DeMarcus Lawrence Increases Asking Price

The Cowboys recently stepped up their offer to defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence to meet his $20MM asking price. But, as Marlo Stanfield once famously said in “The Wire,” the price of the brick is going up. 

In the last few weeks, Lawrence has gone from asking for $20MM/year to $22.5MM per annum, according to Calvin Watkins of The Athletic. The Cowboys’ current offer would make Lawrence the league’s highest-paid 4-3 defensive end, but the pass rusher is looking to match the $22.5MM AAV on Aaron Donald‘s deal and inch towards the $23.5MM per year earned by Khalil Mack.

Lawrence, 27 in April, is already the highest-paid 4-3 defensive end in the NFL thanks to his $20.5MM franchise tag. However, he has indicated that he won’t report to the club until he gets a new deal.

This is shaping up to be a challenging negotiation for the Cowboys, but that’s nothing new for owner Jerry Jones.

This has gone on as far back for me, notably, with Emmitt Smith,” Jones said. “Any of you know my relationship with Emmitt Smith today know that’s a memory we smile about the way we are, 20-something years later and we’re in business together. That’s just part of the business. The main thing, and I don’t want to be cavalier, this is a significant thing for not only our franchise but DeMarcus’ life. It would make anyone be very, very judicious as they are working through the terms of this agreement.”

View Comments (17)