The Dallas Cowboys may have lost one of its biggest defensive stars in Micah Parsons. But the team is locking up another star, announcing Sunday that they have signed cornerback DaRon Bland to a multiyear extension through 2029.
The deal will give Bland $92 million over four years, with $50 million guaranteed, per multiple reports. Bland, who is entering his fourth year in the league, led the NFL in interceptions in 2023 and set an NFL record for most pick-sixes in a season.
Bland, who was drafted by Dallas in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2023 and was named first-team All-Pro as a result of his historic season.
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Bland missed most of last season with a stress fracture in his foot, which kept him out for the first 10 games of the season. He finally returned to the team in November and recorded 29 solo tackles and a forced fumble in seven games.
The move comes just three days after the Cowboys sent Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in a blockbuster trade. After months of tension between Parsons and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, things came to a head on Thursday as Jones granted Parsons’ trade request despite initially swearing that he would never trade him.
In return, Dallas received two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who told reporters on Friday that he was initially “shocked” by the trade but is “appreciative” of the opportunity.
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Jones justified the trade in a press conference on Thursday, saying that he was focused on “the success of this team.”
“Not only do we immediately get a player, but those draft picks could get us top Pro Bowl-type players,” Jones said.
But a side effect of the trade may have been that it freed up some money to reward players like Bland, who was entering the final year of his rookie contract.
Parsons signed a four-year, $188 million deal with $136 million in guarantees with the Packers as part of the trade — an amount that Jones was apparently not willing to part with. The deal gives Parsons $47 million per season on average, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
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Bland’s deal, in contrast, is worth $23 million per year. But it will keep him happy, and keep him in Dallas for the next several years while Jones and the Cowboys figure out how to build a championship team without Parsons.
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