PAYDAY FOR DEZ

The holdout that was never going to be is never going to be.

Contract talks in the NFL often involve harsh exchanges and threats, but rarely do players really follow through on threats to miss a number of games.

Dez Bryant told the Dallas Cowboys he was willing to miss 10 games if his contract demands weren’t met, and it isn’t likely the Cowboys really believed that. But they knew Bryant’s value and on Wednesday, just short of the deadline for signing the veteran wide receiver to a long-term contract, they made a deal.

 
Now Bryant won’t miss any games and the Cowboys, who let league-leading rusher DeMarco Murray go in free agency, retain a key offensive weapon.

Bryant’s five-year deal is for $70 million, with $45 million guaranteed. It’s roughly the same deal the Denver Broncos handed receiver DeMaryius Thomas. He had skipped all of the Broncos’ off-season work in his attempt to get paid.

Bryant, with five seasons behind him, may well be the NFL’s most dangerous receiver. He has 41 touchdown catches over the last three seasons and averages 14.2 yards per catch. Thomas has 35 TD receptions over the last three seasons, and averages 15.1 yards per catch for his career.

How effective and/or damaging can a holdout be? The Cowboys remember. In 1993, running back Emmitt Smith missed the first two games in a contract dispute and Dallas lost them both. Smith then signed and the Cowboys, after so much early panic, became the first team to start a season 0-2 and win the Super Bowl.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .