DeMarcus Lawrence’s agent said DE could’ve made ‘significantly more money’

Despite the chaos that has ensued this offseason, one key defender is definitely returning to the Dallas Cowboys in 2022: DeMarcus Lawrence. After declining a pay cut before free agency began, many were worried that Lawrence wouldn’t be back on the roster. However, the defensive end ended up signing a three-year, $40 million extension with the Cowboys on Monday.

With $30 million of that money guaranteed, Lawrence becomes the first defensive end in NFL history to have seven straight seasons of his contract fully guaranteed. Lawrence’s agent, David Canter, did an interview with local Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday morning. In his interview, the agent revealed that his client could have made “significantly more money” if he hit the open market.

So, does that mean that his desire to stay in Dallas made him take less? Or is this the agent just trying to talk up his client? Lawrence certainly didn’t seem unhappy with the move when he tweeted out a GIF of himself with the hashtag #HomeForGood after the contract was reported.

Despite all of that, Canter told the radio station that a GM walked up to him at the NFL Combine and asked the agent to let the GM know “when Lawrence gets cut,” because said GM would make the defensive end the No. 1 priority for his team in free agency. We, of course, have no idea if this is true or not, but it doesn’t feel surprising that teams would be happy to get Lawrence if the Cowboys did make him a cap casualty. The 2x Pro Bowler is an impressive defender and was a huge part of the defensive turnaround for Dallas in 2021.

DeMarcus Lawrence’s agent, David Canter, said the DE could have gotten much more money than he did from Cowboys

We get that Lawrence could have made big money elsewhere. But it also seems that staying “home” in Dallas was a very important factor in his decision. Canter’s quote made it seem like it wouldn’t be worth it to the Cowboys defender to up and move his entire family away from a team and a city he loves. After eight years with Dallas, it seems that Lawrence’s legacy with the organization was incredibly important to him.

Canter noted that players typically use free agency to hunt for more money and seek championships, but that strategy doesn’t always play out the way players want it to. The last part of the quote is particularly interesting in light of recent events. Canter said the deal would never have been done without Stephen Jones and Lawrence communicating. With several opposing rumors flying around about what on Earth happened with Randy Gregory’s contract reversal (many are blaming the front office for tinkering with language), it seems it was the front office that kept Lawrence around in his case.

At the end of the day, Lawrence decided to stay. He may have gotten paid less than he wanted, but he certainly seemed to care more about remaining in Dallas. If only we could be a fly on the wall in these negotiations to actually know the whole truth from both sides of the table.