The inside details about the forging of Dez Bryant's contract are out, but before we get to that, Dallas owner Jerry Jones has to elaborate on the time he was almost punched by his son, Stephen, the team's executive vice president.
"One time (when the Cowboys signed Deion Sanders), he pushed me up against the wall and I said, 'What are you going to do hit me?'" Jones said Thursday on KRLD-FM when asked about the last serious disagreement he had with his son.
Anyway, back to more important details.
The contract has no "Dez Rules," according to The Dallas Morning News, meaning that there are no real restrictions on Bryant off the field. In the past, Jones has taken extreme measures to ensure that Bryant is on his best behavior. Why not now?
"That was made possible by Roc Nation and Jay-Z," Jones said. "Now I know you said, 'Boy, aren't we mixing the chickens and eagles here?' No. Jay-Z certainly is a great example there. He's obviously very astute and not just talented and he has in his or he has in his plan a really ask several people of the different disciplines of music many different disciplines that are outstanding. Then he wants to have them and advise them on how they handle their affairs. He's outstanding."
Also, according to Jones, the main rub in negotiations were previous deals signed by Larry Fitzgerald (eight years, $120 million) and Calvin Johnson (eight years, $150.5). Johnson and Fitzgerald are both players drafted before the new collective bargaining agreement, which made the situation tricky.
"They were problematic," he said. "They did set a false financial perspective as it relates to the NFL pay structure. That was a big part of this issue, and that was part of the challenge as late as 3 o'clock in the morning Tuesday night."
The rest of the interview is well worth checking out, if only for more Jerry Jones-Roc Nation love.
*The latest Around The NFL Podcast discusses recent news from around the league, including the new contracts for Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas. *
