Dallas Cowboys hand star man huge new $92m contract as Jerry Jones tries to get fans back on side
The Dallas Cowboys have tied star cornerback DaRon Bland down to a bumper new four-year, $92million contract a week out from the start of the 2025 NFL season.
The huge deal sees Jerry Jones beginning to spend the money saved by allowing Micah Parsons to be traded to the Green Bay Packers, a league-altering decision that saw two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark head to Dallas.
Bland’s contract extension, which has been confirmed by the team, includes $50million in guaranteed money and he will earn an annual salary of $23m.
That deal makes him the sixth highest-paid cornerback in the NFL, and Cowboys first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer has already spoken out about the decision.
‘I’m so happy for him,’ he said. ‘Just the way he’s worked. Shot onto the scene a couple years ago and made an immediate impact as a rookie playing nickel and doing things like that. To see him a couple years after that with all the pick-sixes.
‘I’m so happy for him and his family… he’s such a humble young man. But so well-deserved. He’s one of those guys that you love him as a teammate, you love him as a competitor. Doesn’t say much, but, man, he gives you everything he’s got.’
Bland, 26, is a one-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro – both at the end of an impressive 2023 campaign – and he plays CB alongside Trevon Diggs.
In a summer of disappointment for Cowboys fans, the deal will come as a huge boost ahead of the new season, with Dallas opening at the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.
Bland had expressed a strong desire to secure his contract before the Week 1 slate, and it has happened with four days to spare.
The 2022 fifth-round pick has 14 career interceptions and 164 tackles, and will look to start this season much stronger than last year.
His 2024 campaign started with 10 games on the sidelines due to a stress fracture in his foot, which ultimately required surgery.
