After word broke on Sunday that Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant had signed on with Roc Nation, many wondered how his agency change would affect potential extension negotiations with the club. Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones spoke with 105.3 The Fan in Dallas earlier today and discussed that very topic, so let’s take a look at the highlights (link via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News):

On spending to the cap:

“All we look at is the player and what we can do for that particular player in terms of our resources that we have. At the end of the day, we’re going to spend every last penny we have trying to put a championship team together. It’s not that we’re trying to save money so we can put it in our pocket.”

On how to allocate financial resources:

“Our goal and what we have to do as ownership and management is decide the best way to divide up the pie. At the end of the day, everybody is going to get all of the pie, so it’s not that we’re deciding to not pay Tony [Romo], not pay Dez, not pay DeMarco [Murray] so we can keep it. We just got to talk them into playing for the money that we feel like is fair so that we can have other good football players.”

On the possibility of using the franchise tag:

“Our goal is ultimately to put a fair contract out there. In Dez’s case, we’re going to do everything we can to put a fair contract out there for him. But that tag is out there for a reason. We certainly have it in our pocket to use. For some reason if we couldn’t come to an agreement with him then we certainly have to look at all our alternatives.”

On negotiating an equitable deal:

“He’s certainly played well enough to have financial security. He deserves that. So we have to respect where Dez and his family are coming from. At the same time, we would hope that he understands what we’re trying to do, which is a hard thing to do, decide who gets what on this team and where your financial resources are allocated.”

Earlier today, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, playing under the final year of his rookie contract, has left agent Eugene Parker and teamed with Jay-Z and Roc Nation. It’s an interesting development as Bryant and Dallas look to discuss a possible extension, so look’s look at some reaction to the news:

• Roc Nation was formed as part of a partnership with the CAA talent agency, and Ed Werder of ESPN hears (via Twitter) that CAA agent Tom Condon is in discussions to become Bryant’s representative.
• At Roc Nation itself, Kim Miale will represent Bryant, according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal (Twitter link), who penned a profile of Miale in June.
• Roc Nation has wanted to add Bryant to its client list since last year’s Super Bowl, says Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
• One reason Bryant may have made the change is that he wanted to get a new deal done as quickly as possible, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Parker, however, thought the Cowboys were low-balling Bryant, and therefore wanted to wait on signing an extension.
• Sources tell Getlin (via Twitter) that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might be reticent to offer an extension to Bryant now that he is with Roc Nation. It’s fair to wonder if Jones felt some level of comfort dealing with Parker and was surprised by Bryant’s agency change.
• As Joel Corry of CBSSports.com notes (on Twitter), this move doesn’t mean Bryant won’t return to Dallas. The Cowboys can still use the franchise tag on him for 2015, and are far more likely to pay him the ~13MM receiver tag than to use the tender on DeMarco Murray, which would entitle the running back to about $11MM.
• Per Watkins (Twitter link), Bryant has now had three agents during his career: Parker, Drew Rosenhaus, Parker a second time, and now Roc Nation.