Cowboys, Bryant agree to 5-year, $70M deal

The deal includes a million signing bonus, according to that person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because contract terms had not been announced publicly. Thomas was in the same exact situation as Bryant, therefore a deal had to be completed or else he would have been forced to play under the franchise tag.

Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys also made headlines on Wednesday as he too agreed in principle to a 5-year, 70 million dollar contract as well.

Bryant, who had been tagged as a franchise player by the Cowboys, agreed in principle to the deal, the official website reported. He has more catches (381), yards (5,424) and touchdowns (56) through five years than any receiver in franchise history – a list that includes Hall of Famers Michael Irvin and Bob Hayes.

It explained that the wide receiver called the younger Jones to relay that he will not participate in the training camp of the team and will choose to sit out for the regular season games unless a long-term deal is reached.

While both Thomas and Bryant headed into this offseason trying to get Calvin Johnson money, it’s interesting that neither guy got all that close. Expect all seven players to be looking for similar deals, if not more than Bryant and Thomas when they become free agents in the coming years.

Thomas and Bryant’s contracts will pay them both an average of $14 million a year.

New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, however, didn’t get a long-term deal after he injured his right hand in a July 4 fireworks accident.

Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks, Chris Burke, Doug Farrar and Greg Bedard all give their Super Bowl 50 picks before training camp starts.

The Cowboys had yet to officially confirm the contract. He stands to earn million over five years with $43.5 million of that guaranteed. “He’s obviously a heck of a football player, very important to our football team”.

His 16 touchdown catches in 2014 paced the NFL, and his 41 since 2012 are the most in the league over that span. The Chiefs were forced to put the franchise tag on him, which would have been a one-year deal worth about $13.1 million. However Bryant’s $45 million guarantee is a record at his position.

After enduring off-field problems early in his career, Bryant has matured into one of the Cowboys’ leaders on the field and securing him for five more years is a huge boost for the team.