Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones once described Dak Prescott as “the best leader that I’ve been around for a team.” Jerry’s words carry serious weight. A 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year recipient, Dak Prescott steadied the locker room and brought out the best in them when Cowboys linebacker Marshawn Kneeland died by suicide. That kind of leadership tells us more about the man than any stat sheet could. And yet, the QB is criticized more often than praised. 

On the latest edition of the Calm Down podcast, co-hosts Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson fielded a fan question: Why does Prescott absorb so much hate when everyone praises him as a leader and teammate? Searching for an answer, even Charissa was stumped.

“He is a fantastic person on and off the field, he’s a class act,” Charissa said. “He has been through hell and back in his personal life. He’s lost his brother, he’s lost his mom. He is a constant champion of people in the mental health space in everything: cancer prevention, early detection. To answer your question… I have no idea [why people hate him].”

Prescott lost his mother Peggy to colon cancer in 2013, and his brother Jace to suicide in 2020. Following his brother’s death, the QB sat with journalist Graham Bensinger and opened up about the depression he suffered afterwards.

Even then, sports analyst Skip Bayless went on national television and said he had “no sympathy” for Prescott going public. But the sports world rallied behind Prescott. Fox Sports issued a formal rebuke and praised his openness.

These experiences shaped his Faith.Fight.Finish Foundation, which supports mental health advocacy and colon cancer research. 

Co-host Erin Andrews offered the clearest take, twice: “He plays for the Cowboys.” Thompson doubled down immediately on Erin’s take. 

“He plays for a team that people love to hate,” Charissa explained. “It’s always going to come with criticism, but I think Dak also understands that. It’s just that the people that are going to hate him don’t have any real reason to. They’re just trying to like contrarians. But I get the narrative that the Cowboys haven’t won an NFC Championship game since the 90s.”

Look at the three decades of playoff snubs, and you know the Cowboys tax is very real. Last season, Prescott threw for 4,552 yards (3rd best in the league) and 30 touchdowns (4th best), and still missed the playoffs. Dallas’ defense ranked 32nd in scoring defense, passing defense, and on third downs, giving up 30.1 points per game. Meanwhile, Dak Prescott’s offense ranked second in total yards per game and seventh in scoring. It could not be any clearer that the defense failed him.

Stat lines and standings aside, Erin Andrews defended Prescott with a story of her own. And in doing so, she pulled back the curtain on a side of Prescott that often goes unnoticed: his generosity.

“I did a charity event with St. Jude, and there was an anonymous donation on Instagram, but then you could see who did it (it was Dak),” Andrews recalled. “Guys like that, they don’t say anything, and so, I wrote him a note and all that. He’s just such a solid dude.”

So maybe it is because he suits up for the Dallas Cowboys that Prescott faces criticism. After all, being the starting quarterback for ‘America’s Team’ comes with the biggest spotlight in the NFL, and all he needs is a Lombardi Trophy to turn the tide.

To make Prescott’s case, Matthew Stafford spent 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, shouldering blame before Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams finally reframed his career. Prescott is still waiting for that reset in Dallas.

Now, Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson are firmly in Dak’s corner. But the rest of the league isn’t so sold on #4.

Not everyone is in the fan club

Legendary Cowboys quarterback and ESPN broadcaster Troy Aikman has been openly skeptical. Days after Super Bowl LX, Aikman addressed the disappointing 7-9-1 season by raising questions about Prescott’s durability and whether the offense could sustain its high level of play.

“When you have the type of season that Dak had and the offense had, and you failed to capitalize on it, I mean, that’s a big letdown,” Aikman said. “Because one, you don’t know if Dak is going to stay healthy, which is not easy to do. And as you get older, it becomes even harder, so can he stay healthy again next year? And if he can, can the offense continue to play at the level they did?”

Prescott could only get 8 games in 2024 before a hamstring injury ended his season. Last season marked a massive return from that setback, even if the team failed to make the playoffs. But with Prescott turning 31 before the 2026 season, Aikman’s doubts extend well beyond a missed playoff run.

Off the field, things have gotten louder. Prescott and fiancée Sarah Jane Ramos notably called off their engagement weeks before their Italy wedding, following joint bachelor and bachelorette parties in the Bahamas. Per reports, Ramos confronted Prescott over “ongoing infidelity issues,” adding a complicated off-field chapter to an already combustible public image.

Still, if you just talk about football, ESPN’s Matt Bowen is already predicting MVP honors.

“Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys,” Bowen declared his 2026 season MVP. “Prescott had more than 4,500 passing yards and threw 30 touchdowns this past season. With the Cowboys expected to retain wide receiver George Pickens, look for Prescott to produce high-level numbers again for a team that could challenge for the NFC East title in 2026 with an improved defense.”

Prescott is dealing with a dismal season and a turbulent personal life. But Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson have spoken up for him. Andrews has watched Prescott since his rookie year, seeing him endure the passing of his mother and brother and make quiet St. Jude donations nobody was meant to see. The case she and Thompson make isn’t that Prescott is above criticism. It’s that the hate is almost entirely about the jersey he wears, and that’s a harder problem to fix than any defense.