Dez Bryant's pleas — or threats — worked: He and the Dallas Cowboys reportedly have come to an agreement on a long-term contract in the final hours to do so.
Bryant has agreed to a deal with a reported five years, $70 million per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. According to Pro Football Talk, $45 million is guaranteed. In 2015, $23 million is guaranteed via salary and bonuses, and $22 million more becomes guaranteed in March of 2016.
The franchise wide receiver had until 4 p.m. ET to hammer out a long-term contract, and they bridged the gap on the last day to do so, keeping Cowboys fans from going mad after already losing DeMarco Murray to free agency this offseason.
The two sides had some work to do without a lot of proper comps to go off of in negotiations, with Calvin Johnson's pre-CBA contract leading the way at wide receiver and few other deals for players of Bryant's caliber.
In arguably his finest season to date, Bryant caught 88 passes for 1,320 yards and 16 touchdowns without losing a fumble. Although he was held down a bit in two playoff games, Bryant was robbed by a questionable call of a clutch catch on fourth down in the Cowboys' playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers in which it ruled Bryant didn't complete the act of a reception.
Bryant stood to play this season on a one-year, $12.8 million franchise tag tender, but that clearly wasn't to his liking, seeking long-term security and more guaranteed money, and threatened in recent days to hold out from regular-season games.
Really this had to happen — for both sides. The way Bryant and his camp came out the past few days with threats of holding out, it appeared to show just how antsy they were and how they wanted to spur some action. And the Cowboys could not let a top-shelf playmaker enter what could have been the final year with the team, not after losing Murray and coming close to making a deep run in the postseason this past January.
Now Bryant and the Cowboys can relax that a deal is done and that this key playmaker for Tony Romo and that offense isn't going anywhere.
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