Bryant and the 'Boys have agreed upon a five-year, $70 million contract with $45 million guaranteed, per ESPN's Chris Mortensen. And per ESPN's Todd Archer, No. 88 will get a $20 million signing bonus.
Bryant signing the contract makes him the second-highest paid wide receiver in the NFL behind Calvin Johnson of theDetroit Lions.
The Cowboys closed in on the deal just before the 3:00 p.m. CST deadline on July 15 for franchise-tagged players sign long-term deals. On Tuesday night, the Cowboys reportedly offered Bryant $12.8 million per year. The following morning, the Cowboys upped their offer to over $13 million per year which indicated a strong push from the 'Boys and reason for optimism,per reports.
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Bryant was tagged in March where he was set to make $12.823 million for one year, but the Cowboys had until the mid-July deadline to reach an agreement on a new multi-year deal with the star receiver. Because of the tag, Bryant limited himself in offseason workouts and threatened to skip training camp and the season opener against the New York Giants. Bryant eventweeted his intentions of holding out with no new deal in place which confirmed reports from earlier in the week. Bryant simply wanted the security of a long-term deal. Now that he's signed on for good, Bryant will be there for the Week 1 matchup against the divisional rival.
The reason why the Cowboys waited so long to reach a multi-year deal with Bryant was because the team was waiting for the wide receiver market to reset, per COO Stephen Jones all offseason. There was even reported collusion between the Cowboys and Broncos in terms of trying to set that market. Lions' Johnson was given the $100-million plus contract a few years ago, but now (sans Bryant) Julio Jones, A.J. Green and Demaryius Thomas are all the top receivers looking for new deals.
Bryant's signing indicates that the Cowboys were finally able to find a reasonable middle ground on a deal with the elite receiver and the team clearly values his talents. It's been reported that the Cowboys and Bryant were having problems with reaching the appropriate amount of guaranteed money. Earlier in the offseason, there had reportedly been some concern with Bryant's his off-field behavior. But, Bryant has truly been a model citizen off the field and a role model in the eyes of owner/GM Jerry Jones.
The 2015 offseason for the Cowboys can now be considered a huge success. The 'Boys signed a top pass rusher, came out of the draft plus one week later with three first-round talents, extended cornerback Orlando Scandrick, and now have Bryant locked up for at least five years. They did let the NFL's leading rusher walk, but the Cowboys still have the best offensive line in the NFL with a decent running back group behind them.
Needless to say, the Cowboys are loaded with young talent for years to come.
