Inside Tyler Booker’s first week as a Dallas Cowboy ahead of rookie minicamp
The first week as an NFL player can involve a lot of digesting. Years of preparation lead up to one single moment that comes and goes within the span of 24 hours.
For Dallas Cowboys first-round pick Tyler Booker, the feelings weren’t any different. After walking across the stage in Green Bay, Wisc. after being drafted with the No. 12 overall selection, he was immediately thrust into a car wash of media responsibilities, or as he coined it on Friday, “media opportunities” to build his brand.
From hopping on the Cowboys’ in-house draft show to a conference call with local reporters to even making an appearance on the podcast of his new teammate Micah Parsons, Booker was quickly thrown into the spotlight.
“Us as football players, we’re not like other premier sports like basketball or soccer or baseball,” Booker said. “We wear helmets, so our face is covered. I feel like whenever I’m doing media, that’s the opportunity for me to continue to build my brand and create a relationship with the viewers out there.”
Still donning his tailor-made burgundy suit, Booker boarded a flight on Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones’ personal plane the next morning alongside his parents, younger brother and long-time girlfriend. When he landed, he was in a place he had grown accustomed to while training during the pre-draft process. But now, Dallas was his home.
“I’m not going to say it was so much of a whirlwind,” Booker said about the quick turnaround. “Because I knew at that point, I had done everything in my power to get drafted as high as I possibly can and to be the right fit for somebody. I feel like I enjoyed it rather than being stressed out.”
After printing the first No. 52 jersey at the team’s merchandise warehouse in north Frisco, a session with the media at The Star that lasted over 45 minutes, a tour of his new facility with his family and even a custom-fitting session for his first pair of cowboy boots, Booker was officially done with his responsibilities.
He was eager to get to work.
“I’ve really just been focused on getting into the playbook,” Booker said on what the last week has looked like for him. “I haven’t been focused on much else. I’m glad to be here, glad to be a Cowboy and ready to contribute this season.”
Booker made a brief trip back to his hometown of New Haven, Conn. to get things in order before finding a permanent residence in Dallas in the coming weeks. Upon his return to Frisco on Thursday, he became the first first-round pick in the draft to sign his rookie contract, a four-year, $22.5 million deal with $13 million guaranteed.
“We’re both on the same page,” Booker said. “We know that this rookie contract is just, Lord-willing, the first of a couple in front of me. I was just focused on getting to work, I wasn’t too worried about the extra. That’s stuff for my agent to worry about. I told her that I was ready to get this thing done and get to work.”
On Friday, Booker finally hit the field again for the first time this offseason. Typically used to participating in spring ball and running through new offensive sets, this offseason has looked a lot different as he has prepared for the draft by doing specialized offensive line training with renowned specialist Duke Manyweather in Frisco. But with the start of rookie minicamp, Booker was finally back in his natural habitat.
“I’m really enjoying it,” he said after Friday’s walkthrough practice. “To be back to work, I was talking to my parents a couple of days ago, this is the first spring in the past seven years where I haven’t been playing football. I’m just glad to be playing football again.”
As the face of the Cowboys’ nine-member draft class and 18-member rookie class with nine undrafted free agent signings, Booker jumped at his first opportunity to be a leader in the NFL.
“Just to be a leader of this group, I take a lot of pride in that,” he said. “I’m just a natural-born leader, so my fellow rookies, I’m excited to continue to grow and learn with them like we did today.”
