While giving Deion Sanders permission to play with the
Cowboys, the NFL also declared his contract with the team is a
"circumvention of the salary cap," according to today's DALLAS
MORNING NEWS. The league has asked the Cowboys to restructure
the deal "to significantly inflate the relatively minuscule
$2.035 million Sanders would charge to their cap his first three
seasons with the team." Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones: "There have
probably been 50 contracts structured like this. The only thing
different about this contract is that it is bigger than any they
have seen." At issue are the low base salaries to be paid to
Sanders and the fact that the seven-year deal could be voided to
five, allowing the Cowboys to spread the signing bonus over more
years. NFL Exec VP Harold Henderson: "The CBA is completely
undermined if contracts for superstars are structured with
artificial, substandard salaries and outsized bonuses." NFLPA
General Counsel Richard Berthelsen: "Our agreement specially
states that anything permitted by the collective bargaining
agreement cannot be considered circumvention." Jones said any
dispute on Sanders' contract would be a matter for the NFLPA to
pursue (Ed Werder, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/12).
