DALLAS — There is plenty of talk regarding the future of Dak Prescott in a Dallas Cowboys’ uniform, but while he's "confident" in his belief that, ultimately, another contract extension will be agreed to, his 2024 free agency begins with a much bigger acquisition that will form his future far more than football.
The 30-year-old, speaking from a Children's Cancer Fund event that he co-chairs with Cowboys' legend Troy Aikman — a cause that hits especially close to home for him, and now that much more so — officially broke the news many have been waiting on for months.
Prescott welcomed his firstborn into the world, alongside her mother, Sarah Jane, on Thursday, February 29 which means, that's right, she's a leap year baby.
And if you're a purveyor of numerology, enjoy the cosmic deciphering of Prescott — whose jersey is No. 4 — having a daughter whose birthday will technically arrive only every four years, and making the announcement on the fourth of the following month.
"[Call her] Baby MJ," said the three-time Pro Bowler while wearing a smile big enough and bright enough to illuminate all of Dallas.
His sense of purpose was always sky-high, playing to make both his late mother (whom he lost to cancer) and his late brother (whom he lost to suicide) proud through his achievements, but that's now been pushed to interstellar heights following the birth of his daughter.
"I feel different," Prescott said. "When you wake up in the morning and you see that baby, you understand responsibilities. And everything that I've always wanted for myself, but now you want it for someone else even more. Yeah, it's special. The baby is doing great.
"Her mom is doing great. Everyone is healthy and at home, and we're blessed."
But when it comes to soiled diapers, the quarterback in Prescott takes over.
"I changed the first one and two or three after that, and now I'm trying to pass that job along," he said with a grin.
It's a bold new world for Prescott, and he joins a list of other Cowboys who have welcomed children into the world over the past several months — others still to come — and it will involve some adjustments to this offseason calendar, sure, but not as many as you might think.
It sounds as if Prescott is well-prepared, which should come as a surprise to absolutely no one who knows him.
"I'm a homebody much more so [now] over the latter part of the pregnancy.," he explained. "Just trying to be a helping hand as much as I can — understanding that the baby needs mom so I can only do so much. But I know how important it is for me to be there.
"At the end of the day, it is [still] the offseason and I've started back training and working out. The scheduling is a little bit different and the sleep is a little bit different but, other than that, it's a quiet offseason and I'm thankful for that."
One thing is for certain, and all can surely agree here.
Whatever happens next in the career of Prescott, and even if it eventually involves hoisting the elusive Lombardi trophy, it will pale in comparison to the events of the final Thursday in February 2024.
On that day, Baby MJ took her first "leap".
And now, for Prescott, the ceiling is the roof.
