Dez Bryant and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones met one-on-one to discuss a potential contract extension for the Pro Bowl receiver, but the meetings brought the negotiations no closer to a deal.
"We have had good visits," Jones said, per ESPN Dallas. "It's a little different to be talking directly, for me to be talking directly with the player. I know of two that I've spent a lot of time directly talking with in some pretty sensitive areas when you're talking about money. We all understand what that means. One of them Michael Irvin. He asked me to induct him into the Hall of Fame later and Emmitt Smith, he asked me to induct him into the Hall of Fame later. Troy (Aikman) always had Leigh Steinberg there, but we kind of talked straight in there together."
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported earlier this week that the sides have been making progress in getting a deal done, but negotiations figured to be difficult and there was a long way to go.
The one-on-one meetings speak to the urgency of getting a deal done before the season, but Jones said he and Bryant have always had a different sort of relationship.
"But Dez and I have been visiting for years, ever since he's been a Cowboy regarding things, and so it is a fairly unique situation that we've talked as much as we've talked, made it pretty easy and maybe propitious to be able to talk to him about his contract. That's why we were actually talking there," Jones said.
Regardless of how the talks take place, it's all about the dollars. Bryant believes he is a top-five receiver (he is) and should get paid like one (he should).
Jones can have as many private, productive meetings with his receiver as he likes. The only thing that will get a deal done is showing Bryant the money.
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