Dallas Cowboys quarterback is the highest-paid player in NFL history, signed to a $60 million annual salary for years to come. Not only is the $5 million gap between Prescott and the second-highest-paid player historic, but the contract itself is even more incredible when compared to the career earnings of some all-time greats.
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Obviously, skyrocketing NFL revenue over the years has had the biggest influence on skyrocketing salaries. Decades removed from a time when NFL players worked two jobs, the top salaries in football are now at staggering heights. With Prescott’s deal signed, it’s the perfect time to compare his deal to the career earnings of some all-time greats. NFL career earnings are courtesy of Spotrac.
Dak Prescott contract: $240 million, 4 years – $60 million per year – $231M guaranteed
As the Dallas Cowboys quarterback with a bad track record in the playoffs, Dak Prescott will always be under criticism for his on-field play. For all the debate about where he ranks among NFL quarterbacks, one thing that can’t be denied is his negotiating skills. Prescott did what most in his situation don’t, foregoing an early extension and guaranteed long-term money, to instead play out the franchise tag and receive another. Once he was tagged twice, Prescott used that to have all the leverage when he landed his first contract extension ($160 million over 4 years).
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That contract included a no-tag clause, meaning Dallas couldn’t have kept him from hitting NFL free agency in 2025. An annual tradition of restructuring the deal also meant Prescott had a $40 million cap hit in 2025, even if he was off the roster. That’s why Prescott landed the first $60 million salary in NFL history and easily outmaneuvered the Cowboys front office in contract negotiations.
Drew Brees career earnings: $269.71 million in 20 seasons
Drew Brees is certainly one of the 10 best quarterbacks in NFL history and the New Orleans Saints made sure to keep their face of the franchise well-paid. Of course, that means something very different now than it did during Brees’ prime years. Brees made $40 million in 2012 and $21.25 million in 2016, but those were the only two times he cleared $30 million in a year. Unfortunately for Brees, unlike Peyton Manning, he hasn’t had quite the same business success.
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Peyton Manning career earnings: $248.732 million in 18 seasons
Peyton Manning certainly isn’t hurting financially, especially when you factor in his salary for the ManningCast and business ventures like Omaha Productions. With that said, he trails quarterbacks like Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan and even his brother Eli Manning ($252.28 million) in NFL career earnings. After starting his NFL career in 1998, Manning didn’t hit $100 million in contract earnings until 2007. He reached $200 million by 2014, for context.
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Brett Favre career earnings: $141.829 million in 20 seasons
Brett Favre took home $2.9 million the year he won NFL MVP in 1995. After winning three consecutive NFL MVP awards, Favre still had earned less than $30 million in his career. Favre finally passed the $100 million career earnings mark in his final season with the Green Bay Packers and then tacked on another $40 million in his final 3 seasons with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings.
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Dan Marino career earnings: $51.5 million in 17 seasons
There are few better examples of a quarterback playing in the ‘wrong’ era than Dan Marino. What we mean by that is he is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history could’ve done even more damage with the help of modern rules. Not only would his stats have been even more incredible, but he also could’ve earned a lot more money during his NFL career. In 17 seasons as the Dolphins’ quarterback, Marino’s highest salary ($6.5 million) came in his age-38 season before he retired. Marino’s salary from 1983 to 1990 never eclipsed $3.4 million.
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Joe Montana career earnings: $25.555 million in 16 seasons
To put the Joe Montana career earnings into even greater perspective, Dak Prescott’s signing bonus ($80 million) was almost four times higher than what Montana earned in nearly 2 decades. Montana didn’t even clear $1 million in contract earnings until his fourth NFL season and it took him until his age-34 season to surpass $10 million in career earnings. It’s fair to say if the San Francisco 49ers quarterback had played in this era, he would be on his way to earning more than $300 million within 15 seasons.
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