It may not just be money that is keeping the Dallas Cowboys from signing star wide receiver Dez Bryant to a lucrative new long-term pact. A recent report suggests that part of the reason for the hold up on a deal is that the team has been adamant that language be inserted into the contract which would allow the franchise to cut ties with the mercurial talent should any type of issues, behavioral or otherwise, pop up during the life of the deal.
"The chief concern is that they want to be able to get out of this deal if Dez Bryant gets in trouble and while Bryant has only had one major incident while he has been with the Cowboys for five years, the Cowboys are extremely concerned that there could be a relapse, another incident, that something else could happen that could land him in jail or under the personal conduct policy and they want safeguards on that, just like they've had safeguards with other players such as Byron Jones," Jason Cole of Bleacher Report said Wednesday.
Of course, as with all things in the NFL, this is still tied directly to money and the overall value of the deal, as Cole suggests that the team doesn't want to put too many guaranteed dollars in the contract because of this concern.
This seems to jibe with a report from Tuesday that the Cowboys believe Bryant's behavior has become increasingly "chaotic" in recent weeks as he angles for a new contract. It also seems to fit the same kind of character profile of a guy who, just this offseason, changed management to join the Jay Z-led Roc Nation, parted ways with his long-time handler, advisor and mentor, David Wells, and was involved in a strange rumor concerning a Wal Mart parking lot and an alleged video tape.
Still, Bryant has never been arrested as an NFL player - though a report during the year suggested DeSoto PD had been called to his home on several occasions - so it's not fair to blame a player or person for something they haven't done, but could do.
Then again, when you're handing out multi-million dollar contracts to said player or person, it's not surprising that you'd want to be absolutely certain that they're either completely, unequivocally trustworthy or that you can part ways with them with little penalty should the worst possible outcome actually come to pass.
