Terrell Owens Ordered To Repay Portion Of Eagles' Signing Bonus

Arbitrator Rules Owens Must Pay Back Portion Of Signing Bonus To Eagles

Arbitrator Shyam Das "ruled in the Eagles' favor Friday on a grievance" filed by the NFLPA in November '05 on behalf of former Eagles WR Terrell Owens, according to sources cited by Bob Brookover of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. The Eagles suspended Owens for four games without pay after an incident where he spoke publicly against the organization, costing him $764,704, and later "informed him that he should not return for the final five games." The NFLPA disputed the team's attempt to recover $1.725M of Owens' $2.3M signing bonus. When Owens and agent Drew Rosenhaus "did not respond to a letter asking him to return the signing-bonus money," the team withheld his final five paychecks, totaling $955,880. Owens must pay the club an "additional $769,120 to complete the ... signing-bonus repayment." Rosenhaus declined comment, saying that he was "unaware that a ruling had been made" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1/29).