Dak Prescott's 'Darth Vader' Patch Explained
As of the 2023 NFL season, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott's jersey includes a patch over his left pectoral muscle area of a figure some observers might find similar in appearance to Darth Vader. However, this is unrelated to Star Wars; it's the likeness of an anonymous football player sporting a sideline cape over their shoulders. That cape, combined with a helmet obscuring their face, makes this figure look similar to Darth Vader in his mask, cape, and body armor.
Prescott earned the right to wear the patch for winning the 2022 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award. This is an annual title recognizing a player's philanthropic work outside the game of football, considered by some to be the league's highest honor. Eagle-eyed football fans may remember Prescott previously wore this same image as a decal on his helmet near the 2022 season's conclusion. Whereas only the award's winners can sport the icon on their jerseys, each of the year's nominees can wear the decal on their helmets.
So, Prescott isn't some sort of Star Wars superfan but simply honoring the fact he's now the latest in a lineage of NFL players the league has recognized for their outstanding contributions off the field.
Dak Prescott has spearheaded a number of charitable projects
After the NFL announced Dak Prescott as the recipient of the 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year award, the Cowboys quarterback discussed his win in an interview on the official NFL website. "That's something I've always said, that I hope that when I finish this game, they can say he was a helluva player, but he was a much better person," he said.
The reasons for Prescott's win are numerous and date back to before the start of the 2022 NFL season. For example, during widespread protests in 2020, he made a $1 million donation to an initiative intended to combat systematic racism in policing. Then, in 2022, he took over for the 1978 season's award winner — and former Dallas Cowboy — Roger Staubach as an honorary chairman of the Children's Cancer Fund Gala. He also heads his own charity organization called Faith, Fight, Finish, dedicated to the memory of his mother, through which he contributes to these and other initiatives.
It's because of this frequent and multifaceted charity work that Prescott earned the right to wear the likeness of a guy who looks like Darth Vader for the rest of his NFL career. Calais Campbell and Russell Wilson, who won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2019 and 2020, respectively, continue to sport the patch on their jerseys, and Prescott will likely do the same.