The starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys will always face a brighter spotlight than others, but no player has faced the blinding pressure quite like Dak Prescott.
Perhaps the most scrutinized player in the NFL, Prescott is yearly tasked by fans and media with sole responsibility for the Cowboys' success. Even despite playing at an All-Pro level when fully healthy, Dak regularly is blamed and criticized when the Cowboys fail to reach the high expectations held for "America's Team".
Part of this polarizing reality is Prescott's contract signed last season that pays him a league record $60 million average annual salary.
It's a daunting figure to represent when you hold a 2-5 career playoff record. It commands a level of excellence that the Cowboys believe Prescott is capable of, but has yet to meet, leading to hot takes galore about his true worth and legacy in the NFL.
The Cowboys, by most accounts, have had a productive offseason this year, with the roster shaping out to predict improvements from last year's 7-10 disappointment. Prescott is entering the second year of his four-year $240 million contract in 2025.
With that comes the expectations, not just for Dak, but for the entire franchise.
A Super Bowl is always the goal, but let's shoot for the NFC Championship Game first ... as the Cowboys are in the midst of a nearly 30-year drought making it that far.
Prescott is turning 32 this year. His realistic championship window may be closing, when fully healthy, he hasn't given us many reasons to believe he can't get the job done.
Former MVP Cam Newton goes full goofball here as he believes Prescott is down to his last chance in 2025 before that window officially shuts for good. On his show, Newton issued Dak a direct warning about his future with the Cowboys.
"If you do not perform this year, that [championship] door is going to close," Newton claimed.
His proposed alternative? A click-bait propagandist's dream.
"And in come, drumroll please ... Arch Manning."
"If you don't go to that NFC Championship this year," Newton continues to Prescott, "This is your career, bro."
Cam's theory of "Jerry Jones spending everything" on the Texas quarterback prodigy is a silly assertion for multiple reasons.
First ... he already spent his money on Dak!
The ramifications of "giving up" on Prescott - presumably in a cut - would threat to set the Cowboys back decades financially.
If the Cowboys decide to release their quarterback post-June 1 - either this year or next year - they'll face at least $74 million in dead money.
An earlier cut, say immediately after next season ends, Dallas would be on the books for at least $130 million.
Cherry on top? No savings.
Even if Prescott fails to meet his expectations, that's a lot of money to willingly let wash down the drain.
More importantly, forfeiting a figure that steep is crippling to any team's future cap situation, especially if you lose the player in the process.
The Jones family, as equally savvy and frustrating as they can be using the cap, are smart enough to recognize this risk.
Secondly, the Cowboys may not even have a chance at grabbing Arch Manning if they even wanted to next offseason.
The nephew of Peyton and Eli is a coveted quarterback prospect entering his first season as the full-time starter. He didn't stay committed to Texas, redshirt his freshman season and complete two years as a backup just to enter the NFL after one year of starting experience in college.
Even if Arch shines and Texas wins the national championship, there is a stronger likelihood that Manning stays with the Longhorns and puts his name in the 2027 NFL Draft after his fourth year in college and second as a starter.
It's the same timeline each of his uncles and his grandfather Archie - whom he greatly admires - took in their college careers. They each had Hall-of-Fame careers. Why wouldn't Arch follow that blueprint?
Prescott and the Cowboys will continue facing sky-high expectations, but there at least two more seasons to go before the front office needs to make a decision about the starting quarterback.
And that's for the better, financially and logically.