MJ to Dez: “Stay Out of Trouble”

Dez Bryant signed an endorsement deal with Michael Jordan's brand last month

Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant met Michael Jordan in February, and signed an endorsement deal with the Jordan brand in April. In the making of the deal, Jordan offered a simple word of advice to Bryant, who has seen his share of off-field troubles since coming into the league in 2010, but has seemingly matured both as a player and a person over the last year.

"The only thing he told me was ‘stay out of trouble,’” Bryant said, per Calvin Watkins of ESPN Dallas. "Hearing it from him, he is a strong voice. His opinion matters. It just adds fuel to trying to do things great at all times, that’s something you don’t want to mess up. Now, I do pay attention to that, just because of the fact of who he is and what he is about. Everybody knows Michael Jordan is about his business, so that makes you want to be about yours.”

As a gesture that he has, indeed, taken this advice to heart, Bryant--a man who famously paid north of $50,000 for a team dinner back when he was a rookie--has reportedly vowed not to receive payment for the first year of their three-year deal. Under these terms, he’ll begin seeing the endorsement money in the second year.

"It just adds fuel to trying to do things great at all times," Bryant said. "That's something you don't want to mess up. Now, I do pay attention to that, just because of the fact of who he is and what he is about. Everybody knows Michael Jordan is about his business, so that make you want to be about yours."

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