{"id":110589,"date":"2025-08-31T23:02:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T23:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/110589\/"},"modified":"2025-08-31T23:02:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T23:02:07","slug":"dallas-cowboys-sign-nfl-pick-six-record-holder-daron-bland-to-92-million-four-year-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/110589\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Cowboys sign NFL pick-six record-holder DaRon Bland to $92-million, four-year extension"},"content":{"rendered":"

FRISCO, Texas (AP) \u2014 DaRon Bland<\/a> blossomed from a largely ignored high school recruit to a record-setting NFL cornerback without saying much along the way.<\/p>\n

Now the Dallas Cowboys<\/a> have given him a contract that can do all the talking.<\/p>\n

Bland signed a $92 million, four-year extension on Sunday, four days before the NFL opener at defending champ and NFC East rival Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old, who set a league record with five interception returns for touchdowns in 2023, is getting $50 million in guaranteed money, two people told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team didn\u2019t release the terms of the contract.<\/p>\n

The $23 million average annual value on the new deal is the sixth best for cornerbacks. Bland, a fifth-round pick out of Fresno State in 2022, is going into the final year of his rookie contract.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot your most talkative guy, but leads with his actions, leads with his approach,\u201d star quarterback Dak Prescott<\/a> said. \u201cOne of the easiest guys, if you\u2019re trying to figure out, \u2018What should I do here,\u2019 look up and see what DB\u2019s doing. I guarantee he\u2019s going to lead you to the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bland attended Sacramento State because he basically wasn’t recruited out of high school in California. He was good enough to get a chance at Fresno State, which led to the Cowboys.<\/p>\n

It’s safe to say that three years ago, he was thinking more about making the roster in Dallas than getting one of the most expensive contracts at his position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say just being patient and just learning to grow,\u201d Bland said in reflecting on his journey. \u201cHaving the mindset that where I was at that point was not where I was going to be at the end point. Keep driving each day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bland did foreshadow the NFL-leading nine interceptions in his All-Pro season two years ago by leading the Cowboys with five picks as a rookie. He didn’t have any last season after missing the first 10 games with a stress fracture in his foot. The injury led to surgery late in the preseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so happy for him just the way he\u2019s worked and shot on the scene a couple of years ago and came in and made an immediate impact as a rookie,\u201d coach Brian Schottenheimer said. \u201cHe\u2019s such a humble young man. He doesn\u2019t say much, but man, he gives you everything he\u2019s got.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bland deal comes three days after the Cowboys traded star pass rusher Micah Parsons<\/a> to Green Bay following a prolonged contract stalemate. The deal included a $188 million, four-year extension for Parsons, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history with an average annual value of $47 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cMicah was there, was a guy, especially when I made it to the Pro Bowl, was a guy that was always there with me, trying to keep my head high,\u201d Bland said. \u201cIt was definitely a surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cowboys and Eagles play Thursday night. Dallas missed the playoffs last season after qualifying each of the previous three years.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NFL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nfl\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRISCO, Texas (AP) \u2014 DaRon Bland blossomed from a largely ignored high school recruit to a record-setting NFL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":["post-110589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}