We are arguing over what we do not know. There were reports about what Dallas offered and reports about what Dak wanted but I don't think any of those reports were accurate. And we also heard that the disagreement was on the length of the contract. Dak wanted 4 years and the Cowboys wanted 5.
IMO, Dak is not worth $40 million a year and Jerry alluded to why. Because he has to put a team around Dak. That means paying Cooper, Paying Zeke, Paying Martin, Smith, and Collins. He has to think about paying Gallup in 2022 along with someone who can play defense better than my grandmother.
Dak is a very good QB, but he is not elite. Before the Cowboys got Amari Cooper, the Cowboys offense was garbage. Cooper made Dak and the team better. Dak does not make his receivers better. Look at Wentz last year. His entire receiver corps was injured and the Eagles made the playoffs throwing to TEs and RBs. Last year, teams took Cooper out of the game and the Cowboys offense went nowhere. I am not saying Wentz is better than Dak. Wentz has his own issues. What I am saying is that Dak is not elite and I don't care how many yards he throws for in garbage time. The point is if Jerry has to pay 3 WRs and a RB so Dak can reach his potential, he needs the CAP room to do it and paying Dak $40 million hinders his ability to do that.
Also, remember these negotiations took place after an 8-8 season where Dak literally lost the division title game to the Eagles team with no receivers. The Cowboys offense fell flat against all the top teams, except the Rams.