Tony Romo was willing to take pay cut to keep DeMarco Murray

DeMarco Murray is long gone from the Dallas Cowboys after signing a contract with the rival Philadelphia Eagles. Before he decided to sign with Philly, Murray was hopeful that the Cowboys would pony up the cash to keep him and was even willing to give them a hometown discount. He wanted to remain in Dallas so badly that he asked Tony Romo to help free up money for the Cowboys. Romo says he was willing to take a pay cut.

Romo shared the story during an appearance on “Ben & Skin” on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas Tuesday.

“DeMarco ended up asking me, ‘Why don’t you take a pay cut?’ I said, ‘I will. I would take a pay cut to go do this,’” Romo recalled to Ben & Skin. “I was like, ‘They’re going to restructure me.’ That’s the same thing in some ways, just for the salary cap purposes. He was like, ‘OK, now we’re back to being friends, again.’ I would take $5 million less if meant getting him back.

“He knew that. It was just funny how he was literally worried about that part of it for a week. I’m like, ‘That’s not the reason.’ I’m like, ‘Obviously I’ll restructure. I would even take a pay cut.’ He was like, ‘OK, we can be friends again.’ It’s amazing what you think about in those moments.”

This story just seems to be further proof that the Cowboys really were not interested in paying Murray the kind of money he was seeking. They knew about his injury history as well as anyone, and they rode him so hard last season that they probably figured his tires were worn out. The good news is DeMarco will have two chances per season to get some payback on his former team … and its angry fans. And at least Romo was able to salvage his friendship with Murray thanks to the generous offer.

Helmet smack to Dallas Morning News