Rayne Dakota (Dak) Prescott is a National Football League quarterback currently playing for the Dallas Cowboys. Prescott was born on July 29, 1993, in Sulphur, Louisiana to parents Nathaniel and Peggy Prescott. Prescott attended Haughton High School in Haughton, Louisiana and then accepted a scholarship from Mississippi State University. Prescott was redshirted in 2011 and played as backup to Tyler Russell in 2012. Prescott began as the backup to Russell again in the 2013 season but took over as the starter Russell suffered a concussion. He began his first season as a full-time starter in 2014 and received two first place votes for the Heisman Trophy that year.
Prescott was selected by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL and led the Cowboys to three division titles and made three Pro Bowl appearances (2016, 2018, and 2023). Prescott was the recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of The Year Award in 2022 for his community service.
In 2016, after quarterback Tony Romo suffered a vertebral compression fracture during the first quarter of the Cowboys preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, Prescott was named the Cowboys starter. He remained the starter in 2017 and in 2018 he led the Cowboys to the NFL playoffs as the fourth seed.
In 2019, Prescott finished the season with 4,902 passing yards which ranked second in the league. On October 19, 2020, however, Prescott was placed on season-ending injured reserve. It was revealed that he had suffered a compound fracture and dislocation to his right ankle, undergoing surgery the same night, ending his season. In 2021, Prescott signed a four-year contract extension with the Cowboys worth $160 million with $126 million guaranteed. The deal included a $66 million signing bonus, the highest in NFL history at the time. In June 2021, he also signed a five-year deal with Jordan.
After playing for seven years with the Dallas Cowboys, Prescott was named the 2022 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year at the annual NFL Honors held in Phoenix, Arizona. The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field. The award was established in 1970 and was renamed in 1999 after the late Hall of Fame Chicago Bears running back, Walter Payton. Each team nominates on player who has had a significant positive impact on his community. The winner of the award each year receives a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice.
Prescott is the founder of The Faith Fight Finish Foundation (2020) which empowers individuals, families, and communities to find strength through adversity. The foundation focuses on four main initiatives: colon cancer research, mental health & suicide prevention, bridging the gap between law enforcement, youth and the community they serve, and offering assistance to those facing life-challenging hardships. The Faith Fight Finish Foundation was established in tribute to Prescott’s mother, Peggy, who lost her battle with colon cancer in 2013. The Foundation’s work also honors his brother, Jace, who lost his life to suicide in 2020.
Prescott announced that he and his girlfriend, Sarah Jane Ramos, were expecting their first child, a baby girl, in November 2023 and in 2024 he entered the final year of his Dallas Cowboy NFL deal.
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Grant Gordon, “Cowboys QB Dak Prescott named 2022 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year,” Feb. 9, 2023, https://www.nfl.com/news/cowboys-qb-dak-prescott-named-2022-walter-payton-nfl-man-of-the-year; Dak Prescott, “Faith Fight Finish The Foundation” (2020), https://faithfightfinish.org/; Todd Archer, “Why Dak Prescott has become the Cowboys’ new Tony Romo,” Jan. 18, 2024, https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39328302/why-dak-prescott-become-cowboys-new-tony-romo-playoffs-mike-mccarthy-jerry-jones.
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