Mail-it-in Friday: Did the Cowboys get a bargain with Dez Bryant?

Published Jul. 17, 2015 11:00 a.m. ET

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Sid Saraf

The NFL is on the verge of taking over America.

The league already has a virtual monopoly on the sports calendar during the fall and winter months, but a delicious rumor sparked by former NFL head coach Jim Fassel brings up a delicious question as we plunge into another edition of Mail-it-in Friday:

Will the NFL start a spring league? And if so, is that a smart move? We will tackle this question in earnest, but first, we deal the little issue of Dez Bryant's new contract with the Dallas Cowboys.

OK, let's get to work!

DEZ'S BIG PAYDAY

Dezzie B got his money from Big D on Wednesday to the tune of a five-year, $70 million contract. Now, nobody is going to argue that $70 million ISN'T a lot of money. But considering Calvin Johnson is currently working on a seven-year, $113M deal with the Lions, did the Cowboys get themselves a discount with their supremely talented wideout?

Sea,

I agree with you. Considering Bryant is three years younger than Megatron -- not knocking Megatron, by the way -- Jerry Jones and Co. got themselves quite the bargain with one of the top receivers in the game. It seems they won this game of contract chicken.

D,

Kind of funny how Demaryius Thomas' deal suddenly got done shortly after the Dez news broke, huh? I'm not going to say it's collusion or anything, but maybe the NFLPA isn't just barking for no reason.

BudLightNinja,

I'm against all hometown discounts. And that also goes for people who aren't professional athletes. You don't owe your employer a thing and vice versa.

Believe me, the second you can't perform up to whatever level deemed necessary, you'll get cut loose and people will forget your name five minutes later. And you'll get the "nothing personal, it's just business" line to boot.

Get paid as much as possible for your hard work. If you don't look out for yourself, nobody else will.

Mike,

Good luck controlling anyone after giving them $70 million. Dez is no different. And quite frankly, I've been impressed with how he's conducted himself this offseason.

He took a stand for what he believed was right and he STILL made it a point to show his face at Cowboys' minicamp, despite not being under contract. That's the sign of a team player.

I know I would be a tough person to control if you gave me millions of dollars. Have you seen "Half Baked"? I would pull this Scarface move on most of the people in my life (WARNING: VERY EXPLICIT AND RIGHTEOUS LANGUAGE):

It probably wouldn't even take millions. Give me $500K and I'll go out like a G.

Anyway, moving on!

GIMME MORE, GIMME GIMME MORE

Will the NFL start up a Spring League? And if so, is it a smart idea? Would people even watch football during that time of year?

Your responses were very telling. I would have thought that people would view spring football as too much of a good thing, but ...

I was wrong:

There were even people who didn't like the idea, but would still watch.

Of course, it wouldn't be Twitter if a few haters didn't show up:

Now, let's go into a bit more detail.

James,

Sort of. I imagine any spring league the NFL starts will be viewed as developmental. With the current CBA, teams are very much restricted when it comes to practice time, so a lot of young, but talented players don't get the individual instruction they need to take the next step.

However, with a developmental league, NFL teams have the option of holding on to prospects they would normally have to jettison due to roster limits. And veterans trying for another shot could have a place to showcase their talents.

It's about time something like this happens.

Michael,

Here's a man after my own heart. A man so desperate for football that he'll take even a subpar product.

I respect that. After all, I found myself watching the CFL the other day. I would have left it on for the entire game had my wife not stopped me. She's a good person.

Chris,

That's cute. The NFL, if nothing else, has proven its love of money over the years. If there are dollars to be made out of preseason games -- and there are -- they're not going anywhere.

And really, is there anything wrong with more money? It's the American Dream!

Coach,

Dude ... 7 on 7? Get that weak sauce out of here. It's 11 on 11 or nothing!

Shawn,

Baseball is not unwatchable. However ... it's probably the worst sport to watch while in the gym.

For anyone who has suffered to pass the time while on a treadmill, stairmaster or elliptical, what's on the TV in front of you is very important. You need something fast-paced to keep your spirits up and get you through that workout. Sports are the perfect thing.

Basketball is great for that. Football works, too. I'll even go with tennis. Baseball? Noooooo ... watching Madison Bumgarner gum up a game with his deliberately slow delivery has me like:

By the way, that's an exact impression of Sid Saraf on an elliptical. Not a pretty sight, folks.

Huge,

Holy crap. SPRING FANTASY FOOTBALL?!!

Now, I REALLY want to see this happen. I was lukewarm on the idea before, but now I'm determined to play fantasy football two times a year.

Craig,

No, thanks. Mr. Trump is a lot of things, but a competent football mind, he isn't. He also hasn't been great at other things lately, but I won't mention that ...

Griffin,

No doubt. I've been keeping an eye on the NBA Summer League as well. And the Lakers still suck. It's going to be long slog for my boys to get back to championship caliber.

Screech Diddy,

Alrighty, I think we've had enough fun. I'm on vacation next week, and while I'm sure you won't miss me, I will miss all of you.

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