On the NFL: Owens laughing all the way to the bankBY ASHLEY FOXKnight Ridder NewspapersPHILADELPHIA - Lito Sheppard laughed when he heard that Terrell Owens had signed with the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday. He wasn't the only one.

Owens is laughing too, all the way to his bank, with $10 million in salary and signing bonus for 2006 and $25 million should he stay in Big D for all three years of his deal. He is so happy to stick it to the Eagles by signing with their most hated rival that he's recorded a rap song dissing the Birds and is writing a supposed tell-all book about his ordeal in Philly.

Clearly, Owens thinks his laugh will be the loudest and the last, but I doubt it.
The prevailing feeling in Dallas is that Jerry Jones has made a deal with the devil, hoping talent will trump trouble. On the surface, Jones could be right. He showed love for Owens in the only way that truly matters to the wide receiver: in dollars.

Owens desperately wanted to be the league's highest-paid receiver today. What he got was a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid receivers in NFL history over a three-year span. If he plays out his contract - which is a huge "if - Owens will make $5 million more than he would have with the Eagles in 2006, `07 and `08.

Also, the $10 million for 2006 is more than most NFL insiders anticipated Owens could earn, given his egregious and destructive behavior of the last year. As one NFL general manager said, Owens got market value, which unquestionably delighted him.
It is interesting that Owens now reports to two equally monomaniacal men: Jones and coach Bill Parcells. When Jones hired Parcells as his coach a couple of years ago, few people thought the two could coexist. Aside from Jones' signing a few players Parcells wasn't crazy about, the two have gotten along well, and with little incident.

Maybe Owens will respond to dominant forces whose egos match his own. Maybe he will be the happy newlywed, as he promised Jones he would be, because of the new scenery, the new coach, the new coin. Maybe he and Parcells will get along great, at first, when the playful preseason bets of touchdowns and tights are set.

But at some point, probably early in the regular season, Owens is bound to have a conflict. He won't particularly like Parcells' reliance on the running game. And he doesn't exactly embrace Parcells' opinion that wide receivers need to block downfield for the Cowboys to be successful.

And then there is the issue of the quarterback. We all know how Owens loves to throw his quarterback under the bus for one infraction or another. Drew Bledsoe isn't the fleetest of foot in the pocket, and the Cowboys' offensive line is not the most effective against the rush. It won't take long before a team sends the house at Bledsoe.
Inevitably, Bledsoe will take a series of sacks. Or he will be so rushed that he can't get the ball to Owens. Or Bledsoe will revert to his security blanket, Terry Glenn. That, my friends, will not make No. 81 happy, one bit.

But, for now, the Cowboys were happy to report Monday that their season-ticket sales had been brisk over the weekend, and that they set a franchise online sales record, selling 1,500 T.O. jerseys in 48 hours. More>>>

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