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 will see him wear the Cowboys uniform through the 2028 season, sources told ESPN.

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

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

The Cowboys announced Sunday morning that they had reached a deal with Prescott, but did not disclose terms.

The record-breaking deal comes just hours before Dallas’ season opener in Cleveland against the Cleveland Browns after the Cowboys and Prescott negotiated throughout the weekend, sources said.

In less than two weeks, the Cowboys made Prescott the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL and CeeDee Lamb the second-highest-paid receiver in the league, signing both players through 2028.

The Prescott deal also helped the Cowboys avoid a potential salary cap mess and saved them from having to find a franchise quarterback via free agency, trade or the 2025 draft. The road to the biggest contract in Cowboys history wasn’t as long as the first time he signed the biggest contract in team history, but it still had some drama.

Prescott was set to play 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 reach an agreement since the start of last offseason, but entered the weekend knowing they would attempt to reach a deal before the season started.

By agreeing to a deal Sunday, the Cowboys prevented Prescott from becoming a free agent next winter in a market that likely includes a number of teams looking for a quarterback. Thanks to the no-trade, no-franchise-tag clause in his previous contract, Prescott would have hit the open market as a rarity in the NFL — a no-strings-attached quarterback in the prime of his career.

But Sunday’s deal keeps Prescott in Dallas, where he has developed a strong bond with coach Mike McCarthy. After playing in 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 is 36-15 in that streak.

The deal could end Prescott’s career as the franchise’s all-time leader in wins, passing yards, touchdown passes, attempts and completions. But the bigger goal for both sides is ending a Super Bowl drought that’s approaching 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-leading passer in Cowboys history, trailing only Tony Romo and Troy Aikman, and his 202 career TD passes rank 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 beyond 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 defeated by the Packers in the wild-card round. While Prescott threw for 403 yards and three touchdown passes, he was intercepted twice as Green Bay took a 27-0 lead in the first half.

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 1995. Only the Washington Commanders have a longer NFC title game drought than the Cowboys.

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