Tony Romo and Dak Prescott put the Cowboys in exclusive company when it comes to this...

We all believe in our heart of hearts that hanging on to Dak Prescott is the right move for the Dallas Cowboys. Hold on a second, allow me to rephrase that statement a bit to reflect the many opinions expressed in the comment section of just about every Prescott contract article:

Some fans strongly believe that hanging on to Dak Prescott is the correct move for the Dallas Cowboys.

Whether we believe Dak is worth $40 million, $35 million, or $20-something million, the reality is - teams in the NFL are willing to pay through the nose for a quality starting quarterback. The reason for that is simple. Having a talented quarterback is the single biggest influencing factor in a team’s ability to win football games. Don’t misconstrue this statement. It’s not the only thing that matters by any means, but it’s crucial big step in the right direction.

People worried about cap percentage that is taken up by signing a good quarterback seem to forget the winning percentage of not having one. The cap disadvantage a team puts themselves in by spending on a quarterback is far less costly than trying to sustain success without one.

That is why Cowboys fans should feel pretty fortunate to luck into going from undrafted free agent Tony Romo seamlessly followed by the fourth-round pick Dak Prescott. Both Prescott and Romo have a passer rating over 97, which is good enough to make the top 10 all-time list. For what it’s worth, Prescott passer rating is 97.3 is exactly the same rating as Tom Brady, who many view as the greatest quarterback of all time.

Together, Romo and Prescott have combined to quarterback the Cowboys for the last 15 seasons. Only four other teams (Packers, Chargers, Steelers, and Saints) have had quality starting quarterbacks for that length of time. And it shouldn’t be all that surprising that all five of those teams are in the top 10 in regular season wins during those 15 years.

Here is a list of teams that currently have a good quarterback and the amount of years they’ve been able to sustain good play from the position whether it’s from one, two, or even three different players.

There may be some quarterbacks on that list that you wouldn’t consider a good quarterback. Matt Cassel surely stands out. Maybe Alex Smith and Kirk Cousins, too. Regardless of our perception of them as a whole, looking back through their years of service with their respective team shows at least some display of good quarterback play. In fact, all three of those guys had at least one Pro Bowl season during their run with that team.

Good quarterback play is synonymous with winning and over the years, the numbers start to show just that. If we actually took a look at the top 10 regular season win teams over the last 15 years, you’d find a great majority of those teams on that list.

Hopefully, the Cowboys streak of having a talented starting QB will go from 15 years to 20+ years. And hopefully, success won’t just present itself in the form of regular-season wins. For that to change, it’s going to take more help on the defensive side of the ball because as we stated earlier, having a good quarterback just serves as a great impetus to success in this league. Having Prescott as quarterback offers no guarantees, but it’s a nice precursor to what could be great things.