The biggest question of the offseason has been whether the Cowboys and Dak Prescott would be able to come to an agreement on a "long-term" deal. Originally, the Cowboys wanted to lock Prescott up for seven years but have since come down to five while Prescott has wanted a shorter deal because he wants to wait until the new TV money kicks in and the salary cap goes up which would put more money in his pocket.
The longest it appears Dak will go is four years while the Cowboys are at five. So what if the Cowboys offered a four-year contract with a player option for the fifth year? Even if Dak declines the fifth year (which he more than likely would), you at least have him under contract and can revisit the conversation down the road and get rid of the distraction for this year.
Player options are not that frequent in the NFL but if the Cowboys want to keep Dak under contract and Dak wants the freedom to sign a new contract after four years, would this not be the happy medium?
Of course, also going the Kirk Cousins route makes sense as well. Short-term, like three years, and fully guaranteed money should make Dak happy, it would just be a matter of whether the Cowboys would offer that contract since they want to him to sign a longer contract.