Cowboys News: FOX begged for rights to Dallas vs Bills, 2023 draft class signs rookie contracts

The Dallas Cowboys 2023 schedule was released Thursday, and it featured no shortage of captivating matchups.

The season-opener against the Giants on Sunday Night Football jumps out, but so does the 49ers rematch in Week 5 (also SNF) and the Week 2 showdown against the Aaron Rodgers-led Jets.

With myriad box-office matchups, Dallas' Week 15 clash against the Bills could get glossed over. Surprisingly enough, it's not in primetime even though the Cowboys and Buffalo are both contenders, sport two of the league's most passionate fan bases and are marketing powerhouses.

FOX ultimately won the broadcasting rights for the game, and it figures to draw a massive rating. On top of the aforementioned attractions, you have the Dak Prescott vs Josh Allen storyline and Trevon Diggs and Stefon Diggs locking horns for the first time in a regular season setting.

While the Cowboys are a regular on FOX when they're not playing in primetime on ESPN or NBC, FOX's Mike Mulvihill disclosed that the network went an extra mile to secure the rights to Dallas vs Buffalo.

FOX desperately wanted Cowboys vs Bills, Dallas' 2023 draft class signs rookie contracts

“When we look at our ranking of the top 50 games on the leaguewide schedule, the two that we had ranked the highest that ended up with us were Dallas-Philly and Dallas-Buffalo,” Mulvihill told The Athletic. “In the case of Dallas-Philly, in the new contract, we’re guaranteed one end of every divisional home and home. So we think a little bit differently about Dallas-Philly than we think about Dallas-Buffalo, where we only have one opportunity to get that matchup, so we ranked Dallas-Buffalo a little more highly. Those are two super, super, high-priority games for us.”

This matchup has Game-of-the-Year potential, and FOX clearly feels the same given it'll be America's Game of the Week in Week 15.

In other Cowboys news, the entire 2023 draft class signed their rookie contracts. Let's run through the details of those deals, shall we?

• Mazi Smith: 4 years, $13.27 million (fully guaranteed)
• Luke Schoonmaker: 4 years, $6.266 million 
• DeMarvion Overshown: 4 years, $5.39 million 
• Junior Fehoko: 4 years, $4.53 million 
• Asim Richards: 4 years, $4.08 million
• Eric Scott Jr.: 4 years, $4.06 million
• Deuce Vaughn: 4 years, $3.96 million
• Jalen Brooks: 4 years, $3.92 million 

It's a great job by Dallas to get every draft pick signed by the start of rookie minicamp. Rookie contracts typically don't drag on and cause headaches, but we've seen negotiations for high-round picks (for other teams) last into training camp.

It's even more impressive when you consider Luke Schoonmaker and Eric Scott Jr. were the only rookies signed by Thursday. The front office said it wanted all seven draft selections signed by the time rookie minicamp got underway Friday, and they accomplished just that.

Just another example of Dallas taking care of its players.