He made his senior international début in 1996, playing both games for England in their 1996 European Championship victory, and touring with Great Britain in the Southern Hemisphere.

He attended De La Salle High School,[6] and he was the son of the rugby league footballer; Eric Prescott.

Although he was initially deemed too small to make the grade by St Helens,[9] Prescott secured his future at the club with some impressive performances for the reserve team.

[14] Steve Prescott played fullback in St. Helens' 16-25 defeat by Wigan in the 1995–96 Regal Trophy Final during the 1995–96 at Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield on Saturday 13 January 1996.

He also played for St. Helens at fullback in the 1996 Challenge Cup Final, scoring two tries in the first seventeen minutes and helping his team to a 40–32 victory against Bradford Bulls.

[10] In November 1997, he was signed by newly promoted Hull Sharks, along with Alan Hunte and Simon Booth, for a combined transfer fee of £350,000.

struggling near the bottom of the table, and the club being unable to afford his wages, Prescott confirmed he was likely to leave when his contract expired in the winter.

won their last match for the season against the Sheffield Eagles, with Prescott kicking 6-goals, and finished in 13th place – one position above bottom club Huddersfield Giants due to a superior goal difference.

Prescott signed for Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in 2000, scoring 3 tries in 25 games, but his contract was terminated after one season to ease the club's financial problems.

Later that year, he was selected in the squad for the Great Britain tour of Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Zealand, but did not feature in any Test matches.

[30] Prescott did not play again for the rest of the year, however, and required a second knee operation after suffering from discomfort when returning to pre-season training ahead of the 2004's Super League IX.

In September 2006, Prescott was diagnosed with pseudomyxoma peritonei, a rare form of cancer, and was told that he would not see his two children grow up; he was given months to live.

In February 2007, a charity boxing event, featuring a bout between Stuart Fielden and Lee Radford, helped raise more than £50,000 in aid of Prescott.

[6] He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to rugby league and charity.

[36] A petition with over 12,000 signatures was also sent to the Rugby Football League (RFL), calling for the Man of Steel award to be renamed in Prescott's honour.