Dez Bryant will enter the 2015 season a wealthy man. Apparently that wasn’t always the case.
The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver was in “financial distress” prior to signing a five-year contract with the team worth $70 million, four sources told Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole.
According to Cole, the Cowboys had been set on the financials of the deal, which was based on a similar offer the Denver Broncos made to Demaryius Thomas. Yet Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and son Stephen Jones had concerns about Bryant’s reliability and off-field issues.
The two-time Pro Bowl receiver “has no sense of time management” and is “consistently late” to team activities, multiple sources told Cole. Bryant’s tardiness also has cost him sponsorship money, according to Cole. The wideout reportedly has missed several events for his one main sponsor, Jordan Brand, which has angered owner Michael Jordan and might cause him to replace Bryant with New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Cole also cited sources in writing that Bryant has shirked responsibilities for three other companies, and that he has lost “anywhere between $400,000 and $1 million” in potential endorsement money.
The Joneses reportedly were concerned enough about Bryant’s accountability and off-field incidents — he was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge in 2012 after an incident involving his mother — that they flew to New York to meet with Roc Nation, which represents Bryant.
Apparently those concerns were put to bed, however, as Bryant signed a wealthy contract that included $45 million guaranteed, the second-most money guaranteed to any NFL wide receiver behind Calvin Johnson’s $48 million from the Detroit Lions in 2012.
According to Cole, however, that deal includes several “safeguards” that “keeps the money in (the Cowboys’) control for as long as possible” should Bryant have any more off-field issues.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images
