Back in 2020, Dak Prescott brushed off a rising tide of outside noise with simple words: “I’ve been doubted my whole life, so what’s new?” That mindset hasn’t changed, even as the spotlight on him has only grown brighter in Dallas. Entering Year 10, the veteran quarterback is leaning into a different kind of responsibility. “It’s important for me to be a leader… I think that I’m very intentional… but it can’t be forced,” he said in a pre-dawn 2025 locker room interview. “Sometimes when guys just try things… they’re unnatural.” Prescott’s leadership is not loud, it’s purposeful, and fueled by every slight he’s endured as an NFL player. And even more recently, those slights haven’t exactly been murmured.
One of the more recent was from yet another offseason “Top 10 QB” ranking, another one that left Prescott on the outside looking in. During training camp, when questioned as to whether it annoyed him or motivated him, Prescott had no hesitation. “Motivated, that’s temporary. I don’t think I’ve ever really cared about a list,” he said to reporters. “I was what—the ninth or so guy picked when I got picked? The list changes every person you ask. The list changes every year. With injuries, the list should change. As young players come in, the list is going to change. Not something I really give weight to. I know who I am. I’m confident who I am…
That wasn’t defensiveness, it was definition. It was a quarterback who’s old enough to know how stories change, who knows that snubs don’t lead to careers and that rankings don’t get you to the second round of the playoffs. “As I said, it’s about me just continuing to get better, healthy and grow and make sure I am the best player qb and leader i can be for this team,” he said. In a role based on public acclaim, Prescott has had to learn to tune out the echo chamber.
This season’s crop of hopefuls, released by an ESPN group in June, included the familiar names, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson. Even C.J. Stroud and Brock Purdy made it into the top 10. But Prescott? Not a whisper. It’s not the first time that has crossed his mind, but it followed a year in which injuries perhaps dimmed his shine and, perhaps unjustly, the legend around him.
Prescott played only eight games in 2024, resting because of a hamstring injury that derailed what might have been another Pro Bowl-caliber season. Nevertheless, he passed for 1,978 yards and 11 touchdowns and completed almost 65% of his attempts. It was not a season that was lost, but not the one Prescott or Dallas had envisioned, and it left more than enough national critics wondering if the window had shut.
“I’d give the money I make to win and be broke,” Prescott told Yahoo Sports this offseason. Brushing off contract incentives with a singular focus.
Prescott’s mission: Ring over rank
But within the Cowboys’ facility, Prescott is not concerned with external criticism. He’s chasing something more long-term. “Having fun and winning a Super Bowl—period. It’s what I want from this game. It’s what everyone wants in this locker room,” Prescott told team insider Patrik Walker in a candid moment. ” We’ve got a head coach that’s hungry for it. Winning, winning, winning. I’m 10 (years) in and ready to play another 10, but I want that first and foremost and now.”
OXNARD, CA – JULY 25: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott 4 speaks with reporters during the team s training camp at River Ridge Playing Fields on July 25, 2024 in Oxnard, CA. Photo by Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA JUL 25 Cowboys Training Camp EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon240725055
That news came not in the form of a headline but a mission statement. Prescott is no longer the young gun. He’s the veteran leader, the one to ride into the fire each January with a franchise on his back. “That’s the real f—— motivation,” he said. Explaining the belly-deep desire to win it all not for himself alone, but for the whole Cowboys organization and their fans.
Prescott is aware that a Super Bowl run can‘t be achieved without a healthy roster, including Micah Parsons, who is absent from training camp due to his contract. When questioned, Prescott did not fuel the fire. He referred to it as “an every-year conversation” and acknowledged he didn’t know there‘s a perfect way to do it, implying the fine line between team aspirations and player business decisions.
In the real world, Prescott is speaking diplomatically, pairing commendation of a teammate with the urgency of a team that has to win today. He’s survived media scandals, front office rumors, and locker room remakes. But he keeps on talking and leading on an island of sanity. No space for outside distractions. No space for ranking debates.
The Cowboys haven’t been in an NFC Championship Game since 1995. To a quarterback who has passed for more than 29,000 yards. He also helped achieve five playoff appearances, which figure hurts more than any media ranking. Prescott’s legacy isn’t about breaking up someone’s top 10; it’s just finishing atop.
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