The Terrell Owens deal that we mentioned last night when the Dallas Morning News broke the story based on multiple sources panned out: he and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had their press conference this afternoon. Somewhat surprisingly, the deal was for three years; which means get ready for the real off-the-field fireworks to begin next year–probably right around this time. AP notes:
Jerry Jones was finishing yet another explanation of why he believes Terrell Owens will be on his best behavior with the Dallas Cowboys when his new star receiver chimed in.
“Jerry, I know what’s expected of me,” Owens said. “I won’t let you down.”
The Cowboys sure hope so, especially since they didn’t get it in writing.
The receiver who has proven he can wreak havoc on or off the field signed a three-year, $25 million contract with Dallas on Saturday. The deal includes a $5 million bonus and $5 million salary this season, but no added penalties should Owens pull any of the stunts that caused so many problems for his two previous teams, the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles.
His relationship with the Eagles soured only months after he led them to the Super Bowl, leading to a bitter breakup that ended with his release Tuesday.
“It’s more than his word, it’s about logic,” Jones said. “This is an opportunity for him to basically put it all together and come in here and have a very positive experience. … Whoever got him after those two experiences was going to get a more knowledgeable and educated player.”
Agent Drew Rosenhaus said Jones never requested anything beyond a standard NFL contract. He may not have wanted to bring it up considering Rosenhaus said there were six other teams also aggressively seeking Owens.
“There was so much interest in Terrell, there was no reason to do anything but that kind of deal,” Rosenhaus said.
After his windfall this season, Owens will get salaries of $8 million in 2007 and $7 million in 2008. All told, it’s a lot more than he would’ve made under the contract with Philadelphia that began his bad blood with the organization.
“All’s well that ends well,” Rosenhaus said. “He’s a big, big winner and so are the Dallas Cowboys.”
That remains to be seen: while the Cowboys’ offense has taken a big step forward with T.O., their ability to deliver the T.K.O may be hampered by the several pieces of the puzzle they’re still lacking. And their offensive line must be healthier this season than it was last year, or T.O. will rapidly resume his near-annual feud with his quarterback–just ask Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb.
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