The Dallas Cowboys were giving their star
receiver the fancy timepiece as a reward for being among just four
players chosen to attend a news conference announcing a partnership with
the Swiss manufacturer Hublot.
Bryant
beamed during Monday night’s ritzy event at the $1.2 billion home of
the Cowboys, and then offered one more illustration of his
transformation.
While
reiterating that he wants to be paid like a big-time receiver, he wants
negotiations to stop before the Sept. 7 opener against San Francisco
with or without deal.
Why?
Because a player who was the king of distractions four years ago
doesn’t want to be “distracted” once the regular season starts.
“I
don’t want to talk about it anymore,” Bryant said. “Put it behind me. I
love this game. Either way, I feel like I can’t be distracted once I’m
on the football field.”
The
fifth-year receiver out of Oklahoma State is entering the final year of
his rookie contract after Tyron Smith, drafted a year later and one of
the teammates joining him for the watch presentation, recently got an
eight-year extension that pushed the value of his deal past $100
million.
Bryant
has a base salary of $1.8 million in 2014, and the average of the
highest-paid receivers is around $12 million per year. The 25-year-old
believes he belongs in that company.
“I
believe a player should get paid what he deserves,” said Bryant, who is
tied for the league lead with 25 touchdowns over the past two seasons.
“If I’m top five, I’m top five. If I’m top three, I’m top three. If I’m
top two, I’m top two.”
Owner
Jerry Jones, not one to offer many details on negotiations, didn’t
reject Bryant’s suggestion that there was a “big chance” a deal could be
done by the end of next week. Bryant’s agent, Eugene Parker, didn’t
return a call seeking comment.
“He’s
got a good sense of it,” Jones said at Monday’s event, which was also
attended by tight end Jason Witten and running back DeMarco Murray. “He
obviously feels in the right circumstances he wants to get something
done. We do, too.”
Bryant’s
tumultuous first two years with the Cowboys included jewelry lawsuits
that were settled, a baggy pants incident at an upscale Dallas mall and a
domestic disturbance charge over an incident with his mother. He’s also
created stirs with a variety of sideline antics.
While the sideline shows are more recent, the brushes with the law are now at least 2 years old.
