A couple of things:
At a point towards the beginning of the season, Frank mentioned something to the effect that the contract talks were secondary to the practice facility, and he and the administration were focusing on that and would get a contract done in due time. I'm not sure how that plays into things at present, but I'm pretty sure the facility improvements are damn near dead in the water (which is pretty typical of KSU facility improvements). Maybe the "leaks" aren't just Franks camp, maybe Currie is in on it as well in an attempt to get some large cash outlays that can be used to fund both. "Pay up or the coach of your Top 10 team is gone" carries a lot more weight than "Pay up or your top 10 team will have to continue on with the same facilities".
We have no f'n idea what the "lowball" offer really was. If it was a the alleged 100K base increase, but with some ridiculous incentives (which seems likely when you have an AD wanting to cover his ass, fiscally speaking), maybe they aren't that far apart. 100K raise plus 100K for a top 4 Big 12 finish, 100K for a NCAA bid, (that's over a million there that would be attainable most years), plus more money for Big 12 championships and advancing in the NCAAs, they would have to be getting close. Don't think for a second that the donors close to the program, the guys who talk to Frank regularly (think Garth, et al), aren't in the loop on this from both sides, WAY moreso then J-Mart or Kietz. It will get done.