By Josh Clark and Mike Fisher
So what's changed when it comes to a potential pairing between free agent safety Earl Thomas and the Dallas Cowboys? Nothing. It's the beginning of a negotiating dance.
Great players want "great'' contracts. Home teams want "hometown discounts.''
We reported back in March of 2018 that Thomas was looking for a deal similar to the one Eric Berry received from the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017. That deal paid Berry $78 million over six years with $40 million of it being guaranteed. It is natural for Thomas to continue to fish for that sort of contract; he can't get it, from Dallas or anywhere else, if he doesn't ask.
Should Thomas receive an offer similar to that, the Cowboys will likely wave goodbye and say 'congratulations.'
It's the perfect time for him and his agent to begin their negotiating tactics as reporters, agents and front office personnel from every team are all in Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine.
On Thursday, we reported that the Cowboys engaged in a "fact-finding mission'' regarding Thomas.
"We visit with all the agents and all the teams,'' one source who was in the meeting told 105.3 The Fan. "We talk with agents about their college guys and their free agents. It's a fact-finding mission.''
There is a massive gray area that determines exactly what can be said and when it can be said to someone like Thomas' agent David Mulugheta. So we termed this as a "casual visit'' while acknowledging where we've known this is going for the last year: The Cowboys' flirtation with Thomas is going to be as serious-minded as his long-standing desire to play for his hometown team.
So Dallas wants a "hometown discount'' but what exactly does that mean? And Thomas wants "big money'' but what exactly does that mean? And while reports suggest that there is not going to be any bend from either side, that's simply highly unlikely. Example: If Thomas gets two good offers, one from the Buffalo Bills and a slighly-lesser one from his home-state Cowboys ... Is he really going to the higher bidder, regardless of any other considerations?
Doubtful. In this scenario, assuming Thomas would choose Dallas over Buffalo, he would indeed be taking "less'' -- another word for a "hometown discount.''
Similarly, while Dallas doesn't want to pay Eric Berry money, that doesn't mean it can't create a contract that pays him less per year than Berry but that does include guaranteed money to make the offer more attractive.
So you see, this is more complicated than cliches and platitudes about "big money'' and "hometown discounts.''