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Jeff Lawrence Sep 6 1995, 3:00 am

Cowboys Close To Deion Deal

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- The Dallas Cowboys are close enough to
signing cornberback Deion Sanders that an agreement could be achieved by
telephone Wednesday and announced at a news conference on Thursday, the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
"We don't even have to meet to do our business," Cowboys owner Jerry
Jones told the newspaper Tuesday night. "Both sides have talked enough that we
can get it done in a day or so."
Things could come together quickly enough to exclude other bidders for
Sanders, the newspaper reported. Thursday is an off day for Sanders and his
baseball team, the San Francisco Giants, before they travel to Chicago for a
series with the Cubs.
Sanders, whose play at cornerback helped the San Francisco 49ers defeat
the Cowboys for last year's NFC championship, and the San Diego Chargers in
the Super Bowl, is the subject of a battle between the Cowboys, 49ers and
possibly the Miami Dolphins for his services for the rest of the 1995 season.
Among the proposals Sanders and agent Eugene Parker have been aware of
for weeks is a five-year deal that includes $10 million upfront, the Star-Telegram
said, quoting unidentified sources.
Jones said the contract would not necessarily ask Sanders to play football
exclusively.
Despite Dallas' pressing defensive secondary needs because of cornerback
Kevin Smith's season-ending injury, Jones said he will not ask Sanders to duck
his commitment to the Giants before their Oct. 1 season finale.
"Those might be options that would be up to Deion," Jones said.
The newspaper said Sanders recently talked on the telephone for three hours
-- from midnight to 3 a.m. -- with Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin to ask about
the Cowboys' locker room atmosphere and organizational infrastructure.
"He asked about our team, what the guys are like, what he's about to get into,"
Irvin said. "He knows the 49ers have some age on them. And he knows we're all
about his age, and a lot of us are locked in for years. We have a bright present
and future. That's weighing into his decision. He's no dummy."
Jones said a key to signing Sanders is his willingness to join the other
Cowboys stars with long-term contractual commitments.
"We have planned ahead here, building for the future, and we want Deion to
be a part of that," Jones said. "In large part this deal will be like our other recent
deals, made up of hard dollars."
Those hard dollars originate from Jones' corporate relationship with Texas
Stadium sponsors. In recent days, Jones has formed multimillion-dollar
partnerships with Nike, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper. Jones confirmed that future ties
might come with either Disney or Warner Bros. and American Express.
Those arrangements are drawing fire from around the NFL. Commissioner
Paul Tagliabue said Tuesday he is planning to investigate Jones' use of
corporate sponsorships, arrangements that conflict with NFL-wide sponsorships
which could be viewed as bordering on salary-cap violations.
The American Express deal, which could be announced this week, would
mirror the Pepsi deal in the sense that it would conflict with a corporate rival that
has an NFL-wide pact. American Express would become "the official credit card
of Texas Stadium," but Visa is already "the official credit card of the NFL."
The newspaper's sources said that Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman is the
target of an endorsement offer from American Express. Visa's sports
spokesman is another quarterback, the San Francisco 49ers' Steve Young.
The 49ers have an NFL-sanctioned deal with supplier Reebok; the Cowboys
now have a supplier that is not sanctioned by the league, Nike, which has
Sanders as a major client.
Parker said Sanders, not Nike, will dictate the star's future. But Jones noted, "I
think Deion is on commission sales with Nike. So he does have a vested interest
here."
The message is clear: When it comes to the 49ers and Cowboys, you must
choose your weapons and choose your sides. The elated Cowboys think
Sanders has done so.
"I told Deion, 'We're going to win the Super Bowl anyway, but if you were in
San Fran, at least it'd be a game,"' Irvin said. "But if you are here, we'll win three
or four more Super Bowls. And you can be as big as you want to be. Hey, we'll
all be as big as we want to be."
 
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