Cash Cow

Didn't take long for Terrell Owens to start paying dividends. On Monday the Cowboys sold 1,500 Owens jerseys at $75 a pop. According to my abacus that's around $112,000, which makes it a long way to go toward recouping the $10 million he's guaranteed this season, but it's a healthy start nonetheless. Owens, who this morning began off-season conditioning with his new teammates at Valley Ranch, will also be the center of financial prosperity for other companies in coming months. Simon & Schuster will publish his forthcoming book in July, and there's talk of a T.O. reality show for the fall.

The ripple effect isn't all positive, of course. There are whispers at Valley Ranch that receiver Terry Glenn, noticing the money thrown at T.O., now wants a bigger, better contract and could skip some off-season work until that ball gets rolling. In a transaction that will have considerably less impact on the team, my neighbor John claims he canceled his season tickets. --Richie Whitt