R_T26

DENIALS OF T.O. SIGNING ARE BOGUS?



Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com reports that receiver Terrell Owens indeed has a deal in place with the Dallas Cowboys, even as agent Drew Rosenhaus denies that any arrangement with the Cowboys is in place.



Glazer reports that it's a three-year deal. If so, that tells us that T.O. didn't get a signing bonus in excess of $15 million. Otherwise, the contract undoubtedly would have had a longer term, if for no reason other than to reduce the cap charge in 2006.



The broader questions are these. First, if no deal is in place, why are there multiple reports to the contrary? Second, if a contract has been reached, why wouldn't the Cowboys announce it now -- and why would Rosenhaus deny its existence?



Here's our interpretation.



There is a deal in place, and Rosenhaus is saying that there isn't because he agreed to allow the Cowboys to announce the deal on Monday. So when asked about reports of a deal, what else can he say?



But why would the Cowboys wait until Monday to announce the deal? On the surface, the answer is easy -- owner Jerry Jones is on vacation and he wants to be the one who gets in front of the media and crows about the team's biggest free agent signing in a decade (see Deion Sanders).



And let's take this a level deeper. Owens was released on Tuesday. Could it be that the Cowboys and Rosenhaus worked out the contract before Tuesday -- and that both sides thereafter decided to defer announcing it for a week after the official termination of his contract?



Owens had permission to seek a trade before his release, which would have included working out a contract with a new team and then working out compensation with the Eagles. But Owens didn't have permission to strike a deal with a new team and then sit back and wait to be released.



If that happened, it would explain the information that we caught wind of on Tuesday night regarding Owens' supposed plan to wait as long as it takes for the deal that he wants. It's possible that this was all part of the ruse and that, in reality, he didn't have to wait at all, because the deal with the Cowboys already was in the bag.



Here's one thing of which we're relatively certain. The Eagles are paying close attention to this one, and there will be plenty of discussions among the upper reaches of the organization regarding whether to pursue tampering charges against the Cowboys.



As Glazer reported in November, the Eagles already have asked the NFL once to punish Jones for comments he made regarding a possible interest in Owens. If there's any fire (and there's already smoke) regarding the possibility that Owens had a deal in place with Dallas before Tuesday, we expect the Eagles to be knocking on the Commish's door again.



MORE CONFUSION REGARDING LORD FAVRE'S BONUS



On March 6, The Wisconsin State Journal reported that Packers quarterback Brett Favre was due to receive a $3 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the 2006 league year. Day five of the league year, due to the CBA-relayed delays, was March 15.



Now, after we posted an article questioning the status of Lord Favre's roster bonus, Tom Silverstein of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that the deadline is Monday, March 20:



"According to a National Football League source with knowledge of the deal, the payment is due 10 days after the start of the new salary cap year, which began Saturday. It is unclear whether that was the date originally placed in the contract or an adjustment made later."



And although Silverstein reports that "all indications are that the deadline" will be bumped, there's still nothing definitive in this regard.



The Packers, per Silverstein, have said they won't pay the bonus until Favre commits to coming back. Favre's agent has said that moving the deadline would not be a problem.



But, you see, the thing is due to be paid on Monday if Favre is still on the roster as of 4:00 p.m. EST Sunday. So if the deadline is going to be adjusted, it needs to happen soon.



It's also possible that the original deadline was the fifth day of the league year, and that at some point it was moved by the team only to the tenth day in an effort to get Lord Favre to poop or get off the pot.



Keep an eye on this one over the weekend. There's a chance (maybe slim, maybe not) that, at some point before Sunday, Favre's drawn-out decision as to the continuation of his career in Green Bay will be made

Pats726

Very interesting news...especially if there was tampering..The Eagles and Boys are not the best of friends..and rivals?? VERY interesting to see TO and Drew...scary..I fear for him..I don't think a great match..and Parcelss?? He may have a medical issue before the season is over.