ESPNET SportsZone | NFL
ESPNET SportsZone | NFL
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made the announcement at an afternoon news conference. "This is a cornerstone event for this franchise," Jones said. "Emmitt has no peer in my mind. No peer today in sports."
Included in the deal is a $15 million signing bonus, the biggest in league history. The total package falls just short of teammate Troy Aikman's eight-year, $50 million deal.
The Cowboys had been negotiating with Smith off-and-on since the team won its third Super Bowl in four years last January. The 5-9, 209-pound Smith rushed for a career-high 1,773 yards and an NFL-record 25 touchdowns last season.
"I believed that the deal was going to get done and (Jones) showed that with a little work and a different approach to things it would get done," Smith said. "And it definitely did get done."
The Cowboys wanted to make sure the beginning of next season isn't a repeat of 1993, when Smith held out and missed the first two games of the season, both of which were Dallas losses. He returned and Dallas went on to win its second consecutive Super Bowl.
Smith, 27, has become one of the NFL's all-time great running backs in only six years, rushing for 8,956 yards and 96 touchdowns. He has 100 touchdowns overall, tied for ninth on the NFL's career list with Franco Harris.
Smith already is in 13th-place on the all-time rushing list and the third-youngest to eclipse 8,000 yards.
