Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley
The public lovefest between Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and wide receiver Terrell Owens has finally ended at Texas Stadium. With a box of popcorn sitting on the table in front of him, Jones announced T.O.'s new deal and said, "We want him to finish his career with the Dallas Cowboys."
Jones described the popcorn as T.O.'s signing bonus, but he threw in another $12.9 million for good measure. The owner said that he considered T.O.'s advanced age (34), but basically admitted that he didn't have any other choice but to sign him to a lucrative deal because the team was "knocking on the door" of a Super Bowl.
In a moment of great humility, T.O. chimed in to say that he was receiving $1 million for each of his 34 years. (It's a four-year, $34 million deal). Jerry then joked about "the trip" he could take if he had $1 million for each of his years. And quite honestly, it's always fun to hear a billionaire joke about what he'd do with more money.
Jones made it a point to say that T.O. never approached the Cowboys about a new deal. And during my recent conversation with the player, he sounded anything but concerned about his contract.
"This is a great reward," T.O. said Tuesday. "It's definitely a blessing. This is not anything that I was really worried about. With this contract, I know that I'm a Cowboy for life."
Owens said that playing with Jerry Rice in San Francisco helped him prepare for this day. He credited Rice for teaching him what it takes to maximize a career.
T.O. said the new contract "came out of left field" and said he would've been content going into the season without a new deal. In the end, Jones wasn't willing to take that chance.
