Saturday, June 3, 2000
Cowboys cite salary cap as reason to release Deion Sanders

By David Moore
The Dallas Morning News (KRT)

IRVING - His arrival was trumpeted by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as the boldest move in the history of NFL free agency.

His departure was chronicled by a press release early Friday morning while Jones and the coaching staff relaxed on a Las Vegas excursion.

Deion Sanders' star turn with the Cowboys is over. After five, flamboyant seasons, the player whose signing symbolized a shift in Super Bowl supremacy was discarded with a whimper when the club opted not to exercise the final four years of his contract.

The parting has been expected for months. The same salary cap Jones manipulated in September of 1995 to lure Sanders away from the world champion San Francisco 49ers is the same cap he cited Friday in his inability to retain the Pro Bowl cornerback and punt returner.

"Deion was a great player for us," Jones said in a prepared statement. "He was a major contributor on our Super Bowl team and he has been a major contributor to the success we've had in recent years.

"But because of salary-cap reasons, we just can't afford to keep him under his current contract."

Sanders would have counted $12.7 million against the cap this season if the Cowboys had kept him on the roster beyond Friday. He had $23.5 million in guaranteed money coming his way over the next two years if he had not been released by Dallas.

By cutting Sanders before Saturday, the club's financial obligation has been reduced to $5.4 million - $2.2 million in 2000 and $3.2 million in 2001.

Jones said the club would keep its options open and didn't rule out the possibility that Sanders could re-sign with the Cowboys. Sanders could not be reached for comment, but he has distanced himself from the organization in recent months and made it clear that he doesn't intend to return to Dallas.

Sanders and his agent, Eugene Parker, have reportedly begun negotiations with Washington. The Redskins appear to be the favorite to land the services of the 32-year-old cornerback.

The Cowboys have laid the groundwork for life without Deion this off-season, signing veteran Ryan McNeil to start next to Kevin Smith and using three of their five picks in the draft on cornerbacks. That doesn't mean what he meant to the defense and special teams can be replaced.

When Sanders went down with a sprained toe in the final months of the `98 season, head coach Dave Campo, then the team's defensive coordinator, said Sanders' absence forced the Cowboys to alter 30 percent of their defensive scheme. His ability to take a receiver out of the game and shut down a quarter of the field will be missed.

"You would come into the meeting and say, `Here's your game plan,'" defensive backs coach Bill Bates said. "Deion, No. 81, you've got him. Now, let's figure out what the other 10 guys do.

"When one guy can pretty much handle one player, that's pretty strong for your defense."

Strong safety Darren Woodson said the loss of Sanders will make it more difficult for members of the secondary to cheat to one side or the other. "Deion is a great athlete," Woodson said. "It's hard to explain how good he was and how much he meant to the team. He's the best corner in the league and the best punt returner in the league. People are afraid to go his way. He's an intimidator."

He's also regarded as one of the team's spiritual leaders. Teammates consider Sanders to be a strong Christian who walked the walk in the locker room and away from Valley Ranch. He was instrumental in the club signing defensive tackle Alonzo Spellman last summer.

"People really have to know about Deion Sanders," Woodson said. "Deion, his image is totally different from what he is. People who don't know him always have something negative to say about him because he is flamboyant on the field. That's the way he is.

"As a human being, as a person, you won't get any better than Deion. . . . The guy is probably the funniest person you ever want to be around. He kept meetings going as far as being loose and having fun.

"He's a strong Christian man. He didn't party, didn't cuss, didn't drink. I never heard him say one cuss word."