Cowboys, Dez Bryant agree to 5-year, reported $70-million deal

The contract discussions came right down to the wire, but Dez Bryant finally landed the long-term contract he was looking for.

The Dallas Cowboys and Bryant agreed Wednesday to terms on a five-year, $70-million deal with $45 million in guarantees, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Dallas faced a league-imposed 4 p.m. ET deadline Wednesday to sign Bryant to a long-term extension due to his status as a franchise-tagged player.

"I smiled the whole way over here - I couldn't even say nothing but just smile and laugh, because I couldn’t believe it," Bryant said, according to the Cowboys' official website. "All I could just think about is that it's a dream - a dream come true. I think the only thing that's missing is a Super Bowl."

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones sounded equally as relieved.

"We had a long night last night. Stephen (Jones) and I were involved with his advisors as late as 3 a.m.," Jones told David Helman of the team's official website regarding the contract negotiations.

"I must emphasize that Roc Nation, Jay Z did a marvelous job of convincing us, managing Dez and managing his marketing and finances."

It appeared somewhat unlikely in recent weeks that a multi-year deal would take shape, and the 26-year-old was reportedly willing to sit out regular-season games if forced to play the year on the franchise tag.

Although there were likely several points of contention that played a role in delaying the contract agreement until the last possible hour, Bryant and the Cowboys found middle ground in the form of a deal averaging $14 million per season.

"I've never been in this situation. I love my teammates, and I love the environment. I believe in building relationships with guys in order to be successful in anything that you do," Bryant said.

There were reports of collusion between the Cowboys and Denver Broncos, who stood in a similar position regarding the contract status of wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.

Thomas received a contract identical to Bryant's on Wednesday.

Jones refuted the allegations of collusion between the Cowboys and Broncos regarding the respective contract negotiations for the two star wideouts.

"We did not under any type of interpretation," Jones said in a conference call, according to Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "We did not in any way have collusion. I didn't know until just a second ago watching it on television that the player at Denver had signed. So there was none between the Cowboys and Denver at all."

Bryant has quickly established himself as arguably the top receiver in the game entering his sixth year in the NFL. He recorded over 1,200 receiving yards and double-digit touchdown catches in each of the past three seasons.

Over the course of a 2014 campaign that saw him haul in 88 receptions for 1,320 yards and a league-leading 16 touchdowns, Bryant's contributions were instrumental in the Cowboys' transition from a perennial .500 team to a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

The 2010 first-round selection is already the sixth-leading receiver in franchise history. If he continues to play at the level he has over the course of his long-term deal, Bryant will likely challenge Michael Irvin for the top spot on that list.