Report: Cowboys sign Dez Bryant to five-year, $70 million contract
The Dallas Cowboys have signed wide receiver Dez Bryant to a long-term contract extension after months of negotiations, the team announced on Wednesday.
Bryant and the Cowboys have agreed to a five-year, $70 million deal, according to multiple reports. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network was first to report the terms of the deal. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen confirmed those figures and added that $45 million is guaranteed.
The Cowboys used the franchise tag on Bryant in March and he did not participate in any of the team’s off-season workouts while he pushed for a long-term extension. Signing the franchise tender would have paid him $12.8 million this year.
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Bryant said last month that he would skip regular-season games if he didn’t get a multi-year deal before the July 15 deadline. “This is no rumor; it's legit,” Bryant told the NFL Network. Bryant’s agent later reiterated that his client would sit out if he didn’t have a new deal.
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The 26-year-old had reportedly been seeking a contract on par with the ones given to Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals.
Bryant caught 88 passes for 1,320 yards and a league-leading 16 touchdowns last season and was named AP first-team All-Pro and to his second Pro Bowl. He has caught at least 85 passes in each of the last three seasons.
- Dan Gartland
