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Pastimes : The Big Tex House of Coin -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BigTex who wrote (2789)	4/8/1999 12:36:00 PM
From: CPM	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 19297

UH OH TEX-- Your COWboys might have a problem, those Texans... see below. AO-Cowboys May Have Violated Salary Cap NEW YORK, Apr 08, 1999 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- The NFL confirmed today it is investigating complaints from other teams that the Dallas Cowboys may have violated the league's salary cap rules. The New York Times said the complaints involve three players: center Mark Stepnoski, wide receiver Raghib Ismail and linebacker Quentin Coryatt. NFL spokeswoman Leslie Hammond said the league was looking into the matter but would have no further comment. Last month, it was reported that the Cowboys had come to terms on multiyear contracts with the three free agents, but did not actually sign any of them. Several teams said they recently contacted agents for the three, but in each case was told the player was no longer available. Some of the teams said they conducted their own investigations and determined that some sort of arrangement had been reached between the Cowboys and the three. At that point, according to The Times, at least several of the teams complained to the league. They told NFL officials that they believed the Cowboys had reached a verbal or written agreement with the three players, but had not signed them to a contract to circumvent cap rules. The league then began to explore the situation, according to team executives, union officials and agents the newspaper did not identify. The league offers a $1 million reward for anyone who can produce proof that a team has violated the cap rules. If found guilty, the Cowboys could be fined millions of dollars and be barred, at least temporarily, from using the players involved. At least two of the teams that complained believe the Cowboys may have hidden a deal with the three players because Dallas did not have room to sign them but wanted to keep other teams from getting them. The NFL urges teams to sign a player to a contract as soon as possible after an agreement has been reached. Once the signatures are on the contract, the agreement must be submitted to the league office within 24 hours and every other team is then made aware of the signing. Rich Dalrymple, a Cowboys' spokesman, when asked about the published report, told The Associated Press: ''It's the first I've heard of it.'' The Times quoted an unidentified Cowboys' spokesman as saying the team had been contacted by the league regarding Coryatt and was satisfied with the explanation that he was at the training facility to visit a friend. The spokesman said the league had not inquired about the other two players mentioned. He told the newspaper the players have not agreed to terms or signed any contracts and therefore could not have violated any rules. There currently is no proof the Cowboys have broken any rules, the Times said. Copyright 1999 Associated Press, All rights reserved. -0-