FRISCO – The Dallas Cowboys find themselves in a predicament this offseason – but one they bargained for all along. Eight years into the Dak Prescott era at quarterback, they have yet to end their 29-year absence from the NFC Championship Game, as he’s led them to a 2-5 record in the postseason. No, they didn’t bargain on that part. But contractually? With Prescott’s contract coming up in its final year, which is set to cost the Cowboys $59.4 million in cap space, they are faced with one of three choices. And the “vibe” is that Dallas might choose “Door No. 3” here … a Band-aid of sorts.

There are essentially three options here:

OPTION 1) Stick with the original plan of believing in Dak and give him an extension, maybe worth $60 million APY, that would make him the highest-paid player in NFL history. … but one that would also provide Dallas with $20 million of cap room. OPTION 2) Let it ride. Leaving that $59.4 million as is would be crippling in terms of roster-building, because it wouldn’t provide that aforementioned cap room. But if there is a distrust of what Prescott is as a QB? Let him be a prove-it lame duck, just like coach Mike McCarthy. And then either pay him later … once he’s winning playoff games … or don’t.

OPTION 3) And here is the “buzzy” one. As we’ve written before, most Cowboys contracts include “automatic conversions,” what we call “flipping a switch” that “converts base salary to bonus” … and pushes money into future years.

In Dak’s case, there are already two voidable years on the contract after 2024. So the Cowboys could “flip a switch” and knock his $29 million salary for 2024 down to the league minimum of $1.21 million. What would that accomplish? It would keep Dak here, with a new (and more palatable) cap hit of $41 million. It would give Dallas the needed $18.5 million in cap space to roster-build. (On paper, for fun, note that Dak’s “salary” for 2024 could be just $1.21 million!) And it would buy time to continue to judge him for beyond 2024. The piper must always be paid … so that “flip” moves money into future years … and the cap will reflect that. But that’s a problem for another day … and if Dallas is “all in” on 2024, as owner Jerry Jones promises, “another day” is when the Cowboys can worry about that.

This concept has its critics, and understandably so. If the Cowboys really do this for one year, and then say goodbye to Dak? They’ll still pay a fortune to the cap and their MVP-caliber leader is a free agent. But for “all-in” 2024? It’s a very effective “Band-aid” that was put into this contract for a reason. And now Dallas and Dak are facing that reason. By the way, contrary to what PFT and others have written, this “flip” does not require negotiation with Prescott or an agreement with Prescott. If it’s like the massive deals Dallas has done dozens of times, it’s “automatic.” It costs Dak nothing, as he still gets his cash. But he has no voice in it.

Additionally, PFT (which we are surprised to say apparently just learned of this concept) is writing that “Dak has all the cards in the negotiations.” But as demonstrated here, Dallas does have this card to play. PFT also writes in its headline, “Simple restructuring of Dak Prescott’s contract doesn’t solve the Cowboys’ problem,” and here’s a newsflash: We’re talking about QBs going forward making $60 million APY. There is never going to be anything “simple” about that. Not for Patrick Mahomes. Not for Josh Allen. Not for Dak Prescott. Not for anybody.

Jones recently indicated he isn’t focused on the long-term future any more. If that’s true, “Option 3” becomes all the more viable.

Indeed, the Cowboys have done it the other way – contrary to Jerry’s early-era “wildcattin” style – with a focus on building a long-term future for more than a decade now. And what has it gotten them? Nowhere close to a Super Bowl, that’s where. There are options here. Prescott has many of them, but the Cowboys have one valued one that they planned on all along, an effective Band-aid in case of an emergency. Dallas must be cap-compliant by March 13, and so a choice is coming. And we just gave you the “buzz” of what we believe is right now a popular concept here inside The Star.