Tony Romo sounds like a guy who really misses his dear friend DeMarco. Now signed to the Philadelphia Eagles with a 5-year/$42 million contract, DeMarco Murray will have to outplay his old teammate twice a year for playoff positioning. That's killing Romo inside, surely.
Actually we know it is: Romo told Jimmy Kimmel last month about how he used Jerry Jones' mortality against him in trying to convince the Cowboys' owner to re-sign Murray. Romo knows that Jerry doesn't have much left on this earth, and in football terms, he knows that his back won't hold up much longer at quarterback. Romo wants to win now, and win with Murray. Oops.
In an interview with 105.3's Ben & Skin show, Romo revealed how and he and departed running back Murray went back and forth during the free agency period. Murray wanted to stay with the Cowboys, but wanted his cake too—something that Romo recognized and was more than willing to help contribute to.
How committed was Romo to the Murray's Cowboys cause? Emotionally, all-in, but financially, the number ended up at $5 million. That's how much Romo told Ben & Skin he was willing to shave off his $17 million base salary to keep Murray on his side.
“DeMarco ended up asking me, ‘Why don’t you take a pay cut?’ I said, ‘I will. I would take a pay cut to go do this,’” Romo told The Fan. “I was like, ‘They’re going to restructure me.’ That’s the same thing in some ways, just for the salary cap purposes. He was like, ‘OK, now we’re back to being friends, again.’ I would take $5 million less if meant getting him back.
“He knew that. It was just funny how he was literally worried about that part of it for a week. I’m like, ‘That’s not the reason.’ I’m like, ‘Obviously I’ll restructure. I would even take a pay cut.’ He was like, ‘OK, we can be friends again.’ It’s amazing what you think about in those moments.”
The Cowboys, however, never asked Romo to restructure, deciding to hold firm on their $24 million offer. That's sad, because these happy photos of Romo and Murray together are now just distant memories fading into nothingness.
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Watch the entire interview with Romo below, if you wish.
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[via CBS DFW]
