The talks between the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL sack leader Justin Houston are threatening to become the longest-running negotiations in franchise history.

For the better part of two years now, the team and the outside linebacker have tried to come together on a contract.

Every time the parties drive through a deadline on the NFL contract calendar, the price for Houston goes up. The Chiefs tagged him with their franchise-player designation on Monday and the attached tender offer of $13.195 million.

Obviously, the Chiefs and Houston have a disagreement on his worth to Andy Reid’s defense.

“Justin is a talented player and a key contributor to our defense,” general manager John Dorsey said in a written statement provided by the team. “It was in the best interest of the club to place the tag on Justin. We will continue to discuss long-term options with him and his agent. Our goal is to reach a deal that is mutually beneficial. We want to keep Justin in a Chiefs uniform for years to come.”

The Chiefs have work to do just to fit the tender offer under the salary cap by the March 10 start of the new NFL year. Dorsey, Reid and their number crunchers already have pared several veterans from the roster trying to create room for Houston and center Rodney Hudson, the most significant contributors among the 14 players who will soon become unrestricted free agents.

Houston and his agent, Joel Segal, have been publicly quiet about the situation. But the linebacker spoke loudly by his actions in the weekend before he was tagged by the team. For 45 years the 101 NFL Awards banquet has been held in Kansas City and it’s where the Chiefs have always presented their MVP and Rookie of the Year awards from the 2014 season. Houston did not attend the black-tie affair and did not pick up his Derrick Thomas Award as the club’s most valuable player.

At this point, getting Houston’s signature on a long-term contract is going to be painful for the Chiefs, not only in the financial size of the deal but in the domino effect it has on the rest of the roster. Just to get the tender offer under the 2015 salary cap will require massive restructuring and salary cuts from players such as outside linebacker Tamba Hali, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and quarterback Alex Smith. Those players carry the three biggest numbers under the salary cap for the coming season: Smith at $15.6 million, Bowe at $14 million and Hali at about $12 million.

Plus, the work to get Houston under the cap makes it hard for the Chiefs to be any type of player in free agency. That includes keeping Hudson, who has developed into one of the best centers in the AFC.

The next step belongs to Houston: He must decide when he signs the tender. As soon as he affixes his signature, that $13.195 million becomes guaranteed. He could put off signing and would not have to attend the Chiefs’ offseason program, OTA sessions, training camp and preseason.

With the non-exclusive designation, Houston can negotiate with other NFL teams. If he got an offer sheet, the Chiefs would have the right to match the contract terms. If they decided not to match, the team signing Houston would have to give up two first-round draft choices. History tells us the chance of that happening are minuscule.

It looks like the long-running negotiations between Houston and the Chiefs will not end any time soon.