“Your word is everything,” says Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, photographed at the annual gala for his “Faith. Fight. Finish.” Foundation gala at Dallas’ Thompson hotel, Friday, July 17, 2026.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
On the day I met Dak Prescott, I learned a theory about sports. It’s not just a game of competition and entertainment, goes the theory, it’s a hero business.
The sports teams that dominate headlines, screens and weekend plans offer something modern life has in short supply: leaders. No offense to Charles Barkley, who once famously stated he was not a role model, but sports are where we find our 21st-century gladiators, our battlefield victors, the warriors with astonishing physical prowess and discipline who remind us of the best in ourselves.
I thought about that as Dak Prescott walked into a private room at the Thompson hotel in downtown Dallas on Friday night, where his foundation “Faith. Fight. Finish.” was holding its fifth annual gala in about an hour. In person, Prescott was 6 feet of swoon with dark eyes that connected immediately. He took my hand in both of his.
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“We only have 10 minutes,” I said, taking a seat across from him.
“I’ll give you 11,” he said, and smiled.
Dallas — maybe always, but especially these days — isn’t spilling over with heroes. I consider Mark Cuban a hero, and I consider Jerry Jones a character, although an epic one. Erykah Badu is a hero; so is Dirk Nowitzki. Also on that list: Dak Prescott.
“At the end of the day, you know what you do when people aren’t looking,” he said, when I asked why a man’s character matters. “Your word is everything. I’ve heard a million times, it takes 25 years to build a reputation and five seconds to ruin it.”
“One life to save millions”
Prescott’s foundation “Faith. Fight. Finish.” was inspired by his mother, Peggy Prescott, the single mom who raised him in Louisiana. He was such a mama’s boy (his words) that he shared a room with her from age 8 to 13, having grown tired of sharing one with his older brothers. In 2013, Peggy died of colon cancer at the age of 52. Three years later, Dak was drafted by the Cowboys in the fourth round. He chose the No. 4; it was his mom’s September birthday.
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Dak Prescott and his mom, Peggy, who died in 2013 (left). Prescott remembers his mother during a 2025 game.
DMN archives / Elias Valverde II
Dak Prescott and his mom, Peggy, who died in 2013 (left). Prescott remembers his mother during a 2025 game (right).
DMN archives / Elias Valverde II
The Dak Prescott lore leading out from that moment is well known: how the low-visibility player became a household name after quarterback Tony Romo suffered a vertical compression fracture and Prescott was thrust into the starting position, ending the 2016 season as the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.
The saga of the Cowboys over the next decade is not the terrain of this story, though I doubt I need to recount the ups and downs. Prescott became one of the highest-paid athletes in the NFL, recently signing a four-year contract worth $240 million. He also became a dad to two little girls. But in 2020, his world was shaken when his brother Jace died by suicide.
“It was a dark time for me even before he took his life,” Prescott said. “It was COVID. I was experiencing depression. I was experiencing anxiety.” His dad woke him up one morning to deliver the news about his brother, and Prescott remembers writing on a slip of paper, in his grief, “One life to save millions.”
Prescott had unofficially started “Faith. Fight. Finish.” in 2013 to honor his mom, but in 2020, it found a new mission.
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“A real man will speak their truth”
The heroic path is not inevitably one of riches and fame, though it can be; it’s one of pain turned to promise, a phrase Prescott often uses. “I am not what happened to me,” goes a quote often attributed to Carl Jung. “I am what I choose to become.” After the loss of his brother, Prescott began speaking to the press about his emotional struggles, something of a taboo in a tough-guy sport.
“It’s a stigma that men can’t say, ‘Hey, I’m not OK,’ ” said Prescott, leaning forward in his chair. “For me, it’s about making sure a man knows that a real man will speak their truth.”
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott speaks to The Dallas Morning News before his “Faith. Fight. Finish” Foundation gala at the Thompson hotel, Friday, July 17, 2026, in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
“Faith. Fight. Finish.” is an enterprise with quite a wingspan: colon cancer research, suicide prevention and mental health awareness, bridging the gap between law enforcement and the community and helping people with life-challenging hardships. The law enforcement angle arose following George Floyd’s death.
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“We, as a community, have to trust our law enforcement and vice versa,” Prescott explained. As a biracial man, he found himself in a unique position to close the divide between white and Black, between officers entrusted to protect people and the citizens who could feel abandoned by that promise. In 2020, he pledged $1 million to improve police training, a number that’s since grown. His foundation launched a school-based “PLAY program” (Prescott Leadership Academy for Youth), and Prescott is proud of its impact. “Eighty-six percent of the kids in my PLAY program respect law enforcement better,” he said.
“You’ll never get a ticket,” I said.
“I could give you a ticket,” he joked. “I’ve been deputized.”
Signed Lionel Messi jersey and hand-rolled cigars
The gala inside the Thompson hotel resembled the charity fundraisers that fill the Dallas social calendar: There was a fancy cocktail hour, followed by a fancy sit-down dinner in a banquet hall. Placards pointed toward the foundation’s achievements, including $10 million raised since its inception. There were speeches and an auction, during which Prescott chitchatted with guests at various tables, a bit like a groom at a wedding.
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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott poses for a photo with a cigar at Bocock Brothers’ booth during the annual gala for his “Faith. Fight. Finish.” Foundation at Thompson Dallas, Friday, July 17, 2026, in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
The Dak Prescott gala had unusual flair, though. Let’s start with the silent auction items, including a signed Lionel Messi jersey, the signed boxing gloves of Mike Tyson, a signed pair of Shaquille O’Neal’s enormous sneakers, a signed Taylor Swift album (The Tortured Poets Department) and signed jerseys from Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach and Prescott. (Romo had thrown in for an auctioned golf outing.)
There were cool activations — the industry term for diversions during a cocktail hour that featured tasty little bites — including a guy hand-rolling cigars. Even the gift bags looked special. Placed at each of the seats inside the banquet hall, the tote had a phrase written on the front: Ask 4 Help.
How to get a banquet hall on its feet
The emotional climax of the evening came with a video introducing us to award recipient Brad Hunstable, a Granbury native who told the camera about his son Hayden, just shy of 13, before explaining that Hayden killed himself during the pandemic. “COVID killed my son but not the way you think,” the grief-stricken father said in an interview that went viral. A hundred and fifty million people saw that clip, and one of them was Prescott, who eventually joined forces with Hunstable. In 2025, the duo traveled to Aledo to talk with students about suicide prevention, a moment captured by Brad Townsend in this paper.
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At the gala, Prescott pledged $50,000 to Hunstable’s foundation, and as the grateful father came to the stage to accept this award, the room of around 450 people rose to its feet. Hunstable’s speech was so moving I forgot to take notes. He told us suicide was the No. 2 cause of death among kids 10-17 in America. But the moment that struck me, I actually teared up, was when Prescott took Hunstable in a long bear hug, and before the two men parted, Prescott kissed the top of his head.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott held the fifth annual gala for his “Faith. Fight. Finish.” Foundation at the Thompson hotel, Friday, July 17, 2026, in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
It’s the rare evening that can bring a person to tears and lift them up at the same time, but that was the “Faith. Fight. Finish.” gala, which concluded with a live set from country music star Kane Brown.
The name “Faith. Fight. Finish.” comes from Prescott’s mother, like so many phrases that have inspired him. At her funeral, the preacher explained those three words represented each of the boys Peggy Prescott left behind: Dak was Faith, because he believed the best in people. His eldest brother, Tad, was Fight, because he protected others. His middle brother, Jace, was Finish, because he was trying to finish school.
Prescott wanted to carry his family’s spirit into his foundation, aware that while he stands in the spotlight, others made him strong enough to claim it. After all, most heroes are not born; they’re made.