5 things from DeMarcus Lawrence signing and his goal of going from highest paid to HOF

Of all the great players in Dallas Cowboys history, no one has gotten a richer contract than the one defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence officially signed on Tuesday.

Not Hall of Famers and Super Bowl champions Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin. Not team sack leader and future Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware. And not Tony Romo, the team’s all-time leading passer who had the previous richest contract in franchise history.

That was before Lawrence got $105 million over five years. The annual average of $21 million per year is the most ever by a Cowboys player, as is the $65 million in guaranteed money and the $25 million signing bonus.

Now, these numbers are sure to be surpassed whenever quarterback Dak Prescott is signed to an extension.

Until then, this is Lawrence’s time and Lawrence’s moment.

The former second-round pick from Boise State once thought his career was over because of repeated back surgeries and then felt his hard work might never get rewarded by the Cowboys during some early tough negotiating.

He was joyous and humbled, yet not satisfied at a press conference announcing his signing at the Star on Tuesday.

Now that he has been paid Lawrence wants to join the long list of Cowboys who ended their careers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“I have so many emotions going on right now,” said Lawrence, who was joined by his fiance, son, parents, and agent. “It’s hard for me to take it in. I’m just blessed to be in this position in my life, throughout all my surgeries, throughout all the highs and lows of my life. It’s just humbling to be in this position and thank God for everything he has put me through. Going through the back surgeries and stuff, I thought my career was over. Before I even made a couple of sacks, I thought I would never see this day. I am blessed just to be here, let alone just taking it all in. It’s a lot.

“The contract is a big accomplishment, but my goal is still to have a gold jacket. That’s what I’m hitting on. I’m so honored just to be a Cowboys and to be able to do it here. I’ve got a lot of work to keep doing. I’m just in my moment right now, so y’all got to excuse me. This is very special to me. But I’ve just got to keep building, keep building on my resume.”

Here are four other takeaways from the Lawrence signing and bonus:

1. Lawrence is set to have surgery to repair a torn labrum on Wednesday and promises to be ready for the start of the season.

”I will definitely be ready for the start of the season,” Lawrence said. “I am not worried about that. It’s about getting it done and over with.”

While Lawrence is not worried, the Cowboys are certainly concerned. The surgery has a four-to-six month rehab. It was a huge factor in getting the deal done, considering that delaying the surgery was a negotiating ploy by Lawrence and his agent to force the Cowboys hand.

“That played into it,” vice president Stephen Jones said. “We were aware of it and I knew we were getting to a point where we needed to make it happen. I think DeMarcus was aware of that too. I mean, he loves to play the game. Certainly, having that looming out there was probably important for both of us to really push and make the push we did there to get it done.”

There is still no guarantee that Lawrence will be ready for the start of the season in September. The Cowboys are hoping he will. Lawrence is promising he will.

Time will tell.

2. While the Cowboys were trying to figure out the best deal possible in terms of fitting it into the salary cap so they could sign other players like quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver Amari Cooper, Lawrence was focused on getting the best deal possible for his family.

”That was not my concern,” Lawrence said. “That is Stephen’s job. I have a job to play football. My only obligation is to go out every Sunday and make sure I am in top notch shape to make the plays necessary for our team to win. That is my only job.”

Said Stephen Jones: “He was a man and said my issues were not his, which is so correct. I admitted that was the case. Me having to deal with how we fit everything under the cap is important, but it’s certainly not DeMarcus’ issue, it’s not Dak’s issue, it’s not Amari’s issue. It’s up to our organization to figure that out. But overall DeMarcus has always handled himself well and he’s just done a great job and that’s why he’s sitting here today as the highest-paid player in the history of the Dallas Cowboys.”

3. As owner Jerry Jones said via a conference call from Minneapolis where he was having meetings to discuss the collective bargaining agreement, “there was never a doubt that we were going to have DeMarcus on this team. Never.”

But it was important to the Cowboys to get a deal in place that allowed them to continue to build a team that hopefully ends up with them in the Super Bowl.

Lawrence got a record contract from the Cowboys but he didn’t break the proverbial bank by getting the $23 million annually he was seeking. The two sides had a meeting of the minds with a “come-to-Jesus” phone call between Lawrence and Stephen Jones last Thursday that spurred an agreement.

“I got a little frustrated,” Lawrence said. “The first deal (offer) was not what I wanted it to be. We had our ups and downs. I didn’t know when the contract was going to get done honestly until we got on that phone call today and that’s when I think that changed the momentum. It meant a lot. It meant he’s dedicated to getting me back here in the facility and getting me back here to playing football for the Cowboys.

“Once you get a second franchise tag placed on you, you are ‘oh they really don’t want you long term, What are they trying to do?’ I was stuck in a rock and a hard place. The first franchise tag already is hard enough to play on that so you know like I said it was truly a blessing to be able to get on that phone call and hear everyone’s standpoints.

“I feel like it was great to hear Stephen’s standpoints on how he’s viewing the contract and also Dave’s. Basically, to hear all of us come together like we have a meeting ground, this is where you’re at, this is where I’m at, let’s meet in the middle and get it done. Once that conversation took place we still had our ups and downs, that’s just all about negotiations but it was actually faster than what I thought. We talked so like the weekend’s coming up, I probably get something up on Monday or something. It just went back and forth, and it was like “man we here.” That’s when all the butterflies came.”

4. The quote of the day came when Lawrence was asked what he learned from running back Le’ Veon Bell’s season-long hold out from the Pittsburgh Steelers after not signing a second straight franchise tag.

Bell signed a long-term deal with the New York Jets this off-season but he missed out on $14 million in 2018.

Lawrence, who made $17.1 million under the tag in 2018, had refused to sign the $20.5 million tag the Cowboys placed on him in February. The Cowboys and Lawrence had until July 15 to get a deal done or he would have had to play under the tag in 2019 if he played at all. The latter was never an option, per Lawrence.

”We ain’t got to worry about that,” Lawrence said. “It ain’t going to be no Le’Veon situation. I’m not skipping $20 mill for nobody.”

5. Lawrence is the highest paid player in Cowboys history right now. But Stephen Jones acknowledged that he won’t have those bragging rights for long as the team his hoping to sign Prescott to a contract extension before the start of the season.

”When you’re getting ready to do a quarterback who is a franchise quarterback and already has put some serious skins on the wall like Dak has, no, he’s probably not going to be there long,” Jones said. ”But he can always say he held the mantle, albeit, it might be a short time.”

While the Cowboys hope to sign Prescott to a team-friendly deal, franchise quarterback money is on another level. And Prescott will surely surpass Lawrence with a deal averaging between $27 million-$30 million based on market value alone.

Bonus: There was never any doubt in the Cowboys mind that Lawrence was deserving of a lucrative deal as one of the team’s cornerstone players.

“Absolutely. I think DeMarcus has demonstrated what you want to have in a cornerstone player,” Stephen Jones said. “Certainly the way he played is unbelievable and how hard he plays, both run and pass, he’s certainly versatile. He’s not just a pressure player, which a lot of pressure players are. They don’t work on the run as hard as DeMarcus does. I’d say he’s also one of the best run players in the league as well. And then, of course, a class act on how he handled the franchise. He knew he had put one big year together and knew he’d probably have a better foundation to argue his points if he put a second year together back to back which he did in spades. It certainly set him up for our negotiation.

“DeMarcus has always handled himself well and he’s just done a great job and that’s why he’s sitting here today as the highest-paid player in the history of the Dallas Cowboys.”

Said coach Jason Garrett: “To me, it starts with run and pass. I thought Stephen expressed this really well, that he’s a really good run defender — arguably as good a run defender at his position as there is in the National Football League. He’s someone who takes great pride in that, and we take great pride in that as a defense. So he never regarded himself as a specialist — ‘I’m the pass rush guy, I’m going to get the sacks, you guys do the dirty work.’ He embraces the dirty work. He chases the ball down, he’s great at the point of attack. And then with the opportunity to rush, he does it in a disciplined fashion. He goes and gets the quarterback but within our scheme. That gives him a great opportunity to make plays, but also allows to continue to be a disciplined defense. So he does it within the structure and the confines. He’s not afraid of the dirty work, and he makes difference-making plays for us.”