Dez Bryant contract standoff sets up drama-filled season for Cowboys

I wish I could talk to the Dallas Cowboys and Dez Bryant and tell them to stop the drama and get a deal done.

But barring a final-hour miracle, the drama is only beginning for the Cowboys and Bryant and, most likely, the NFL Players Association, which is set to file collusion charges against the Cowboys.

Here are the facts:

If the two sides don’t negotiate a long-term deal before the end of business Wednesday, they will be prohibited from doing so until after the 2015 season.

Now, here is the rub:

Bryant, who has yet to sign the franchise tender of $12.8 million, has threatened to not only hold out from training camp but also miss games this season if he doesn’t get a deal by Wednesday’s deadline.

So much for trying to build on last season’s 12-4 NFL East title team and making a run to the Super Bowl in 2015.

The Cowboys are already without NFL-leading rusher DeMarco Murray. To be without Bryant for any of amount of time would be devastating.

Of course, that’s not all that’s involved with the deadline.

The NFLPA is ready to file collusion charges against the Cowboys and the Denver Broncos if Bryant and fellow receiver Demaryius Thomas are not signed to long-term deals by Wednesday.

George Atallah, the NFLPA assistant executive director of external affairs, confirmed as much in an email Tuesday when asked if they had enough evidence to file collusion charges — and would the NFLPA do so.

“We believe we have enough evidence to file a claim, yes,” Atallah wrote.

Per a source, the Cowboys believe the claim is baseless and nothing will come of it.

But again none of this bodes well for a team hoping to finally make a Super Bowl run for the first time since 1995.

How likely something gets done before the deadline?

Well, deadlines have a history of making deals, but you kind of have to negotiate to get something done.

Before Tuesday, the Cowboys and Bryant’s top negotiator, Tom Condon, had just two real sessions to discus his contract since February — the last one coming in late June.

No progress was made and the situation has remained at an impasse.

That Bryant felt the need to publicly declare his intentions of a holdout in a definitive tweet Monday spoke volumes about his hopes of getting something done before Wednesday.

“As much as I love football ...on my beautiful babies..I apologize #cowboynation but I will not be there if no deal #fact,” tweeted Bryant.

If the two sides were making progress and a deal was imminent, there would have been no need go public with a threat of a holdout.

The Cowboys are seemingly calling Bryant’s bluff, based on his love for the game and his need for money.

He did attend a few off-season sessions and showed up for the final day of minicamp to be around his teammates.

The Cowboys don’t believe he will pass up on a $12.8 million guaranteed payday in 2015, including roughly $752,000 for each game he misses.

And then there is little that Bryant can accomplish by missing games.

He can’t get a long-term deal. That’s prohibited by the NFL after Wednesday.

He could force the Cowboys into promising not to put the franchise tender on him again in 2016 and let him test free agency.

But again, it’s all about Bryant’s resolve.

Would he just sit out training camp? Would he hold out for one or two games?

He could actually hold out 10 games and still get an accrued season by signing the tender and playing the final seven for roughly $5.3 million.

But, if he sits out 10 games, then why not the whole season?

At that point, the Cowboys’ season would have been ruined anyway.

And that’s why this hard-line stance the Cowboys are taking against Bryant and the rest of the league regarding receiver salaries is coming home to roost.

The goal for the Cowboys is to win and make a Super Bowl run, not necessarily to be fiscally responsible.

There is a generation of Cowboys fans who have grown up and never witnessed this once-proud franchise live up to its championship pedigree.

Now the team is seemingly on the cusp of realizing legitimate “super” dreams and it is saddled with this Dez Bryant drama.

The fact is, if Bryant misses only training camp, it could devastate the Cowboys’ chances. He is that good and that important to everything they hope to do on offense.

There was no depth in the receiver corps even with Bryant. Without him, it would easily be the worst in the league.

So Bryant has some leverage. But that’s only if he can win the battle within himself and stay away.

The Cowboys don’t believe he can. He says he will. And the NFLPA plans to file collusion charges.

Barring a Wednesday miracle, let the drama begin.

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Dez Bryant contract standoff sets up drama-filled season for Cowboys."