The NFL is investigating whether that happened and if the team violated league rules. With that black cloud hovering, Jones met with Steinberg at team headquarters late Friday into early Saturday and hammered out the framework for Aikman's new deal. It was signed Monday and announced Tuesday during a news conference intended to feature Stepnoski. Neither Aikman nor Steinberg were in attendance. Jones said that while the dollar distribution of the Aikman deal will greatly help the team in free agency, he thinks a bigger benefit is that Aikman will definitely be a Cowboy for many years to come.
Players like to come to teams that have great quarterbacks.
We can fundamentally build our organization around Troy. Aikman was the first overall selection in the 1989 draft and the first player picked under Jones' regime. He guided Dallas' transformation from 1-15 to Super Bowl champions three seasons later. He's since become one of only three quarterbacks to lead a team to three Super Bowl victories. Jones may not be done trimming Dallas' payroll.