Deion Sanders played his first game for the Cowboys
yesterday, a milestone made possible by U.S. District Court Judge
David Doty on Friday. Doty ruled that the NFL Management
Council's complaint that the Cowboys and Owner Jerry Jones
circumvented the salary cap by prorating Sanders' $12.99M salary
over seven years should be studied by the NFL's special master,
John Feerick of Fordham Univ. Doty said while the case is
studied, Sanders can practice and play for the Cowboys. NFLPA
General Counsel Richard Berthelsen: "Even if a ruling is adverse
to us and the Cowboys, at worst the Cowboys would have to
restructure [Sanders' contract] or restructure other players, not
cut or waive players." The NFLPA must file its brief with
Feerick by Thursday, and the league will have until November 6 to
respond. An appeal by either side would send the case back to
Doty (Kevin Lyons, FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 10/28).
BIGGER ISSUE: If the Cowboys win, the N.Y. TIMES' Timothy
Smith writes other owners will be freed up in terms of spending
more on bonuses dumping the "bulk" of the high salaries into '99
-- the uncapped year of the CBA. Smith notes, "The league
doesn't want that" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/29). In Boston, Will
McDonough calls Jerry Jones "the bait" with the "real catch"
being the cap and its structure under the current CBA.
McDonough: "If the league's legal structure upholds the
[Sanders] contract, which it is expected to do, then the owners
will go to [NFLPA Exec Dir Gene] Upshaw and commissioner Paul
Tagliabue to say they will not bargain under the present salary
cap system." The owners will seek a cap with tougher spending
controls. Since the players like the current cap, talks on a CBA
extension could be "derailed" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/29). Upshaw,
after meeting with Redskins players Friday: "If we are not
allowed to have signing bonuses that are prorated, then the deal
doesn't work for us" (Dave Sell, WASHINGTON POST, 10/28).
MEMO TO THE COMMISSIONER: In Orlando, Larry Guest writes of
Sanders' debut: "If any other player could waltz in and turn a
mundane Dallas-Atlanta game into a sold-out mega-event attracting
coast-to-coast columnists and 76 percent of Fox's coverage map,
the commish might likely scold the owner for underpaying at $35
mill" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/30). In Atlanta, Len Pasquarelli
writes that Tagliabue is to blame for the current Sanders dispute
because he allowed the 49ers to exploit similar loopholes with
Sanders last year (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/29).
