by William C. Walker Jr.
November 12, 2014
With the Cowboys on a bye this week it gave me a number of topics to write about. Starting with Dez Bryant's contract situation. Now in his 4th year Bryant has improved with each passing season. With this being the final year of his rookie contract it's safe to say he's outperformed it. Unfortunately a deal wasn't reached in the off-season and no signs yet that a deal is imminent. Today when being questioned by reporters Bryant explained briefly his feelings on the matter. One of Dez's high-lighted statements "Don't test my loyalty". That could be taken a variety of ways mainly it's telling the Cowboys Dez wants to be in Dallas, but wanting to be there and wanting to be paid accordingly are mutually exclusive. The schism between the two sides appears to be centered on the amount of guaranteed money the team is offering. That amount reportedly is $20 million. Now don't get me wrong $20 million isn't a small chunk of change. In fact it's the same guarantee amount that starting left tackle Tyron Smith received when he signed his 10 year contract worth $110 million. A similar 10 year deal is being offered to Dez Bryant. If signed it could make him the top paid wide receiver in the league. Seems like a fair deal no brainer right? Problem is NFL contracts aren't guaranteed, it sounds nice I'll get over $100 million over 10 years. Except if a players play declines or a team doesn't want to actually pay that large sum one year, the team can simply cut the player and be off the hook. Worse yet when you play a sport where your career could be over in an instant (see the New York Giants running back David Wilson) the money you signed for goes away just like your career. It's the reason more and more players and agents stress guaranteed money. The team wants to guarantee as little as possible while the player wants the largest guarantee possible. I know what you're thinking but Tyron Smith signed that deal. Here's the difference Tyron Smith plays left tackle, a position that like quarterback are the only positions on the team that typically will see the majority of their contract.
There's another reason Dez has yet to actually sign his contract, and ownership/management has no one to blame but themselves. You see Jerry Jones the GM has a track record of greatly rewarding his players come contract time. The bad thing is those contracts usually blew up in the teams face. That however is not Dez's problem. He's been the good soldier watching as his teammates hit the jackpot. A book could be written on the number of horrible deals that Jerry Jones has inked. But here are just a few examples in no particular order Jay Ratliff, Ken Hamlin, Miles Austin, Joey Galloway and Sean Lee (YES I INCLUDED INJURY PRONE LEE). All of those players at one point did display great talent while with Dallas. So why are the Cowboys suddenly becoming cheap with one of their stars? After being burned multiple times on those deals the team seems to finally be trying to show some fiscal responsibility. Realizing they needed to get younger and build through the draft rather than overpay to keep aging stars. It's the reason that Dallas let hall of famer Demarcus Ware and pro bowler Jason Hatcher go. Even though both were very skilled and continuing to thrive in their new homes, the two players were on the wrong side of 30. Each of the players Dallas has paid in the past did display talent. In reality Jones awarded these contracts with a very small sample size. The way Dez Bryant looks at it is that's not my problem, I'd imagine him saying "you've paid players in the past now it's my turn". In comparison Dez has a supremely legitimate point he's been with the Cowboys for 4 years starting in 2010. With each passing year since then his numbers have improved in yards, receptions and touchdowns. Right now he's arguably the second best receiver in the league behind Detroit's Calvin Johnson, and Dez wants to be paid like it. The aforementioned Johnson received a contract with 48 million guaranteed. The other hindrance for the Boys is they've got another superstar to sign currently the league's leading rusher DeMarco Murray. Running backs like wide receivers can be at times deemed expendable arguably even more so with the way offense gear more towards the pass these days. This year however Murray is proving to be the engine that makes this Cowboys go.
In the end Jones and the Cowboys have some serious issues to deal with. But most importantly they can't allow a player like Dez Bryant to walk. Of course they could always use the franchise tag which would guarantee Bryant a one year deal of $12 million dollars. However Bryant has already voiced his displeasure with that notion. That brings the fear that based on principal he could choose to sit out forcing the teams hand, knowing that if released or allowed to hit free agency there'd be at least 30 other teams ready to back up the Brinks truck. I think if the Boys can get Dez a guarantee sum of around $27-30 million maybe they'll be able to lock him up. Then again this is the GM Jerry Jones, and while some of his moves are starting to pan out. I still feel like at any given moment he could do something stupid and the Cowboys will be the ones to suffer the price. Even still it's time to show Dez the money.
Come on now you know I had to include this CLIP
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