The Dallas Cowboys decided to let DeMarco Murray chase his payday in Philadelphia, but they have maintained that they want Dez Bryant to remain a Cowboy for life. Right now, the team has Bryant signed thanks to the franchise tag provision, but they are insisting that they still want to work out a long-term deal with their star wide receiver.
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Bryant wants a contract that could run north of eight figures, and he deserves it based on the market for similarly talented wideouts. Bryant unquestionably has established himself as one of the best and most dangerous receivers in football, and now he wants to get paid like one. Dallas, however, may have other ideas in mind.
The Cowboys have been uncharacteristically prudent thus far with their money this offseason. The team has consciously attempted to take a more disciplined approach, according to ESPN. They chose to let Murray leave rather than overpaying him, and they did not shell out big bucks to some players based on small sample sizes of above-average play.
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The team has also (to this point) avoided handing out any overpriced deals in free agency, shopping at the top of the free agent market, and restructuring deals to free up immediate cap space at the expense of long-term flexibility.
For fans of the team, they must be wondering if Jerry Jones is feeling alright, as none of these strategies really align with how he has managed the team over the last decade-plus (although modeling his decision-making process after teams that contend every year like Green Bay, New England, and Baltimore has to be a relief for the fans).
Still, that means that negotiations with Bryant could drag on if Dallas feels that he is asking for too much guaranteed money or a contract that limits their ability to make other moves to improve the team.
It certainly appears that Jones is no longer willing to pay any price to keep a star player around, even one as good and as popular as Bryant. If Dez and his representatives fail to notice this or think that it is unfair, it could set the stage for a long and contentious negotiating process, and possibly even a holdout.
While it seems crazy to think that Dallas could elect to let Bryant walk away if the two sides cannot agree on a long-term deal, the team could be put to that choice next offseason. The result may surprise a lot of people if Jones keeps following the aforementioned models of teams that realize that a successful franchise is always bigger than one player, regardless of that player's talent level.
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