Much had changed since Emmitt Smith had first joined the Cowboys. When he turned pro in 1990, he did so surrounded by questions concerning his ability. In three short years, he had answered his critics.
With more than 4,000 rushing yards in only three seasons, he was on a pace to become one of the greatest rushers in NFL history. He had made the Pro Bowl team three years in a row, had won the rushing titles the past two seasons, and had just become the first player, ever, to win both an NFL rushing title and the Super Bowl in the same season.
The three-year contract he signed as a rookie expired after the Super Bowl. Although he was widely considered to be the best running back in football, his old contract hadn’t paid him like the best. Emmitt Smith wanted his new contract to reflect his new status.
He told his agent that he wanted to be paid more money than any other non-quarterback in the league. He recognized that quarterbacks were always going to be the highest-paid players, but he wanted to make sure he didn’t get shortchanged.
According to the rules, Emmitt Smith was a “restricted free agent,” meaning that although he was free to negotiate with any team in the league, the Cowboys had the right to match any contract offer.
No other teams even bothered making him an offer. They were certain that Cowboy owner Jerry Jones would match it.
Although Emmitt was disappointed, he wasn’t really upset. He preferred remaining with the Cowboys—but at the salary he thought he deserved.
Emmitt Smith and the Cowboys didn’t have their first contract meeting until just before training camp. Emmitt asked for a four-year contract worth $17 million, just a little more than the one given to Green Bay defensive end Reggie White, the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. The Cowboys countered with an offer of $9 million.
Both sides refused to budge. Dallas opened training camp without him. Then the preseason started. Emmitt Smith and the Cowboys remained far apart.
He returned to Pensacola to wait out the impasse. Since he had joined the Cowboys, Emmitt Smith had started his own business, Emmitt Incorporated, a company that employed his sister and parents and sold sports memorabilia. He helped manage the business, worked out at Escambia, and tried to stay in shape.
In the meantime, Dallas owner Jerry Jones tried to act as if the Cowboys didn’t need Emmitt, telling the press, “Emmitt Smith is a luxury, not a necessity. The Cowboys can win the Super Bowl without Emmitt Smith.”
That made Emmitt Smith angry. So far, he considered the contract impasse to be just business. He didn’t appreciate being personally insulted. Jones’s statement only made him more determined to get the contract he wanted.
Just before the season started, he offered to sign for less total money, but for fewer years. The Cowboys turned him down. They knew if they signed him to only a one or two-year contract, when it expired, Emmitt Smith would become a free agent. They wanted to keep him, but on their own terms.
Dallas opened the season on Monday night against the Redskins in Washington. Emmitt watched on television from Pensacola.
He could hardly believe it. In the tailback position stood Derrick Lassic, a rookie. Still, he hoped his teammates would defeat the Redskins.
Without him, they played one of their worst games in two years, losing 35–16. Lassic didn’t play well at all.
Jerry Jones started to panic. He offered a four-year deal worth $12 million.
Emmitt said no. That Sunday, the Cowboys faced Buffalo in a rematch of the Super Bowl.
Jerry Jones’s earlier statement came back to haunt him. With Emmitt Smith, the Cowboys had obliterated Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVII. Playing without him only eight months later, they lost, 13–10.
In the Dallas locker room after the game, several players got angry. Lassic had made a critical fumble that had helped cost Dallas the game. Defensive lineman Charles Haley slammed his helmet against the wall and raged, “We cannot win with a rookie running back!” With an 0–2 record, the Cowboys were in last place in the NFC’s Eastern Division. Both the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles had started the season 2–0. Dallas faced an uphill climb to make the playoffs.
Emmitt Smith and the Cowboys started talking again. After a few days of negotiations, Jerry Jones finally raised his offer to $13.6 million. Emmitt, afraid the season was slipping away, signed. Now he had a few new goals.
No NFL running back had ever won the rushing title after missing the first two games of the season. And no team had ever won the Super Bowl after losing its first two games.
Emmitt Smith wanted to make history.