is an American professional football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, twice earning first-team All-SEC honors. Prescott was selected by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft.
Intended to serve as a backup in his rookie season, Prescott became the Cowboys' starting quarterback after starter Tony Romo was injured in the preseason. He went on to lead the Cowboys to their conference's top seed and set several rookie quarterback records, earning him Offensive Rookie of the Year. Prescott has led the Cowboys to a total of four division titles, while receiving four Pro Bowl selections and one second-team All-Pro selection. He holds several Cowboys franchise records, including passing yards, passing touchdowns, completion percentage, and games with three or more touchdown passes. Prescott also ranks seventh all-time in completion percentage with at least 1,500 pass attempts and is eighth in the NFL's all-time regular season career passer rating.
Prescott was born in Sulphur, Louisiana, the youngest of three sons to Nathaniel and Peggy Prescott. Prescott's parents divorced when he was in elementary school and he was raised by his mother who worked as a manager of a truck stop. Prescott attended Haughton High School in Haughton, Louisiana, where he played football for the Buccaneers. As a senior, he completed 159 of 258 passes for 2,860 yards and 39 touchdowns. He also rushed for 951 yards on 90 attempts with 17 touchdowns, and led Haughton to become 2010 District 1-AAAA Champions. A three-star recruit, Prescott accepted a scholarship from Mississippi State over offers from Louisiana Tech, LSU, Memphis, Nicholls State, North Texas, and TCU.
Prescott was redshirted as a true freshman with Mississippi State in 2011. As a backup to Tyler Russell in 2012, he played in 12 games, completing 18 of 29 passes for 194 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also scored four rushing touchdowns, with 110 yards on 32 carries.
Prescott began as the backup to Russell again in the 2013 season, but took over as the starter when Russell suffered a concussion. He played in 11 games, completing 156 of 267 passes for 1,940 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for 829 yards on 134 carries with 13 touchdowns. He was the MVP of the 2013 Liberty Bowl after leading the Bulldogs to a 44–7 win over the Rice Owls. His 2013 season performance ranks seventh in passing yards (1,940), tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns (13), and fourth in total yards (2,769) and total touchdowns (23). Following the season, he was named to the 2013 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Fall Academic Honor Roll.
How Dak Prescott makes money
2021 season The Cowboys placed the exclusive franchise tag on Prescott for the second consecutive season on March 9, 2021, and he signed a four-year contract extension with the Cowboys the next day for $160 million with $126 million guaranteed. The deal included a $66 million signing bonus, the highest in NFL history at the time (it was surpassed in 2023 by quarterback Lamar Jackson's contract with the Baltimore Ravens).
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth, in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
