When Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a gruesome ankle injury five months ago, many around the league felt for him. Not just because the injury ended his fifth NFL season after just five games, but also because he was playing on the franchise tag (the designation a team may apply to one unrestricted free agent, binding the player to the team for one year).
The prevailing thought was that the severe injury would hurt his chances of signing a long-term contract with the Cowboys or any other team.
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On Wednesday, Prescott officially got that contract, as he signed a four-year, $160 million deal to remain with the Cowboys. In his press conference to announce the contract, the 27-year-old addressed those who thought he gambled on himself, and he thanked God for the position he’s in.
“To me, it wasn’t a gamble,” Prescott said. “So even sitting there, holding my leg or whatever on the field, trying to put it back into place, or later on being in the hospital and waking up from surgery, that’s just what God’s thrown at me. If you’ve known my life, if you’ve known my story, whatever circumstance that is, I’m going to take it with a smile and be thankful that God has put me in this position to overcome it, to be an example to others.”
Signed Dak ✔️ pic.twitter.com/Kb2PkvCC8r
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) March 10, 2021
Later in the press conference, Prescott described how he relied on faith during the contract process, and how he always lives by faith.
“Through this whole time, I never had any doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t be here. I’m a guy that lives and stands and moves every part of his body off the word ‘faith,'” he said. “I control the things I control. I have a great agent that I trust, Todd France, and obviously, he did a great job. I trusted him, but through it all, I just focused on what I could focus on and controlled what I could control and figured that if I did that and was the best individual I could be in every aspect, I would manifest what was out there for me. I’m a man that stands by faith and lives by that.”
Days after the injury and surgery in October, Prescott also expressed his faith, saying it was “doubled down.” He posted an Instagram video on his way to the doctor to see his leg for the first time since his surgery, thanking fans, teammates, friends and family for their prayers and overwhelming support.
“I’m just excited — excited for God’s purpose and plan,” he said in the video. “I know it’s bigger than anything that I see or I could have imagined, but I’m trusting Him. My faith is doubled down more than ever and I’m thankful that He’s my Savior and He guides me in life. So I know through Him, all this will be possible and all this will be a great comeback and a great story.”
This latest trial is another example of Prescott living out the name of his Faith Fight Finish foundation. In 2013, he lost his mother, Peggy, to cancer, and since then he’s leveraged his platform as the quarterback of one of the NFL’s most popular teams to grow the organization.
“The Faith Fight Finish foundation by Dak Prescott invests in the future of our youth by empowering individuals, families, and communities to find strength through adversity,” the website says. “The foundation focuses on fighting cancer and offering assistance to those facing life-challenging hardships; in honor of Dak’s Mom, Peggy!”
With the contract situation now behind him, Prescott said Wednesday that he’s healthy and will be ready to go for the start of the 2021 NFL season in September, when the Cowboys will aim for another postseason berth after missing the playoffs the past two seasons.
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