If they can get a good team friendly deal done, then I am all for doing a deal early but honestly, I see this as a situations where the Cowboys probably are able to do a team friendly deal, assuming this is possible, for only about 3 years, maybe 2. I think that's probably the best possible duration. After that, I think Dak and his agent come back to the well. I don't see them signing a "Team Friendly Deal" for a long period of time because at some point, they are going to want to get paid and I do get that. So, if you want a Team Friendly Deal, say 20 to 22, then I think you accept that it's short term, if at all. If you want him signed for longer, say 5 to 6 years, then I think you are looking at 25 or more.
The key here is to see if Dak can develop into the kind of QB who can carry a team to a championship, a QB who is eventually good enough to be that kind of QB, or is he always going to be a deal where he needs a lot of help around him? Now, two things here, that I believe are tantamount to understand my point of view. First, I don't believe that any QB can consistently be a one man show so I don't really buy into that line of thought. I do acknowledge that others do believe that this can happen. Secondly, I believe that there are two types of posters around this issue. One is the poster who is focused on winning and sees this as a question of trying to fit salary around cap and what will be necessary to fill out the roster with the type of players who are necessary to win championships. The other is the poster who falls more along the lines of paying players what they believe they deserve or what trends dictate. Not saying these posters don't want to win a championship but there focus is not really about that and more so about paying the players what they feel they deserve. I fall into the later.
I personally don't believe that there is a team out there who is going to pay Dak 150 Mil with 100 Guaranteed in the first 4 years or so but there might be. If that team exists, then will they also cough up two 1st's because I believe that is what it will take. JMO