Dallas Cowboys Rumors: Dez Bryant Contract Talks Moving Forward?
Dallas Cowboys rumors suggest progress in the Dez Bryant contract talks. The Cowboys are trying to complete a long-term deal with Bryant as a July 15 deadline looms. With Bryant ready to enter free agency, the Cowboys placed a franchise tag on him to escape possibly losing him. A lot of drama has played out in the press since that moment, with the Pro Bowl receiver frustrated he hasn’t received a huge pay raise. A report from CBS Sports on Saturday (June 27) indicates that the two sides may have finally made some progress.
While the progress doesn’t necessarily mean that a deal is imminent, Bryant’s agents (Tom Condon and Kim Miale) met with the Cowboys on Friday (June 26). It’s a very good sign that the talks are taking place, especially because the team doesn’t want to go into the regular season with this contract issue creating unnecessary drama. The holdup seems to be that Dez Bryant wants to join Calvin Johnson as one of the highest paid receivers in the NFL. The Cowboys would prefer a deal that is considered “team friendly” so that it doesn’t lock up too much salary.
It was reported by ESPN.com in 2012 that Calvin Johnson had signed an eight-year, $132 million deal with the Detroit Lions. The first year covered one year of his former deal, with seven more seasons added to the end of it. The contract extension will keep Johnson with the Lions through the 2019 NFL season. In the coming seasons, Johnson could make $16.5 million (2017), $17 million (2018), and $18.25 million (2019). That’s the kind of money that Bryant wants to make and which the Cowboys want to avoid paying.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, there have been a lot of negative Dez Bryant rumors this offseason, including a potential threat to hold out if he was given the franchise tag. The team did what it needed to do to retain its best player, though, basically stating that they would not cave to the demands that Bryant and his agent were making. This is why the NFL has allowed the franchise tag component in the first place.
Another component of these negotiations that could be holding up talks is that Bryant wants a lot of guaranteed money. Since NFL contracts aren’t typically guaranteed, that could bog down the talks. For now, the Dallas Cowboys rumors are a bit better than just a week ago when Bryant’s agents weren’t even speaking to the team. Now, at least they are heading in the right direction.
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