The Dallas Cowboys are running out of time. They've pushed the task of paying Dak Prescott for years and now they're approaching the end game.

Recently, a tweet went viral among Cowboys' fans that "reported" a 5-year contract offer for $175M. Anyone who's followed this story closely for the last couple of years would see why that doesn't really make sense. First of all, that was the same offer the Cowboys made a year ago. You can criticize the front office all you want, but not even them would make the same offer in 2021.

With that out of the way, the question remains for Cowboys' fans. How would a contract extension for Dak Prescott look like?

In 2020, the Cowboys failed to sign Prescott to a long-term deal mainly because of a disagreement in the length of the contract. More than the annual average value, which stood around $35M, Dak didn't want to sign a five-year contract extension.

There are plenty of reasons for this, including the expectations for the salary cap to increase thanks to new TV deals in the near future. But mainly, that's been the trend in the NFL as of late. Barring Patrick Mahomes' extraordinary 10-year contract extension, top quarterbacks in the NFL are signing four-year extensions. Among the last eight who have signed deals of over thirty million (excluding Mahomes), seven of them have signed deals shorter than five seasons.

Now granted, that's not the only issue anymore. The going rate for quarterbacks in the NFL has gone up. Deshaun Watson signed a contract averaging $39M per year last September. And now it's the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens who could beat the Cowboys and extend their guys, pushing the QB market value even higher.

What would a Dak Prescott contract extension look like?

The Cowboys will likely end up making Dak Prescott a $40M quarterback if they agree to a long-term extension. Pro Football Focus made a prediction that feels accurate in their 2021 free agent rankings.

PFF projected a four-year extension that would pay Dak Prescott $158 million, which would mean an average per year of $39.5, just over Deshaun Watson's deal. The prediction included a total guarantee of $115M and $75M gully guaranteed at signing.

I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers are even higher. Watson also got $75M fully guaranteed and after 2020, which represents 48% of the total value of his contract. I'd expect the Cowboys' QB to get even more.

After all, Dak Prescott has all the leverage there is to have.

There's the franchise tag. While it sounds like a good alternative and a way to extend the negotiation period, the Dallas Cowboys be making a mistake. Handing Dak the franchise tag for a second consecutive year would mean accepting the risk of him playing the season under the tag.

Which in turn would mean Dak Prescott controls his future, and he could taste the waters in free agency in 2022. A third franchise tag would cost about $54M, which is a pretty high cap hit to manage and a highly unlikely option for the Cowboys.

At some point, the Dallas Cowboys must accept the fact that they're not going to win this negotiation. It's simple, really. In the NFL, it's not easy to find a franchise quarterback. Just ask the other teams that also drafted a quarterback in 2016. And if you're lucky enough to stumble into one, you have to pay the going rate to keep him around.

Dak Prescott and his camp know this. And although Jerry Jones & Co. are used to negotiations going their way, this time it isn't likely to do so. Dallas Cowboys fans must hope for the front office to get a grasp of such a reality and quit letting time run out.

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