If Dez Bryant isn't quick to hit the town with his Dallas Cowboys teammates and celebrate offensive tackle Tyron Smith's new decade-long megacontract, don't be surprised. That's because Smith's blockbuster signing makes it near-impossible for Bryant to receive the raise he says he deserves, at least according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Tyron Smith’s extension could mean no new deal for Dez Bryant
There are conflicting reports on how Smith’s new blockbuster deal affects Bryant’s bid at a new contract. We take a deeper look.
Ronald Martinez
With Tyron Smith’s deal, it’s nearly impossible to do Dez Bryant’s extension now. Little progress anyway. He may benefit from playing it out
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 30, 2014 On the flip side, Don Machota at The Dallas Morning News reports that Dallas may still grant Bryant his new deal before the start of this season.
With Bryant entering the final year of his rookie deal, let’s take a quick look at how likely it is he’ll strike a new deal this year.
Why Bryant won’t get a new contract
Smith’s extension is for eight years, $98 million. That comes on top of the two years still left on his previous deal, pushing his total contract out to 10 years, $109 million, with $40 million of that guaranteed. The specific structure of the deal has yet to be released, meaning it’s not clear exactly how Smith’s signing will affect the Cowboys’ cap room, which sat at $9.995 million before Smith’s signing.
There should be enough room for the Cowboys to squeeze in Bryant if they really wanted to, but that’s the question: do they really want to? Bryant has emerged as one of the most productive receivers in the game -- averaging 1,181 yards and more than nine touchdowns over his last three seasons -- but he’s also had his share of behavioral red flags. Dallas may want to see another year of maturity before it commits major money.
Throw on the fact that negotiations were already moving slowly, and a new deal could still be a long ways off.
Why Bryant will get a new contract
According to the Cowboys brass, they fully intend to retain Bryant past 2014, and went out of their way to make that known in the wake of Smith’s extension.
“We’re totally committed to make Dez a Cowboy for life,” executive vice president Stephen Jones told Drew Davison of the Dallas Star-Telegram. “Our plans from Day 1 ... figure a way to get Dez and Tyron extended.”
Whether that's just PR to soothe concerned fans, one thing is certain: Bryant flat out deserves the new deal. Given his noted production, Bryant is criminally underpaid. The $1.78 million he's scheduled to make in 2014 is less than what 30 other wide receivers, including the likes of Harry Douglas, Brandon Gibson and Andrew Hawkins, will make.
Bryant knows he’s underpaid and has been willing to make that publicly known this offseason.
“Yeah, I deserve it,” Bryant told ESPNDallas.com’s Tim MacMahon. “I deserve it. I feel like I do. I put the work in, but I let that kind of stuff take care of itself.”
With free agency on the horizon, Bryant is certain to earn his payday sooner or later. Whether it will be this year remains to be seen.
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